Unintentional Lessons

So we all know that our children remember everything. Absolutely everything! And they will repeat it back to us or others at the most unfortunate times. Like bathroom stories retold at church. Or stories about our private lives shouted out during parent teacher conferences.

Well a few years ago the Cat was told by a friend about some abuse going on in her home. This friend was removed from the home and placed in another setting with family. The loss still haunts the Cat. And she remembers this event in VIVID detail.

An unintentional lesson was ingrained in the Cat at this moment.

Fast forward to present day. The Cat suffers from severe separation anxiety on top of her others challenges. So being away from me has been hard on her. It's been tough on me too, but we both know why she is there. I know I made the right choice, regardless of how much it hurts.

So the Cat doesn't want to be in the hospital anymore. She wants to come home. She tells me this everyday. Multiple times a day. It is not time for her to come home yet. She needs to get stable and learn some coping skills.

Apparently this does not coincide with the plans the Cat has. She decided she would take matters into her own hands. She was on an elevator with a male staff person. There are cameras everywhere in the hospital, to protect both the patients and the staff. The Cat starts screaming "STOP TOUCHING ME!"  Repeatedly. Nothing is calming her. Until the staff points out the camera and explains that the tape sees that no one is touching her.

This is completely new. The Cat has never done this before. EVER. So I a wracking my brain trying to figure out why she would do this. Is this some new symptom of behaviors? Is she having hallucinations? Was there something bugging her sensory wise that she couldn't express?  Where did this come from?

Remember that unintentional lesson... YEAH... not good.

The Cat remembered that lesson. She knew that when her friend said someone was touching her she got to go somewhere else. So in the mind of the Cat if she were to say someone was touching her then she would get to leave. She would get to come home. Understandable logic in her mind. Totally inappropriate to us...

So what do I do now? How do I get her to understand that she cannot do this?