Dd diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder - now what?

[Anonymous]

My 8 year old daughter was just diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. I'm overwhelmed with the diagnosis. Can anyone share their stories? Prognosis? Advice? If you had known then What you know now? Books? Websites? Support groups?

Also, how can schools help? We are in FCPS.

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Have you tried looking into cognitive based therapy? Our 8 year old is also anxious and depressed and it seems yo be helping.

[Anonymous]

Who diagnosed your child? Did they include a report with their assessment or a debrief? Start there for specific ways to help your kid.

CHADD often does online classes. Many kids with ADHD have anxiety as well, so there will probably some overlap.

[Anonymous]

Highly recommend cognitive behavioral therapy!

[Anonymous]

Any kind of "mindfulness" training (basically a fancy new word for meditation) or cognitive behavioral therapy is helpful. I'll get slammed for this, but getting my anxiety-ridden SN kids into an active church youth program was the best medicine. Prayer and belief in a higher order of things can really put a child's mind to ease. One DC had a really tough week; we took her to visit with our healing ministries and she has had such a good week!

[Anonymous]

As for how schools can help, it all depends upon whether the anxieties affect the learning. In my DD's case, the stress of the general education classroom--with its sensory overstimulation and academic demands--just gets overwhelming at times, and she acts out. The GAD diagnosis is one factor in her IEP, and she has some specific behavioral goals related to developing positive coping strategies.

[Anonymous]

GAD is very manageable. Research strongly supports CBT-based interventions and heaven knows we can all benefit from building better anxiety coping skills.

I recommend the book Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents. It offers excellent practical advice for parents and a workbook for kids.

I also recommend CBT, preferably with a therapist who specializes in helping kids with anxiety. Alvord, Baker has a very good group intervention called the Resilience Builder program. It's small groups (4-6 kids), all boys or all girls, grouped by grade level. Our DC has learned a lot of great skills through this program and I highly recommend it.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I hope you listen carefully to what I'm about to say.

It is incredibly important for you to find out if the GAD is the root problem or a symptom of a different problem. Kids who have learning disabilities and attention issues also have anxiety but if you treat the anxiety without looking for the root cause then you will run around in circles for years and never solve the problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hope you listen carefully to what I'm about to say.

It is incredibly important for you to find out if the GAD is the root problem or a symptom of a different problem. Kids who have learning disabilities and attention issues also have anxiety but if you treat the anxiety without looking for the root cause then you will run around in circles for years and never solve the problem.

Excellent point!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hope you listen carefully to what I'm about to say.

It is incredibly important for you to find out if the GAD is the root problem or a symptom of a different problem. Kids who have learning disabilities and attention issues also have anxiety but if you treat the anxiety without looking for the root cause then you will run around in circles for years and never solve the problem.

Excellent point!

True, but even if you know which LDs your kid has and they also have anxiety, you can still be running around in circles.

[Anonymous]

Don't be overwhelmed OP. Everything will be ok. GAD is essentially someone saying she has anxiety and perhaps sometimes difficulty managing that anxiety. It's not a true disorder and, as a grown up who likely had his as a child, I am a stronger, wiser, and deeper person because of it. If you can, perhaps acknowledge her anxiety, but don't necessarily call it GAD to her. It's really just a way for MD to bill and code. She doesn't need to feel disordered, but just needs love and support in learning how to regulate and manage her own feelings. You can't do it for her, but you can be calm, unflappable, loving, and have high expectations for her and of her. She'll be ok. And if you are ever having trouble managing your way through with her or about this in general, see someone yourself too so that you can focus on her, not your anxiety about her anxiety, if that makes sense. Make sure you find an excellent therapist for her - not one who rushes to medicate etc. I agree with other regarding CBT. It's going to be ok, I promise. I've been there and she's going to turn out great. Big hugs.

[Anonymous]

I have GAD & Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) has been very effective.

[Anonymous]

Congratulationa, your child is probably highly intelligent and self-motivated- but her inner critic and fear of failure are fueling the anxiety. Definitely go for DBT treatment. Britt Rathbone's group in Bethesda is great.

Almost everyone on the planet will develop low level GAD or depressive symptoms at some point in response to general existential angst- even at 8. Learning how to manage it now will be a gift for her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hope you listen carefully to what I'm about to say.

It is incredibly important for you to find out if the GAD is the root problem or a symptom of a different problem. Kids who have learning disabilities and attention issues also have anxiety but if you treat the anxiety without looking for the root cause then you will run around in circles for years and never solve the problem.

Excellent point!

True, but even if you know which LDs your kid has and they also have anxiety, you can still be running around in circles.

???

I disagree. If you have the info then you can't run around in circles unless you are dealing with incompetence. That's a different story.

[Anonymous]

For our 8 yo with anxiety - We started with weekly child-centered play therapy sessions, and added in Zoloft after 8 months. While the play therapy has helped, the meds made a bigger immediate impact and our child has noticed a major improvement as has her teachers. I wish we had started medication earlier but it took a while to figure out the exact diagnosis.