Walking on Eggshells
Jessica, the mother of an adolescent client graduate, shares her story in the 2023 issue of Journeys Magazine.
When Atlas was about 9, we started noticing severe anxiety and panic attacks. Atlas was throwing up every day at school and asking to go home. After an evaluation, she was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, and we began seeking treatment. But Atlas continued to struggle. In seventh grade, Atlas told me she was feeling urges to self-harm, and in eighth grade, she had her first suicide attempt.
At 15, Atlas was having outbursts regularly, and the whole family was walking on eggshells. We were all in panic mode, and it was just very chaotic. And watching Atlas suffer and go through these experiences was the most painful experience in my life.
I did a lot of internet research, and I found Skyland Trail. There’s a night and day difference between Skyland and any other facility. I really don’t know that – without Skyland – I don’t know that my child would be alive today…and thriving.
I think my biggest takeaway was that I was part of the problem. As a mom who identifies completely as a mom and wants to be perfect and do everything right, that was really hard for me. I had to change the way I was parenting and communicating with Atlas, because Atlas was different from my other two children. But the growth that I learned from that experience altered our relationship and changed our lives and Atlas’s future.
I want Atlas to be happy. That’s it. That’s my ultimate goal. I hope that, as she transitions to college, Atlas will continue to be self-aware and will continue to use the skills that she’s learned in Skyland to be successful and happy.
I am truly thankful from the bottom of my heart. I feel like Skyland Trail gave me my child back.