Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional And now...tell me about your kid with depression

Thanks so much for the posts so far. The threat of self-harm do not read as serious to me at this point. I think they are another way of her trying to communicate that she is really upset. She doesn't say "I want to die" or "I want to kill myself"--she says things like "I don't care if I get hurt" or "Maybe I should just die!" which does seem a bit different. At one point she did say something a little closer to something suicidal, and I did react by bursting into tears. Unfortunately, I have lost a number of friends to suicide, one recently, and the subject is very hard for me. I don't know if my reaction was the right one, but it was certainly honest, and I think she was taken aback. I explained a little but without getting too far into it. She didn't seem to even really know exactly what suicide was and that people really did it, which solidified my sense that this was something she said without much thought behind it. BTW, she is 8.


Yes, I think she is scared by her own behavior and she obviously experiences guilt and shame afterwards.

It is sort of....too bad, in a way, that her brother happens to be an easygoing kid. The contrast is pretty glaring. We never, ever compare them or call attention to it, but there's no way not to notice it. On an average day, she is far more likely to cry or "lose it" than he is. It is hard on him, too. He sometimes gets really upset by the stuff she says. I am the younger sister of an older sib with some mental health issues (undiagnosed, but probably it's a case of depression and anxiety there, too) and I identify with his feelings in this situation.


This may be true for DD as well.