Hey Everyone, time for another blog ! So what comes to mind now that I would like to share, is one way my son behaved which SHOULD've COULD've been a warning sign had we (I) known then, what I know now. We often talk in could've/should'ves and it is easy to blame ourselves and wish we had done things differently. Again, this story is one of hindsight and I did not see it at the time it was happening.
My son had a few hobbies growing up, but he was never totally enthusiastic about anything. At the time his Dad and I often scratched our heads and thought "we are giving him all these opportunities and he doesn't seem to care" ?? We just did not understand this. As the years went on hobbies came and went, from all different sports, to push bikes, electric bikes, canoeing, off -road motorbikes, Go-karting, trips away, days out - the list is long. After all of those years and activities we found out our son did not feel like he liked or enjoyed anything. Again, another conundrem!! So what I know now is that this is actually a symptom or sign of a potential mental health issue. Perhaps from an undiagnosed condition .. ADHD or Autism. (which my son was later diagnosed with at age 19). Dissociation is a detactment from yourself and your emotions. It creates a blurring of someones identity and can bring on serious mental health concerns - anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation. It is a way of dealing with emotional trauma, a blocking out of things I guess. It does seem that my son did this, as in his older teen years he only had specific focused interests and everything else was boring to him. He did say to me once that "he just doesn't like anything". Autistic people can experience interpersonal trauma that can lead to a type of PTSD response. Dissociation has also been said to be linked to ADHD. So, I guess this would be another thing to look out for in people/children. If someone has a low mood and tells you they have no hobbies and don't find joy in anything, take it as a warning sign. I wish I had known. .... that's all for now ..... T
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