Mood Swing

I suspect that Psychiatrist thinks Daughter is manic. She mentioned that possibility when we last saw her in June and I told her Daughter had been requiring very little sleep. She thought the longer days had sent her into hypomania, and increased her nighttime trazadone to help her sleep. I haven’t talked to Psychiatrist, but since she increased her lithium, I’m assuming this is the case. Plus, she mentioned the trazadone might not be enough and we’d have to watch her to make sure she didn’t go into full blown mania.

If Daughter was manic, she isn’t now. When I went over to visit yesterday evening, she seemed depressed. She didn’t show any emotion when I walked into the day room, where she was watching TV. She didn’t want to talk. She couldn’t remember her blood sugars. After clearing the items I’d brought her with the nurse. We walked down to her room. I sat on the chair, and she lay down on her bed. She was on her side facing me, but she didn’t want to engage me. I suggested we play a game. She wasn’t interested. I finally sat down beside her and asked her to sit next to me. After leaning on me for a while, I got out The Blue Day Book, which she had requested me to bring. We read it together. That got a few smiles and a little bit of reaction. She also gave me a picture she had drawn. I observed it was very dark. She said she didn’t mean it to be that way, but she couldn’t help it.

She had hoped to convince Psychiatrist to let her come home yesterday. Psychiatrist had told her that she’d be there at least through the weekend, and then they’d see about discharge on Monday after doing another lithium level. Daughter was disappointed, to say the least. She just wants to come home. I assured her that I wanted her home, too, but Iwant her to wait until she is ready so she doesn't have to go back like she did last summer.

After we read the book, Daughter brightened up enough to introduce me to the woman who had shared her art supplies with her so Daughter could draw the picture. M is Amish. I had seen a large Amish family coming into visit as I was leaving Thursday night, but since M had been wearing hospital pajamas, I didn’t connect her with them. Last night, though, she had the traditional dress and was wearing a scarf on her head. I’m glad Daughter is talking to someone. M is quite a gifted artist, who leaves a box on her drawings to add poetry she writes. Her drawings were full of color and life.

I look forward to seeing Daughter draw bright things again soon. I hope her depression doesn’t deepen, and she is ready to come home Monday.