Frangipani Report post Posted January 27, 2007 (edited) Hi, Where do I start, my son has been all macho all of a sudden about how cool it is with his mates they can hit him and it doesnt hurt. At least on 4 occasions over the past 4 weeks my son comes up to me and says look see I can punch myself in the head and it doesnt hurt, or he will say he loves pain. tonight he punched himself in the head twice and really really hard, I said to stop as he would do some damage or cause a brain injury. He went on to do it again about half an hour later, I tried to make a joke with him and said if you dont stop that I am going to have to call the doctor to take you away for the night and lock you away and have you assessed, we both laughed but deep down I was serious. He makes his friends punch him in the arm's as he loves to get bruises. Okay he is 19, is this just a teenage thing. My daughter has had a friend over she always has friends sleep over but he is really smitten on this one girl as she has an American accent and he thinks she looks like Miss America he has been acting so hyper all day, now I am wondering if all this silly behaviour is because he is all excited about the girls and doesnt know how to process his emotions, so he is self harming in a joking way. He doesnt do this in front of the girls just to me. One very confused mum Help Edited January 27, 2007 by Frangipani Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lucas Report post Posted January 28, 2007 Sounds like he has just discovered the magic of Endomorphines. Exercise releases them, so does injury and pain. Over time the body gets used to them and the effect is dulled, so it can only be done for so long before there's no effect to gain. Self-harm is also a typical way in which someone that feels they lack control over a situation re-asserts control. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Frangipani Report post Posted January 29, 2007 Thanks Lucas, That makes a lot of sense. Hopefully we can channel these aspects of self harm into exercise. His doctor wanted me to watch out for any psychotic episodes he may have, but, not sure exactly what psychotic behaviour is ...... isnt this usually making threats to others. Or suicidal. He never rough and tumbled as a child as his dad was never around, maybe he is making up for that. He was also not very good at football because at one stage he was so skinny so he got crushed and I would worry he would get hurt. Then finally he gained weight and muscle if someone ticked him off he would be really aggressive, go for the kill type tackle, scared a few of his friends off. When he and his mates do this punching thing, he always goes one step too far, his best mate is half his size and provokes him just for fun, but he always comes off second best, but he's silly enough to come back for more, Bob picked him up and almost dropped him on his head, and one time a punch too hard he ended up with a very bruised rib. As I mentioned earlier, this is probably a typical boy thing, except when he trys to get a reaction from me, pounding himself in the head I think he probably just does it to stir me up. He has a warped sense of humour. Certainly will keep a close eye on him though. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lucas Report post Posted January 29, 2007 I'm a bit alarmed by something you said. The doctor really said to look out for 'psychotic episodes'? Why? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Frangipani Report post Posted January 30, 2007 (edited) I'm a bit alarmed by something you said. The doctor really said to look out for 'psychotic episodes'? Why? Hi Lucas, Its more a precaution or side affect when taking Risperdal. The doctor said to watch out for any behaviours like this, as if he did present with this, he would have to come off it straight away. My son seems fine on it, and in my sons words, he feels more together balanced and in control mentally and verbally taking Risperdal he said he really struggled to have a conversation without it, or interact with people, or get the drift of what was being taught in class. He wont allow us to take him off it, he sees the doc every 3 months to review things, he has heard my son say he can think more clearly and it gives him the mental energy to have a conversation. He said he often got lost in conversations and found it hard to relate to others. Psychotic episodes is enough to scare anyone off it, but to date all I can say is my son is calmer and we are able to communicate better with him while he is taking it. If he has missed it, he presents with chaotic behaviour and body movements, and a shrill scream, enough to put me in a loony bin. I want to be able to look after him myself, I feared I would loose him without it. Sadly to say. But even his friends are more accepting of him when he is taking it. Without it he would just do and say the most strange and random things totally disconnected with the dynamics of what the social situation was, somehow this plugs in the loose wire and things start to compute. his friends no longer step back and look at him. I cant say it has solved all his social problems, its just taken the some of the 'chaos' from his head, and he said this was the biggest plus for him taking it. It is not for everyone, and many find it has the opposite affect for their child, but for my son, it is life changing. Frangipani Edited January 30, 2007 by Frangipani Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
