Daughter having panic attacks- advice please!!

[Anonymous]

Hi op, my dd is 8 and hasn't had a full out panic attack yet, but is anxious and could potentially go there.

1) Sleep. Sleep is incredibly important for her to manage her anxiety. When does your dd go to bed and wake up? She might benefit from even 20 minutes of extra sleep.

2) protein and fat. When my dd eats too many empty carbs and not enough substantial food to balance it out, her anxiety can be harder for her to manage.

And like the others have said--get professional help while she's still young!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi op, my dd is 8 and hasn't had a full out panic attack yet, but is anxious and could potentially go there.

1) Sleep. Sleep is incredibly important for her to manage her anxiety. When does your dd go to bed and wake up? She might benefit from even 20 minutes of extra sleep.

2) protein and fat. When my dd eats too many empty carbs and not enough substantial food to balance it out, her anxiety can be harder for her to manage.

And like the others have said--get professional help while she's still young!

This is a great point! Yes, sleep! If I go to bed after a certain time, I feel awful the next morning and that just sets me up for a bad day.

[Anonymous]

Therapist.

Get her evaluated and take her to a therapist. Even if she will not open up to the therapist, the therapist can meet with you and give you advice. Different thing work for different kids.

When we saw signs of anxiety in our son it truss out it was just the tip of the iceburg.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Therapist.

Get her evaluated and take her to a therapist. Even if she will not open up to the therapist, the therapist can meet with you and give you advice. Different thing work for different kids.

When we saw signs of anxiety in our son it truss out it was just the tip of the iceburg.

What was he anxious about?

[Anonymous]

Clinician here who specializes in anxiety. Anxiety and panic attacks in a child can be caused by a lot of different triggers--excessive worry, OCD, social anxiety, phobias, etc.--so hard to know exactly what it could be without a full diagnostic workup. I'd definitely try to get a work-up done by an experienced child psychologist or psychiatrist who can try to pin down a diagnosis, if there is one. Websites for the Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA) and the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy (ABCT) are good places to start--they both have 'find a therapist' links.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I agree with the other advice to have her evaluated. My DD (also 10) was having panic attacks, and she's been much better since seeing a cognitive behavioral therapist at the Behavioral Therapy Center in Silver Spring. She went weekly and then bi-weekly for about four months.

[Anonymous]

My daughter needed medication it got so bad (6th grade). Complete turn around but bummed about this medicine being needed.

[Anonymous]

I'm reading Simplicity Parenting right now. There might be some good ideas in there with respect to your daughter. Having routines, plenty of time for herself, etc. It's geared a little younger but could still be applicable.

[funnysunny]

Cognitive behavioral therapy is the best! It helps even with the super-stressful life stages. I had panic disorder, and I started having panic attacks in my 15 years. Support and love of family, full life, outdoor recreation are very important. A person should know it's common and he can get help to deal with everything.