When my oldest son was 14, he was having the first symptoms of his bipolar depression. We all thought he was just a very self-controlled child turning into a teen and having the usual moody behavior that comes with puberty. He had insisted that he sign up for all honors classes his first year in high school, despite me telling him that he shouldn't push himself so hard. The guidance counselor and I only agreed to the all-honors classes if he agreed to downgrade to normal classes if he felt overwhelmed. About one month into the school year, he was always doing homework and isolating himself in his room.
Here's where the secret came in. He was messaging a friend of his, whom he'd known for nine years, and told her that he had a plan to k**l himself. She broke her promise to keep his secret and told her dad to call me. Her father called me and said, 'Go check on Nathaniel now!' So I did. I asked my son if he was OK, and he broke down and said, 'No, Mom. Something is wrong with my brain.' I held him while he cried for a few minutes, then called my husband to take him to the hospital while I cleared his room of meds and anything sharp. He was admitted to the psychiatric hospital and was diagnosed with rapid-cycling bipolar depression. He has been medicated and in therapy for almost 7 years now. His secret almost k****d him.
Here's where the secret came in. He was messaging a friend of his, whom he'd known for nine years, and told her that he had a plan to k**l himself. She broke her promise to keep his secret and told her dad to call me. Her father called me and said, 'Go check on Nathaniel now!' So I did. I asked my son if he was OK, and he broke down and said, 'No, Mom. Something is wrong with my brain.' I held him while he cried for a few minutes, then called my husband to take him to the hospital while I cleared his room of meds and anything sharp. He was admitted to the psychiatric hospital and was diagnosed with rapid-cycling bipolar depression. He has been medicated and in therapy for almost 7 years now. His secret almost k****d him.