my teenage daughter

[hillarys]

Hello,
  My daughter is 17--almost 18. She started as a senior in high school yesterday. We took her out to dinner and she began talking with pressured speech. She ruined dinner with non-stop complaining. She was cruel and unreasonable. She has been on anti-depressents for most of her teenage life because her psychiatrist thought she had depression. This worked but not really well. She began the pressured speech about a year ago. It is not often but when it happens it is impossible to talk to her. She has run away twice and put herself in dangerous situations. She does not seem to understand that this behavior is risky. She fights taking any medications. She has taken herself off her antidepressant. She has never tried suicide and does not smoke or drink to excess. She does smoke pot on weekends. Both my husband and I have mental illness on both sides of our families. Her grades are average, and we know she could do better.

Does this sound like bi-polar disease? why? Her psyciatrist does not think she has this. Any help is very much appreciated. Thanks much from a sad mom.

[trucker's wife]

HILLARY, you are not alone, look at me,i am raising a very rebullious teenage daughter age 14yrs., who thinks she can  do anything  that may be high risks to her becuz she is female. also she has few disorders that are a.d.h.d., o.d.d. ( oppositional defiant disorder), c.d.(coduct disorder that she involed with laws in big troubles), anxiety attacks sometimes, panick sometimes and  maybe anti-social or something= ( she worrys about friends more than her own family).. she can be in dangerous siutations that she dont think it is to her.. she dont understand the risks, dangerous behaviors etc.. she just dont care. i dont know she really cares about it or not.. i am figureing out to get her down to ground... i read your opionions and informations.. she is middle of 3 kids.also she thinks she is 18 or 21..  she dares to break her house arrest rules or probation rules many times since 2 yrs.. she thinks she can do it  or else.. any ideas to stop her and change her. i done many things like psychiatrist for her mediciens,  couseling for her problems, court for her big troubles for many things.. , etc.. i think my daugheter is taking advantage of things or life??... maybe anti-social or anxeity or craving attentions??  deaf mom with big patiences

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

I understand your sadness re this. Let me encourage you to forget about the diagnosis, and deal with your child as a confused and conflicted human being, who at the end of her age of dependency is getting even more frightened about how she is going to make it in the world.  I hope she has a talking psychiatrist, because that is what she needs to avoid trouble. The pressured speech is a symptom that does have to be watched as a certain warning sign of being overloaded mentally, requiring more hands on care from her therapeutic support team.

[capetowngirl]

I dont think it sounds as if shes bipolar. I think its just her age and the things she is doing is just part of teenage rebellion. She sounds like me at that age. She'll most likely grow out of it. The best advice I can give is to let her make mistakes thats the only way she'll learn.

[capetowngirl]

I understand. I made my mother miserable as a teenager but Im 22 now and we are very close. Im sure things will turn around for you

[hillarys]

Thanks so much for your input. I was never like that, and my other children are fine so its very hard to go through this.