I am a NP and I am kinda jumping in here to ask 2 questions since I have a 7yr old who has mild anxiety but it seems to creep up more and more.

1. What point do you feel the anxiety got so bad that you needed to look outside basic help books and try and manage it outside the home?

2. Did your child get more anxious about seeing the therapist and his/her perception of themselves? My main concern is therapy for someone that might not really need it would backfire and they would think they are "different" or "not normal."

Thanks - I really appreciate it. My youngest is so different from my others. She is so smart, so well spoken to adults, leads with kids, accepts and plays with any friends, loves the spotlight most of the time. But other times, she is so clingy, needy, always has a pain/injury, and will sometimes completely blow off her friends and acts nervous. She does ask anxious type questions sometimes but she doesn't seem to dwell on it. She is night and day sometimes. She does have mild SPD but I wonder if that causes some anxiety or she does certain SPD behavior, to relieve anxiety.

I also have an 8 year old DD with anxiety. We recently started seeing a therapist. Medication hasn't come up, and it's still early (one month). The biggest difference I see is how I am handling my reactions to her anxiety. I've learned strategies to help her and avoid myself making it worse. Hoping she'll open up more to therapist in the weeks to come, but even if she doesn't I feel it's been worth it. When she was younger we also used the What to Do When you Worry too Much workbook and found it useful.

Another book I'm reading and discussing with the therapist is Freeing your Child from Anxiety. Tons of practical (and some not so practical) suggestions. I like that there are enough ideas you can find the ones that will work for you/your child, it's not a one size fits all approach.

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.

Anonymous wrote:You'll likely get more responses in the SN Forum. But, here goes. We had to put my DS on Prozac when he was in 3rd grade because his anxiety/worries were interfering with his ADL (Activities of Daily Life). It was a tough decision but we had tried working with a CBT therapist and it wasn't helpful. While in a calm state, he could talk about the tools available to reduce anxiety, plan what he would do, etc. Yet, he was unable to access those tools/strategies because the anxiety would be upon him and in control of him before he could do anything.

He was on it for about 9 months and it absolutely made a significant, positive difference. He still had anxiety but the medication allowed him to control it rather than it control him. He's now in 8th grade and has not been on the medication since 3rd grade. Without hesitation, I would make it available to him. It's going to be a lifelong challenge for him and there should be no shame in using it any more than using blood pressure medication.

Very similar to our experience. Also look into Collaborative Counseling Center in Columbia.

You'll likely get more responses in the SN Forum. But, here goes. We had to put my DS on Prozac when he was in 3rd grade because his anxiety/worries were interfering with his ADL (Activities of Daily Life). It was a tough decision but we had tried working with a CBT therapist and it wasn't helpful. While in a calm state, he could talk about the tools available to reduce anxiety, plan what he would do, etc. Yet, he was unable to access those tools/strategies because the anxiety would be upon him and in control of him before he could do anything.

He was on it for about 9 months and it absolutely made a significant, positive difference. He still had anxiety but the medication allowed him to control it rather than it control him. He's now in 8th grade and has not been on the medication since 3rd grade. Without hesitation, I would make it available to him. It's going to be a lifelong challenge for him and there should be no shame in using it any more than using blood pressure medication.

Go to KKI in Columbia. We take our 6 year old there and the therapist has really helped him and helped us in how to deal with his anxiety. Plus they take insurance!

I think we are headed down this path with my son (8 years old). Very anxious and fearful little kid and it has reached a point where we can't help him manage his worries.

I really don't like the idea of medication but if it will help him, I will try it.

If your child is getting help, can you tell me in what form and if it is working?

Also - any therapist recommendations for Montgomery or Howard County would be great.