Little bit of background. I'm thirty two and her father. I've had depression my whole life and only over the past three years have worked to get it under control. My wife has been diagnosed with MS and she is epileptic. It can get pretty stressful in this house at times.About two years ago I started noticing little signs that she was struggling emotionally. She was getting angry at very trivial things and at times seemed stuck in a sad mood. It kept getting worse until I noticed the same patterns that I went through at her age. I made up my mind that there is no way I would allow her to spend the next twenty years struggling like I did. So I did the only thing I could think of. I told her what I went through at her age and I didn't hold anything back. I told her about the self loathing, the trouble connecting with people, the difficulties with showing affection, even the feelings of despair. I wanted her to know that she is not alone and if anyone knew what she was going through, it was me. I told her that no matter what she could talk to me about anything and I wouldn't tell her mom and there would be no repercussions. I've given her advice on how to address those feelings and how to deal with them. So far it's worked and there has been a noticeable improvement in her attitude and all around happiness at home.Last week my wife and I got called into the school. There was some outbursts and arguments with other kids that basically ended up with her saying she wanted to die. The school called a social worker and we met with her and my daughter. She explained that she doesn't actually want to die and it's more she's been holding on to some things for a while and it all boiled over. We worked through it and she's been better since that incident.Today she confided in me the one thing I have no idea how to help her with, body image. Now I should tell you, my daughter is eleven but she is already five foot seven, and one hundred forty pounds. She wears a size ten women's shoe and is...developed. She looks like a sixteen year old girl. We grow big in my family. She is the biggest kid in her class by a lot. I have no idea how to help her with this. Kids tease her, call her a giant, say she is as big as a man etc. I truly believe this is the biggest weight on her shoulders and I don't know how to address it. Can anyone give me some advice here?Tl;dr: I have helped my daughter with her problems with depression but I don't know how to tackle her body image issues. via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/2eTeoGj
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