Not sure how to deal with teenage daughter

[spongebob123]

I have a 17 yo daughter who had selective mutism as small child, she seems to have outgrown this but still suffers from social anxiety disorder and bouts of depression which only seems to get worse. I'm at my wits end with her as she wont get her self a job because of her fear of meeting new people and phoning people. She has no friends and spends days without leaving the house. also she obsessively worry's about things to the point where it makes her physically sick. She is always miserable and the other day i noticed cuts on her arm, i dont want to confront her about this because it only makes matters worse. i want to help her but im not sure how, so any advice would be appreciated

[HaitchJay]

Does she have any support?

[spongebob123]

She when to counseling a few years back, hated it and refuses to go back. GPs not much good, he just prescribes her different drugs which she wont take. Its difficult because she refuses to admit there's a problem :(

[Flosie1989]

Ah I'm sorry to hear that you are having trouble with your DD. have you tried going out just the two of you in an evening or at a weekend? To the cinema, a picnic, dinner, shopping or whatever. It might get her more confident in leaving the house and being in social situations. I think in this case small steps at a time will be better. So for example, if you were to go to the cinema you could give her the money and ask if she could go and get the tickets whilst you go to the loo. Little things like this will build up her confidence when speaking to people she doesn't know.

Eventually she may be able to hold a conversation with a stranger and then possibly think about getting a job etc. I remember there was a time when we'd go out for family meals and I'd be too shy to tell the waiter what I wanted from the menu! I had to get a family member to do it.

Do you have any pets? If you have a dog it could be her duty to go out and walk the dog.

Does she go to college or anything?

[TeenProbsSolved]

Sounds really tough for you both
Is your daughter into anything or intimated that she is...riding, sailing, walking, anything? Certainly the myopic lifestyle will feed the depression so sorting that would be a good starting point
When did she leave school and what were her relationships like there? Were there/are there and key people in her life?