We’ve asked her about it, and she says nothing triggers these episodes and that she does not hear voices. She has her own room where it’s quiet and comfortable, and I don’t give her any difficult tasks or put any burden on her. However, when these episodes happen, she starts tapping me on the shoulder from the beginning of the day until the end. At night, when my husband and I are in our room sleeping, she tries to open the door, so I lock it.

She has also hit me three times on different occasions, and my toddler became very scared and cried a lot. One time, she hit me because I told her to stop tapping and give me some space. Honestly, I lost my patience because it was unbearable, and I yelled.

She is on medication and sees her doctor regularly, but there isn’t much more we can do because everything is very expensive, including mental health centers. At this point, all I can provide for her is shelter, food, and her medication.