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[quote=Anonymous]Its the social anxiety. She has her best friend who I am assuming she has known since kindergarten bc that friendship was made before her anxiety kicked in. She needs either intensive therapy or medication, or both.

I would force her to do something that is more likely to make friendships. So many parents are afraid to push their anxious kids, but letting them crawl into their holes is the worst thing for them. Theater kids are notoriously welcoming and nonjudgmental and you can do stage crew to avoid the stage. Affinity groups like gay straight alliance also.

How about overnight camp? Maybe too late to find one, but its almost impossible not to make friends there. Maybe not school friends but will help her get over some of her fear. My other idea would be youth group at a church. I'm completely agnostic, but this is a place where the leaders will really push kids together.

I really do urge you to have her assessed via a psychologist as your first priority. But, I will add my final recommendation - and its a shallow one - is there anything physically that can help her gain confidence? Teens are shallow. Fashionable clothes and hair cut actually do help, if only for HER to gain some confidence. I have seen that some outcast kids in a school setting often dress like they are still in 5th or 6th grade, which doesn't doesn't invite positive attention. It certainly can't hurt to take one thing off her anxiety plate (looking different).[/quote]

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