← Return to 15 year old daughter with Complex PTSD

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15 year old daughter with Complex PTSD

Mental Health | Last Active: Jun 7, 2023 | Replies (19)

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@naturegirl5

@caseyn2020 I've been thinking of your daughter and how worried you must be about her. This is a difficult space in time for both of you. I'm glad that she is being seen by a trauma-informed mental health therapist who she connects with. This is so important as the years of experience of the therapist and the connection with your daughter is just as important as the techniques that the therapist uses. Most of all, it is important that your daughter is listened to, feels heard, and her therapist does not "judge" her for what has happened or choices your daughter has made since the original trauma.

I think that your daughter's use of alcohol and weed should be watched. Unfortunately, it does happen that people who have been through what your daughter experienced try to numb themselves from the emotional pain with drugs and alcohol. This can turn, in time, into yet another thing to deal with - addiction. It doesn't happen to everyone but it can happen so I hope her therapist knows about your daughter's drug and alcohol use so this can be discussed in their sessions.

There is a really good website on trauma from the National Center for PTSD. While this Center is administered by the US Veterans Administration the information is relevant for all traumatic events as are the diagnostic information and treatments. The website explains the different types of trauma including sexual abuse, types of treatments that have been shown to be effective through research, and of course the important of seeing a therapist. I hope that reading this will be helpful to you.

National Center for PTSD

-- https://www.ptsd.va.gov/

Please write me a private message if I can be helpful to you.

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Replies to "@caseyn2020 I've been thinking of your daughter and how worried you must be about her. This..."

Thank you for your thoughts and kind words. It really means so much to me.
Her therapist knows of her weed/vaping/alcohol use, and has been slowly bringing it up in sessions.
I think that the weed and vaping are the two things that she does the most, and occasionally has experienced with drinking.
I try to talk to her about it, but most times she becomes extremely defensive and shuts down completely. To be honest, when she does smoke weed, she seems to be more at peace and can focus on homework and other things. But like you said, all of these things can definitely lead to addiction, and that’s something I definitely don’t want for her.
I will definitely check out the website you provided, but I’m guessing I probably already have, lol. I’m big on researching this stuff on my own, so that I have a better understanding of what abuse and trauma does to people. (Not only do I research it to better understand what her abuse has done to her, but I also have trauma from being married to someone who is verbally, mentally, and emotionally abusive…so it helps me to understand myself and what I’m experiencing as well)
Thank you for reaching out to me, it really means a lot!