Anxiety

In our family, we not only hear this word every day, we live it every day.  It has become part of our lives.  It’s not something that we asked for, nor wanted, but nevertheless, it’s here and I don’t see it leaving any time soon.

Our daughter (who just turned 15) was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder a couple of years ago.

It’s been kind of like a daily roller coaster ride.  There are ups and downs and lots of turns and twists just to get through the day sometimes.

I must admit that there is still a lot I need to learn about anxiety.  Although I feel anxious at different moments, I don’t think I really understood how debilitating it can be and how it can impact sometimes simple functions that you engage in every day.

To be honest, this has been frustrating for me many times as a parent.  Anyone who is raising teenagers, knows that they naturally test you.  They are very self-absorbed and it can be confusing as a parent to distinguish the “real” times of need because of anxiety or when we are just dealing with regular mood swings.

One eye opener for me was when I went into my daughter’s room one day.  I was wondering why she was still laying in bed and not getting up.  She said she couldn’t and then I saw how badly her body was shaking.  She was unable to move in that moment.  The compassionate side of me took over and tried to help the best I could.  When I looked into her eyes, I felt sad and helpless.  I knew I would do anything to help her , but I just always don’t know how.

I  am still learning about anxiety and each day is different.  With time and effort, we will find our way through and hopefully we will be stronger because of it.