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3 Things to Know About Raising an Anxious Daughter
I realize not all anxious daughter’s are alike, and the word ‘anxious’ doesn’t come anywhere near close to accurately describing the situation where your teenage daughter is self-harming, not getting out of bed for days on end, her high school career in jeopardy and she’s threatening her own life. For the last 10 years, I have been on a quest to save my daughter from herself. There is no point in life when you finally arrive — this shit ain’t ever over — and someone asks you to take a seat and share your wisdom. Maybe at the very end we’ll get a chance and maybe that part of the journey comes with the wisdom to say nothing. I’m not at the end yet but I’ve been encouraged to share some thoughts on ‘key takeaways’, like they say in the biz, on this last 10-year section of my road, in case any of it might look familiar. Maybe I can offer a helpful sign post or two.
It’s Not About You
The first point is the most important. In a crisis, and this was a slow-moving downhill crisis, it’s critical to identify who is the protagonist, and I’m going to tell you, as the parent, it is not you. This may be news, as you are your own protagonist, every single damn day, but I promise, it’s not you. In my case, I had left a destructive, poisonous and overwhelming marriage. I was struggling to keep my own head above water, avoiding the tired “put your…
