Expressing Needs

Daughter has been crying out for attention this week in a variety of different ways. She has complained of harassment, tremendous pain in her hand, dizziness, and a variety of other things. My mantra has become, "I have confidence in your ability to handle it."
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I was sitting on the porch waiting for her when she got home last night. She walked up the steps sobbing because her hand hurt so much. The previous evening, I had carefully examined her hand. There was no swelling or redness, and no tender spots as I examined it. She hasn't had an injury. Her description of the pain keeps changing. She insisted that she had to see a doctor.
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I pondered her complaints as I was fixing the supper she had requested: blueberry pancakes and sausage. Finally I said, "I want to tell you a story."
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"Oh, oh. Should I sit down?"
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"It's nothing bad. I'm just remembering when you were real little. Sometimes I'd pick you up from daycare and you'd complain about hurts no one could see. I finally realized that you had big feelings that you couldn't talk about, and these injuries were your way of saying you were hurting and needed attention. It's important to learn how to express those big feelings."
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"I knew I should have sat down."
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She didn't acknowledge this was what she was doing. She didn't express her feelings, but she did stop complaining about her hand. She turned down the time and attention I offered her in the evening, saying she preferred to be alone.
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