My daughter is 34 years old and has an aquired Brain Injury

[JenW]

My daughter is 34 years old and has an aquired Brain Injury. At the age of 25 she developed depression and believes that this male person is going to come and meet her. It all started 5 years ago when she was chatting to this boy on RSVP and he said all these wonderful things to her but over time he didn't want to have anything to do with her. She became processed and stalked this boy, he begged her to leave him alone and has blocked her from ever contacting him. My daughter believes he loves her and will come and see her she has even friended some stranger on Facebook which clearly is a scam but she believes it is him pretending to be someone else. This has been going on for 5 years every week she says he is coming, she will not go on holidays because she thinks he is coming. I just don't know what to do as when I tell her he is not real she becomes suicidal and has attempted on one occasion or has self harmed. The Doctors say she is not hurting anyone and to just go along with it. I am now very scarred after this Facebook insadent anyone could take advantage of her. I just don't know what to do. I can not leave her alone which means I and her father are house bound and can not go on holidays because she refuses to come with us. 

[Jacko777]

Hi JenW,

Welcome to the Beyond Blue forums, I am glad you have posted and I am sorry to hear about the challenging times you are going through. I think others on this site will have experienced a similar situation and will have advice and support. Please don't hesitate to ring the BB phone service for some professional advice and support.

I am wondering what other steps towards recovery your daughter's doctors have suggested. Would your daughter to refuse to go out for a few hours? I wonder if some small steps, like a visit to the park, could lead up to a holiday. I also wonder if one day her thoughts about this stranger can be replaced with some thoughts about something else that is positive, over time she can refocus on to something that is of benefit to her. Is she able to take part in other interests, hobbies? Sorry, I have little experience with this myself and I have little to offer, however I send you both much love and I hope you can find some new tactics soon.

Jack

[White_Rose]

Dear JenW

Welcome to the Beyond Blue community. I hope I can give you some assistance.

Have your contacted Open Minds? This is a community support program for people with ABI. I understand they work with people in their own homes. If you live in Qld there is Acquired Brain Injury Outreach Service (ABIOS). You can also contact Brain Injury Australia (BIA)  which has branches in all states.

You may of course already be in contact with one or more of these organisations. These are the sort of places I would think that can offer you the most effective support and advice. BIA also has a legal service specifically for people with ABI. I may be useful to contact them.

I can appreciate your concern about your daughter and her fixation, but I do not have any suggestions about this, except to check out the legal aspects.

Is it possible to have a live-in carer so that you can go on holiday? Can you find a carer to help with the day to day care of your daughter? The above organisations can assist with this sort of thing.

I hope my comments are useful.

Mary