Rob's therapist finally got a look at the "real" Rob the other day, and the "real" way he argues with me. Rob argued with me all the way to the therapist's office, so we were still in the midst of our disagreement when she called us in for his appointment. The subject matter - Adderall. Damn Adderall.
Rob won't give up on the Adderall. I can see a difference in him with the Wellbutrin, and he can too. He has some of his personality back, some of the good (quick wit) and some of the bad (irritable and argumentative). While he has the motivation back to clean his room, do his schoolwork, and spend some time with friends, he says he needs the Adderall motivation to get a job. The therapist listened to us argue about this for awhile. Rob's point was basically that he must get the Adderall, and he will just take enough to get the kick in the pants that he needs to get a job, and then go to work. My point was that he has enough artificial stimulation to do other things, there must be something else holding him back from getting a job. He was denying that, and I was having a hard time getting him to listen to me. Finally, his therapist weighed in.
While she did not try very hard to sway him on the Adderall (I think she's expecting his psychiatrist to do that), she asked me why I was so against the Adderall. Again I explained about the mission mode, and I said there is more than just the med route to handle bipolar, there's also the therapy route. I mentioned how Rob still won't get on the phone with his teachers when he is supposed to, and how Rob has a problem dealing with people he doesn't know. Rob of course denied this. Therapist asked Rob to make it a point to call his teachers and get over that hurdle.
I can't remember who brought it up, but we then talked about Rob's physical ailments that would crop up every day when he used to have to go to a physical school. After discussing that for a bit, it finally dawned on me that the job situation was the same as the school situation had been. I got up from my position on the couch and went over to Rob and pushed him down into the couch with my hands. I said, "School was like this. There was something holding you back, pushing you down. You couldn't get past it." He agreed. Getting a job is like this, too" and I pushed him harder into the couch. He said, "Exactly."
Aha. He was getting my point. He agreed that anxiety had been holding him back from going to school. Anxiety because he was failing, he was lying about it, he couldn't handle being in the classroom, he was falling further and further behind and he still couldn't do any work, he felt like a loser, etc. He then realized that it was anxiety that was holding him back from getting a job also. He too had the "aha" moment. But he still thought he needed the Adderall to get him over that hurdle.
Yesterday was the court appointment. Rob explained to the judge how he got the curfew ticket. He told him that he has a great deal of trouble sleeping at night due to his bipolar disorder. That night he couldn't sleep and something was bothering him. Something that he couldn't recall yesterday, but it was bothering him enough that he had to talk to someone and I was asleep. So at 4:00 in the morning he got in his car to drive over to his friend Liz's house to talk to her about it (she was still awake). He got popped on the way over there. Judge asked Rob how he was doing in school, and if he was working. Rob told him he was in between jobs. Judge fined him $25, plus court costs. This was a different judge from last time (and the time before that, and the time before that). I guess these judges can just tell that Rob's a good kid who makes a few mistakes.
When we got home, Todd told Rob that he had talked to a friend of his at a body shop and that his friend told him he was crazy busy. Todd asked his friend if he could use a gofer, and friend said sure. Todd told Rob to go on over there and see his friend, which Rob promptly did. Todd's friend wasn't around, so Rob is going to go over there again this morning.
Rob's therapist finally got a look at the "real" Rob the other day, and the "real" way he argues with me. Rob argued with me all the way to the therapist's office, so we were still in the midst of our disagreement when she called us in for his appointment. The subject matter - Adderall. Damn Adderall.
Rob won't give up on the Adderall. I can see a difference in him with the Wellbutrin, and he can too. He has some of his personality back, some of the good (quick wit) and some of the bad (irritable and argumentative). While he has the motivation back to clean his room, do his schoolwork, and spend some time with friends, he says he needs the Adderall motivation to get a job. The therapist listened to us argue about this for awhile. Rob's point was basically that he must get the Adderall, and he will just take enough to get the kick in the pants that he needs to get a job, and then go to work. My point was that he has enough artificial stimulation to do other things, there must be something else holding him back from getting a job. He was denying that, and I was having a hard time getting him to listen to me. Finally, his therapist weighed in.
While she did not try very hard to sway him on the Adderall (I think she's expecting his psychiatrist to do that), she asked me why I was so against the Adderall. Again I explained about the mission mode, and I said there is more than just the med route to handle bipolar, there's also the therapy route. I mentioned how Rob still won't get on the phone with his teachers when he is supposed to, and how Rob has a problem dealing with people he doesn't know. Rob of course denied this. Therapist asked Rob to make it a point to call his teachers and get over that hurdle.
I can't remember who brought it up, but we then talked about Rob's physical ailments that would crop up every day when he used to have to go to a physical school. After discussing that for a bit, it finally dawned on me that the job situation was the same as the school situation had been. I got up from my position on the couch and went over to Rob and pushed him down into the couch with my hands. I said, "School was like this. There was something holding you back, pushing you down. You couldn't get past it." He agreed. Getting a job is like this, too" and I pushed him harder into the couch. He said, "Exactly."
Aha. He was getting my point. He agreed that anxiety had been holding him back from going to school. Anxiety because he was failing, he was lying about it, he couldn't handle being in the classroom, he was falling further and further behind and he still couldn't do any work, he felt like a loser, etc. He then realized that it was anxiety that was holding him back from getting a job also. He too had the "aha" moment. But he still thought he needed the Adderall to get him over that hurdle.
Yesterday was the court appointment. Rob explained to the judge how he got the curfew ticket. He told him that he has a great deal of trouble sleeping at night due to his bipolar disorder. That night he couldn't sleep and something was bothering him. Something that he couldn't recall yesterday, but it was bothering him enough that he had to talk to someone and I was asleep. So at 4:00 in the morning he got in his car to drive over to his friend Liz's house to talk to her about it (she was still awake). He got popped on the way over there. Judge asked Rob how he was doing in school, and if he was working. Rob told him he was in between jobs. Judge fined him $25, plus court costs. This was a different judge from last time (and the time before that, and the time before that). I guess these judges can just tell that Rob's a good kid who makes a few mistakes.
When we got home, Todd told Rob that he had talked to a friend of his at a body shop and that his friend told him he was crazy busy. Todd asked his friend if he could use a gofer, and friend said sure. Todd told Rob to go on over there and see his friend, which Rob promptly did. Todd's friend wasn't around, so Rob is going to go over there again this morning.