Feeling Low

lovelymummylivi

Hi,

My my eldest son has just turned 7 & has a diagnosis of Aspergers & PDA. Half term has been really challenging, I really noticed his anxiety levels increase & his OCD type behaviours become more apparent.

We went camping for a few days & he had several meltdowns. As we were a bit out of routine & in an unfamiliar place, I myself as his carer found it so hard to support him & just constantly found myself looking at other families & comparing myself to them! I know it’s an awful thing to do, my mood was so low & all I could see were other families having a wonderful holiday & with regret, I felt extremely envious of them!

We r back home now & settling bk into our routine. I feel so guilty feeling how I did but these waves of low mood come over me often & I was wondering if anyone has any advise for next time??

Thank you

Livi 

April2018mom

I know how you feel. I still get those feelings from time to time. None of this is abnormal. Just yesterday whilst we were in the pool, I saw kids running around and looked at my non ambulatory son.
Don’t beat yourself up about this. It’s completely normal. Seriously. 

lovelymummylivi

Thank you for responding, that’s good to hear. I find the feelings hard to shift...hence needing to vent on here but again thank for your comments x

Chloe_Alumni

Hi @lovelymummylivi, thank you for taking the time to reach out. It must have been extremely difficult when in that situation and I'm sorry it has had such a negative impact on your mood. Do you get any support when caring for your son? As you've said, a change of routine can be extremely challenging for someone with Aspergers and you have nothing to feel guilty about. I hope there were enjoyable moments when you went camping that you can hold onto. If you find your mood being really low it might be advisable to talk to your GP about this. Please do continue to talk to the community and let us know if we can support you at all

LindaButler1970

My only advice would be to not try to do too much, small steps and don't aim to do the same as everyone else. Talk about your feelings which you have done and continue to do so as you can share your thoughts and there is no judgement here.

lovelymummylivi

Thank you so much Linda....ur words are really appreciated xx

Kate_Scope

@lovelymummylivi
all of the thoughts and feelings you are having are totally normal, please don't feel you are a bad person in feeling this way. 

I used to compare my daughter to others and always felt I was such a bad person and a bad mother!!!! 

this is not the case at all and it is normal, I would be worried if you didn't compare- I think its all part of the process.

don't beat yourself up 

Kate 

lovelymummylivi

Thank you Kate ?