Anxiety Disorders in Children Support Group
Childhood","This community is for parents and caregivers of children who exhibit signs of anxiety. Anxiety refers to a complex combination of negative emotions that includes fear, apprehension and worry, and is often accompanied by physical sensations such as palpitations, nausea, chest pain and/or shortness of breath."
Hello, i am a mother of two children a 12 year old girl without anxiety and a 8 year old boy with anxiety. I am a stay at home mom and have been for 13 years my husband and i both have anxiety as well.when my son was a baby he was always throwing up big time, so he has always had a sensative tummy. My son has always been very close to me when he started preschool the teacher didn't want me to stay with him even though he was freaking out he was screaming for me with his arms outstreached and i had to leave, i have to wonder if that didn't start this because he never has warmed up to school. He was always kind of a loner in preschool and kindergarden and even now he only has a select few friends. He rides the school bus for about 45 minutes in the morning and 45 minutes in the afternoon. He only rides the bus when his sister is on the bus with him so he always has her but it seems like just about every morning he wakes up and lays on his dad until it's time to get dressed and when i tell him to do that then he starts crying and saying his tummy hurts and that he doesn't feel well, i never know if he is actually is sick or if it's anxiety. He has already missed about 16 days this year so far and i just don't know what to do for him anymore. I took him to the drs. a few weeks ago to see if they had any ideas for me but she didn't listen to me at all just made me feel like a bad mom because he hasn't been eating breakfast in the mornings but that is his choice not mine i offer food to him in the mornings and then he starts to gag just at the thought and she has the nerve to tell me to feed him, anyhow how am i suppose to feed a child who is throwing up before he even takes a bit? i have tried getting him to meditate and he has seen a therapist but he can only see him about once a month if that, so we didn't think that was helping him much. i don't want to put him on drugs. i need some ideas on how to make mornings easier around here for all of us.
Just wanted to say, I am sorry for what your family is going through. First off, I would make sure your son does not have any underlying gastrointestinal issues, just for peace of mind. Ask for a referral to a ped GI dr for some follow up testing. Once that is ruled out and you are sure to be dealing with anxiety, the next step is to be sure to have firm diagnoses for your kids, supportive doctors and effective therapists to work with them. First off, it sounds like your primary care dr/pediatrician is NOT a good fit! Find someone who is, who supports you and your family. Life is too short to deal with crappy, unsympathetic drs. Get your kids into Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. You should see some results within 3 months. If you don't, find a new therapist. If you don't see some decent results within 3 more months, or if things continue to get worse, you may need to consider meds. After years of therapy, my DDs biggest improvement came from adding in the smallest dose of SSRI meds. I do wish we would have considered this sooner. She did miss out on a lot of childhood happiness, socialization and maturity from ages 9-12. She is now having to catch up and is behind her peers, entering high school.
Next up, is to get something worked out with the school. Once you have a formal diagnosis, have your specialist dr (child pyschologist, phychiatrist, neuropyschologist) write up a report with recommendations for accomodations that the school provide to your son to help him manage his anxiety and to manage the nausea/empty stomach in the AM. You should seek a 504 Plan to accomplish this.
Good luck...
be careful of Dr`s and what you say because of social services.
Ok peppermint natural or tablket takes acid from stomach stopping being sick and as we know anxiety causes acid in the stomach, you can get peppermint very cheaply from chemists or health shops etc.
2 litres of water a day with a pinch of sea salt helps.
getting magnesium from chemist short term use (takk to chemist) as stress depleats this in us all and we need it back, obviously relaxing music walking etchelp.
if you believe in God prayer helps.
All these things together have really helped me but the benzo family diazepam etc have been a cause of much distress throughout my life.
This is all my opinion, i am not a Dr I have just studied a lot through my own trauma.
God bless and I will pray for you.
My daughter is 12 and has terrible anxiety so the nights before are awful at bed time and then mornings are worse she is in slow motion doing everything she can to miss the bus. Medication has made a difference for her and she is really monitored. I would get a new therapist too. My daughter sees a counselor and therapist as well as, the counselor in school. Hopefully the schools stakeholders are supportive because I noticed rewards and incentives with school and teachers getting involved have made a difference. We found out my daughter was being bullied and felt so lonely and that was just at school. I wish you all the luck and I am so sorry that you and your family are suffering from this. I totally understand and you are not alone. I started calling the anxiety Monday-itis because that is where it all began one Monday morning!!! Good luck to you and your family!
The younger one had lots of digestive issues esp. Until he was finally diagnosed w all his allergies. And there are lots of them. He also has acid reflux, so his tummy will hurt sometimes from that too.
We took him to an allergist, pediatric gastroenterologist (who did an endoscopy), and still sees an ENT.
Both boys take 1mg of melatonin to help fall asleep, and older one takes Omega3 gummies. They really have helped w his symptoms.
My oldest w anxiety also has an IEP plan at school, just in case, and goes to social skills w others like him.
If your son has trouble w one certain area at school (cafeteria, noise in classroom, test-taking), having a 504 or IEP will give staff ways to help him more.
Good luck!
Did you end up trying meds or has something else worked? Thanks.