9 Year Old with Signs of Axiety

I don't have any experience with a child having panic attacks but I do have them myself from time to time. The only thing I can really tell you is, PLEASE get her some help NOW! These attacks are horrible. Your heart races, you can't breathe, it feels like the walls are closing in on you, and you have this terrible sense of doom like something horrible is about to happen. These attacks always made me miserable. The good news is that there is help out there. Counseling, medication, and self hypnosis. I personally like the self hypnosis. All I have to do now is tell myself one word in my mind. I say "relax" and I feel my whole body kinda fall. Everything just drops and completely relaxes. I'm not sure if this is something that would prove useful to you or not but it is worth a try. I would encourage quick help. I can sympathize with what she is going through and no child should ever have to feel that way. I'm so sorry that you are having to go through this. If you want more info about the self hypnosis I do, please drop me a line and I will explain it in detail. The term, self hypnosis, is kind of intimidating but all it really is, is a relaxation method. Good luck. Shannon

Hi there. I've not had this with one of my children but I remember having it myself. What was worse for me was that my parents thought it they ignored it that I'd stop. It was a very difficult time for me. Speaking only from my own experience I'd say it will pass. IMO if you are supportive and caring and listen to her fears you will help her through this. It's a stage, like monsters under the bed when they are 3 kwim? The idea of mortality is setting in. HTH!

Yes, years ago my daughter had a strong reaction to hearing of the death of her classmates parent. She benefited from some simple breathing techniques. Taking in a deep 'belly' breath, then slowly exhale completely- even pushing gently on tummy to help exhale. Then hold to a count of 3 or 4 before inhaling again. Do this at least 3 times to help calm herself. Also I highly recommend EFT-Emotional Freedom Technique- check it out on emofree.com, a simple tool for calming etc. that is likened to accupuncture without needles & is very effective. There are classes available-some free.

Hi R....my middle guy, who is 14, is a very "worried" child when it comes to health issues. When he hears about illnesses, conditions, or their symptoms...either at school or on the news...he almost always asks if I knew about it and thinks/asks, "Could it happen to me?" He had a dizzy spell in the middle of the night (all related to an inner ear infection) over the summer, and that really sent him over the edge, in a way. My husband took him to the ER because he was certain he was going to pass out. He suffered anxiety over the issue, getting a racing heartbeat that led to more dizziness, shortness of breath, etc. We ended up talking to the doctor about it during his school physical. She checked his heart, and after saying all was well and it was all about worrying, that settled things down quite a bit! I think all it took was a doctor (rather than old mom) saying he was pretty much a healthy kid to calm his fears. Good luck with your daughter, and I'm sure it will pass quickly!

Get her some help immediately. I suffered for for years with anxiety myself (still do upon occassion) particularily with the fear of death. Probably stemmed from the fact that i watched my younger brother die from cancer when we were kids. That being said, there is so much one can do to help with this issue. Unfortunately, my family was too wrapped up in greif to realize that I needed extra help, and quite frankly I really did not understand what was happening to me other than I thought I was loosing my mind. I was older than you daughter when I was going through this, but my younger sister had similiar issues at the same age as your daughter too. WE both are fine now, no meds, no counseling anymore, just had to work through it.

I was one of those kids. When I was growing up a neighbor had a heart attack and died and and abulance came and they took him out on a stretcher covered up...of course he died. When I was little, from that point on I was so afraid of death. My grandma watched me from the morning til I went to school then again after school. It seemed as though when ever we went out on the playground I heard sirens. Well, I would FREAK OUT! I would go inot the office and call my grandma to see if she was okay and still alive. I was so afraid of death. I have since gotten over it. I believe it is a stage but if you are extreamly bothered by it, she could talk to someone about her fears.