thank you so much, HK/indigo!
i'm going to start with these links for sure. i'm not massively worried about the adolescent/adult focus - she's so *freakishly* self-aware for 5 y/o. she literally said to me last night, "i do this because it takes the pain from my feelings and puts it into my body, and that is much easier to deal with." i asked her to do a thought experiment: to think about what it would be like if every time she was frustrated, some random kid came over and punched/bit her. y'all should have seen her face - it was like the sun came out - she really got it, and i think she's ready to tackle the problem.
and you're both SO right. school is exactly where this came from - she never had it until last year, and now that we're homeschooling and everything else is really falling into place, it's time to fix this. she is definitely no longer clinically depressed, and is loving having new material to master - we have many squeals of delight these days. however, she is really having trouble trusting that even though we have yet to find much to challenge her, i DO NOT EXPECT her to have the right answers - it's like her entire idea of learning got twisted around. she's not giving herself permission to think, much less fail - it's like she's seeing her whole life as one big test.
and aquinas... you are the sweetest of humans. thanks for that virtual hug!
