Reply to Is your child currently taking anxiety meds or doing therapy? If so, have you noticed a difference?

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Reply to "Is your child currently taking anxiety meds or doing therapy? If so, have you noticed a difference?"

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[quote=Anonymous]DD (7) has been in therapy for about a year and a half. She has significant anxiety, but we and her therapist don't believe that it rises to the level that it interferes with daily life activities and requires meds (yet - we will continue to re-evaluate as needed).  To be honest, I'm not 100% convinced that the therapist has made a noticeable difference in anxiety - well, DD is better than she was before therapy, but it's been a long, slow process and I don't know if I can contribute it all to therapy.  It has helped DD recognize her patterns and behaviors and to think more objectively about her anxieties. Also, DD is very open with her therapist and they are able to discuss things that DD won't necessarily bring up to me. So, if nothing more, I believe that having a trusted adult to share and work through feelings with is valuable.  They typically talk through play, sometimes with puppets, or they talk while playing a board game. She also has a game that involves pictures of faces displaying different emotions, which helps channel discussion and observations about feelings.

We have a book called What to Do When You Worry Too Much that DD really responded to. It's a workbook for parent and child to work through together, and it has activities like drawing pictures and making lists. The book primarily talks about worriers (will mom come back for me? will we get hit by a bus?), which doesn't describe my DD. However, DD really got a lot out of working through the book with me and I think it helped the two of us connect and talk more openly.  We also work on breathing and relaxation techniques at night. For example, she'll lay down in bed and I'll tell her to clinch every one of her muscles as tight as she can, squeeze your arms, squeeze your fingers, more more hold, and now take a deep breath IN and when you exhale, start to relax each one of your muscles. Take another breath IN, and exhale relaxing even more. Feel your arms sinking into the mattress, your legs are loose and droopy like butter melting all over the bed, etc. etc. Kind of guided relaxation I guess. It really helps her relax and get out of that keyed up state, plus it's something she really enjoys doing with me, kind of like our version of a lullaby, I guess.

Best wishes, OP. 
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