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Anxiety Disorder, Social Phobia, Seperation Anxiety and Oppositional Defiance Disorder

Neely - posted on 03/10/2009 ( 2 moms have responded )

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I have been divorced for a little over a year. Due to the divorce I lost my house and had to move back to my hometown. My husband tried to kill me and all of my children heard/witnessed it. My almost seven year old has been diagnosed with all of the above. Could all of this be due to the fact that she was such a huge daddy's girl? She has always had anxieties (ie, won't be in parades, doesn't like to go 'trick or treating' etc etc) but it has gotten to where I can't leave the house because she has such major anxiety about going places...15 minutes in and out of the bathroom....it is hard as a single mom. I have her in counciling, she sees the school councilor monthly, she is in a "self esteem" group in the school. She is bright, articulate, creative, and so darn smart! I don't know how to get through this. So many people in our church are praying for us. Sometimes I tell myself that these are just 'big words" and that I don't need to worry. I don't want her medicated and that is where everyone is pointing.

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2 Comments

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Kaleigh - posted on 03/15/2009

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She's right medication is there for a reason, if its needed then you aren't "medicating" her it'll actually help. Just have good communication with the doctor(s) and make sure you've exhausted all other options first. If medication is prescribed make sure you're informed and that she still has counselling or something (medication alone won't solve the problems) Try to figure out wether it was caused by the situation or if its a genetic disorder, etc, that'll make a big difference in the diagnosis, a doctor can assess her in that way. Oh and make sure you're getting second(third,fourth) opinions before you accept the diagnosis completely. My son may have been misdiagnosed and I'm waiting to see a specialist to see what the damage is, not to be paranoid just trust your gut and be aware that not only do many disorders appear the same but that sometimes doctors make mistakes. If she was traumatized I'd be looking more into PTSD if I were you just because that seems to be a lot of labels for one person and ptsd is often comprised of many symptoms. If doesnt matter what the label is, ignore that, you just need to find the right treatment for whatever the core issue is. Best of luck.

Christy - posted on 03/12/2009

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Hi Neely,



I am sorry to hear that you have so much on your plate. As a social worker and mental health clinician, I can say from experience that sometimes medication is a life saver for children and is needed. You are right; these are just labels. However, they are labels to help doctors treat the problem. Often times, treatment involves medication. I would say to keep an open mind and yes, medication is a last resort, but if things aren't improving with just counselling, you may need to consider medication and counselling. sometimes, often times these conditions are genetically based-inherited...and medication can be very useful. Hope that helps. Also, these conditions aren't your daughter...they are just something that she struggles with. They don't define her, and she may not struggle with them throughout her life. They may pass. Good luck.

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