Its so hard with kids. Its hard enough for an adult to understand why they have anxiety, and for kids....even though they must be super intelligent and deep thinkers to have developed anxiety at such a young age...they don't really have the level of thinking that is required to "get it" and to change their thinking patterns. Their anxiety comes more from internal emotions.....feelings....that they can't often put into words. We are all born the kind of people to have negative reactions to things, but when we are young, we aren't able to always put words to those feelings. Its more of just a gut response as opposed to a thoughtful reaction. I don't know, its hard to explain.
But my nephew developed anxiety when he was about 6, and I pretty much freaked out because I didn't want him to develop the disorder the way that I did. It ruined my life for a good full year at the least. And I knew that even though he was so smart, I couldn't explain it away for him. I couldn't keep talking to him about it until he had that "epiphany" moment and realized that it was coming from his own thoughts and feelings and stress level.
What I did, was just not make a big deal about it. He told me about the symptoms he was having....racing thoughts, and hearing "voices" and just feeling really keyed up all the time...this and a sick stomach and headaches is often how it manifests in kids.....and I gave him a brief explanation about what was going on so he understood he wasn't going crazy or anything...and then I calmly told him that the answer was to rest and slow down his life and lay off the video games and anything that was too stimulating for him.....and because he was so young...he just trusted that he was going to be okay and he did what I told him to do and the anxiety went away. And now when his symptoms come back....he is 12 now....he never freaks out about it because he believes its just as I told him....a response to stress and that he has the power to control it. It doesn't scare him. So his young age and his inability to dive to deeply into what was going on with him, I think was actually a saving grace for him. Now that he is older and he IS able to dissect it a bit more, he doesn't because he was exposed to it at such a young age and he has been down the road and he really feels able to get it back under control.
We adults are able to really over think things and that is why our anxiety disorders tend to stick around and get worse.
Every kid is different though. Your child could have anxiety for different reasons. Something stressful could have happened that she may not want to talk about...or she could have a more serious case than my nephew had because she may just be an extremely sensitive child. My neighbor's kids have anxiety as well and they are a lot more sensitive than my nephew so their problems have been a lot longer lasting and more difficult to get under control.
I think the therapist is a great idea and my advice to you would be to just not make a big deal out of it. I would be very matter of fact about it when talking about it with her. Make sure she knows that anxiety is very common and that it means she is special because only very smart, creative children get anxiety disorders. :) And make sure she knows that she is a strong girl who will get through it. And I would definitely give her an unstimulated environment. No wild TV shows or video games and I would make sure she rests a lot....as much as a kid will rest....and that you just let her know you are there for her.
Hope that helps. Its so hard to see kids going through this.

What do you think is wrong with you that you want to have her medicated for?

wrong with her**

I think maybe mum and dad need medication? they're putting their disorder onto the child. The child can't be presumed to have it for real, it could easily be a learned behaviour: "this is how people are supposed to react to things going wrong".


If the child learns bad techniques she will fail to gain results, and will therefore lock down and continue a failed method with failure being the result.

I agree, do not make a big deal of it, and work with their perspective first. In order to give them the tools to handle anxiety naturally, let them tell you what is different. Then offer the simple idea of slow down and rest. That allows their brain and body to reset at a better level naturally.

There is nothing wrong with having anxiety. Anxiety is natural. It is part of our safety wiring, and sensitivity is part of the safety wiring as well.

There is heredity evidence of shared markers for active anxiety levels in families, and knowing the symptoms are shared by others often leads to normal reaction of situation management skills. This provides the individual with confidence in handling it better when the symptoms occur at a later time.

Teaching young people natural ways to offset their anxiety is a great tool to share. Relax, enjoy, and appreciate the special memory you are creating with your grandchild. It makes a huge difference!

Best wishes!