My 7 year old daughter has started showing Anxiety. It has taken over her little life and I do not know what to do for her. She is so afraid of getting sick and having to go to the Dr. to God destroying the earth. She follows me around all day pointing to her body saying "Mommy why does this hurt today?" or " Mommy are snakes in my bed?" She is waisting her precious life worrying everday. School starts back up in a few months. She was a straight A student last year . These worries started the last week of school this past year. Im so concerned that she will be affected next school year. And that this will follow her the rest of her life. I took her to her Dr. ( she lost several pounds off her already small frame she was so worried about that appt.) The Dr. took it very lighty. Only getting close to my daughters face telling her to stop worring. Please Help
C.C.
Thank you for your question and welcome to AnxietyConnection.com.
I am sorry that your daughter is having a hard time right now. You were right to take her to the doctor, however, a diagnosis of anxiety normally requires symptoms to be present for several months. Since this is a new occurence, it would not be considered an anxiety disorder unless it continues.
Children frequently go through phases in which they worry or become scared but then it passes as they begin to feel more secure about their environment. I would suggest continuing to reassure your daughter and talking with her to determine what caused her to feel scared or insecure. It could be as simple as having seen something on television or overhearing something that she was not supposed to see or hear and is not able to process the information and has misinterpreted it. It could be not understanding something she has been taught, such as the story of Noah, in which God destroyed the world. Young children may take this as God will wave his hand and again destroy the world. They often take things out of context because they simply don't yet have the ability to see the whole picture.
In my experience, simple reassurances, without making too big of a deal about it, has helped in reducing childhood fears. If however, these fears do not go away or seem to get worse, you should take your daughter back to the doctor.
Eileen
Hey there
You say this started during the last week of school? Did something happen to trigger all the fears? Was she this worried previously?
May I ask...does anxiety run in the family? I know it does in mine. When I get anxious my youngest son really picks up on it and becomes anxious as well.
Is your daughter gifted? The questions she is thinking about...this is some high level stuff. I find that the smarter a child is...sometimes the more they worry. Also the more creative...the kids worry too because they can dream up more things to worry about. This is just my own opinion and absolutely not based in fact.
If this worry and anxiety is becoming disabling...that she is not enjoying things or is losing more weight or refusing to go to the doctor due to anxiety...then maybe looking into some counseling might not hurt. You are the parent and the expert here. Some things are phases and just natural curiosity. But if it reaches a point where the anxiety is affecting your daughter's day to day life for weeks or months on end then...trust your gut and get some help and support.
Hope this helps. Hang in there and if you need any more information or resources you just give a holler here.
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