What to do next?

[Guest guest]

Recently discontinuing my SSRI regime 'cold turkey' and feeling very

fortunate that I was able to make it out of the immediate dark days

that followed, I have since experienced several of the lingering

effects of withdrawal. Any suggestions on how to keep going with these

effects?

Also, and equally as important, my 12 year son remains

on his SSRI meds. At age 6, he was having difficulties getting to

sleep/remaining asleep. One hour of sleep a night was not a healthy

amount for anyone. An appointment was made with his GP and he was

diagnosed with anxiety/depression. He has since been seen by a

psychiatrist, which I do not feel has shined any light on the

situation other than to medicate and ignore.

My immediate concern is my son's behavior. Over the course of the last

3 years, his behavior has escalated to a point that he has alienated

himself from friends, family, siblings, etc. He has no regard for

authority, including home or school life, he believes that in every

case, he is right and the world is wrong, he has suffered from moments

of what I call hysteria, and manipulates everything to focus around

him, either good or bad. To sum it up, I feel he is very unstable. I

am to the point now that I have been verbally abused long enough, as

have the other siblings that reside in our home. I am aware of the

oppositional defiant disorder traits and feel that his behavior mimics

it. Is his behavior likely to be related to the SSRI's that he has

been taking all of these years?

Although his meds are followed by a psychiatrist (this is all I have

found she is good for), I am currently seeking other means of finding

an answer to this unwarranted behavior. At this point, extensive

inpatient therapy seems to be ideal since he has not applied himself

in weekly counselling sessions. My concern: I do not wish for him to

remain on his current meds, of which have not been approved for use in

children his age, but know that he must be weaned carefully. In

addition to this, I do not want ANY treatment facility to add more

medicines to his body. My son is highly intelligent, as he is doing

college work in the seventh grade, but is failing miserably in his

social activities. Is there anyone out there that may be able to lead

me in the right direction or shine some light on options?