Thank you Rosered55 and others for the perspective. I realize it could be much, much worse (drugs, pregnancy and the like; and fortunately no physical or mental illnesses). The emotional push/pull relationship alienates the parent from the child and vice versa. It’s hard to break out of this cycle because the praise/shame thing is so ingrained in that delicate relationship. Throw in external pressure from schools/teachers other competitive kids and even kids who are otherwise healthy get pushed over the brink.
Pittsburghscribe: Mine is 15. When does the maturity kick in? I can’t stay emotionally engaged at the level that I was - I probably was either going to push him off the edge (rhetorically speaking) or go insane myself.