FINALLY we are getting somewhere

Today was a monumental day for Damian and I well mostly for him but as anyone who is married knows that if your spouse is going through something you go through it too. Today was Damian's second appointment with Kim his mental health therapist and she actually addressed concerns we had with Damian getting easily agitated even at things that are beyond anyone's control and his sleep patterns or lack thereof. She also wants to put Damian on a medication here in the next month or so and see how he does. I like how she gave him coping mechanisms though and those along with his vitamin regimen and my insistence that he get some sun every day have helped ease the intensity of his episodes. She wants him to sleep no more than 9 hours a night and she wants to see him develop a consistent time to go to bed and time to wake up everyday. She also said that a nap is okay but that it can not be longer than 2 hours and that he has to be awake several hours before he can take one. This means I can wake him up if needed doctor's orders. She also told him that if he gets angry with someone that he needs to speak up kindly and communicate instead of lashing out with anger so that person knows he's upset and needs some time to calm down. When it's an inanimate object she wants him to step back and take a break but so everyone around him knows that so he can breathe she wants him to either tell them or put on a hat until he can calm down. The hat is basically just a symbol that he needs some time to chill out and gather his thoughts in privacy. We see some hope and are getting somewhere these coping mechanisms will no longer be needed once he learns how to calm down on his own but right now they will help him before he blows his top. He's learning also relaxation techniques and meditation and to channel his thoughts so they don't race ahead of him. She is confident that with continued sessions and the use of these techniques that the medication will be effective and Damian will be able to fully function. He's been really cooperative so that really helps she wasn't going to put him on meds yet but since he is working with DVR at the same time and they insist on him finding work ASAP she wants to put him on something to see if it will work and help so that way he won't blow his top at work again and go all the way back to square one just as he is beginning to make so much progress. He's doing really great but like she said it's hard to be patient but we need to be we need to remember it's a step at a time sometimes two it's going to take time to reprogram the way he thinks and how he copes and his behaviors he didn't learn them overnight and he won't be able to fix them over night.