Hello bobie: I'm sorry your daughter is having such difficulty. Welcome to NeuroTalk. May the time you spend here be of benefit.

From my perspective, it's difficult to know if what you are observing is simply a combination of teenage angst plus the current focus kids nowadays have on their phone, or if this is a sign your daughter is actually struggling with a type of mood disorder. From my perspective at least there's a fine line that can potentially divide these two possibilities.

I'm primarily a member on NeuroTalk's sister website: PsychCentral. And I will tell you that the forums on PC are full of posts whose subject matter revolves around situations similar to your daughter's... most of the posts being written by the young people themselves... but occasionally by the parents too.

As I'm sure you are already painfully aware, there are no easy answers here. I wonder about possibly having your daughter seen by a school counselor or psychologist if her school has these types of professionals available. You could possibly also talk with her teachers. Perhaps you've already done so. Of course, you could also go straight for a mental health therapist not affiliated with your daughter's school. Realistically, though, in order for this to be of any real benefit, your daughter would need to be willing to do it. Trying to force her to participate in something like this is only likely to create dissension.

Sometimes it's helpful if there is something a parent & child can watch together that can serve as a starting point for discussion. There's an education writer named Parker J. Palmer. And, in one of his books, he refers to this as a "third thing". I don't know if either you, or your daughter, are familiar with California therapist Kati Morton. But Kati has a YouTube channel where she uploads videos on a wide variety of mental health topics. Kati is young & full of energy & very committed to helping young people, especially teenage girls & young women, to overcome emotional difficulties & mental health issues. Watching some of Kati's videos together might help the two of you to establish a conversation with regard to what's going on. By the way, Kati also has her own mental health website. If your daughter isn't familiar with it, she might check it out & find that to be of interest as well. Here's a link to Kati's YouTube channel. Your daughter can access Kati's website from her YouTube channel:

Kati Morton
- YouTube

Good luck!