It started out completely innocently. I had turned to Dr. Google to try to find something for work, but as often happens, a wormhole opened up and sucked me into the Land of Random. A click here, a search there, a few more clicky clicks and there it was. I found myself looking at a list of symptoms of Bipolar Disorder in children.
As I glanced at the list, I started to place a mental checkmark next to the things that applied to Alexis. Check. Check. Check. And . . . check. And . . OMG . . . check check check.
There was a whole lot of checks.
For a split second, I felt the raw edges of worry begin to seep into my brain. What if? Should I? Do I? Is she?
And then I took another look at the list.
Oppositional behavior. Yup, the kid has been known to do a few things I've told her not to do.
Frequent mood swings. OMG, yes. Alexis is the queen of Giggles Turned to Tears. I mean, it's all fun and games until the Bulldog looks at you wrong.
Silliness, goofiness, giddiness. Ding! Ding! Ding! The kid can't be serious for more than ten seconds at a time.
Restlessness, fidgetiness. Well, yeah, getting Alexis to sit still generally requires duct tape and bricks.
Grandiosity. Hmmm . . . yeah, if you ask Alexis to describe something, she usually exaggerate it a bit.
Impulsivity. Sure. I mean, Alexis has been known to blurt out things like, "Boys can't have ponytails!" after seeing a REALLY big guy who looked like he had just hopped off his Harley.
Distractibility. Oh, hell yes. All it takes is something sparkly or shiny or Jonas and the kid is all "Huh? What's the what?"
Hyperactivity. I imagine bouncing off the walls counts? If so, YES. YES. YES. Alexis is bouncier than a rubber ball on speed.
Thanks to Dr. Google, I now realize Alexis has Bipolar Disorder. Either that, or she's a COMPLETELY NORMAL FOUR-YEAR OLD.
Stupid Dr. Google.
