Anxiety and not acting age

[Dodie1970]

Well, there is a long back story to this that I can't go into now really. I just wanted to find out if anyone else has this situation, along with other issues that anxiety can produce.... Our daughter is 15 and has suffered with severe social anxiety since starting secondary, low self-esteem and confidence. This manifests itself in various heartbreaking ways and it has been the toughest few years ever. She is going through yet another phase of acting like she is 8 and it's really hard to deal with. I don't want to hurt her feelings but we can't allow this to continue. I am sure she doesn't act like this at school but really it's not great..... She asks ridiculous questions, waves at us from across the room, stares at you and then pulls a funny face. etc, etc... you get the idea !? Does anyone else have this and what do you do ?

Take her out of School? I always wonder why parents with kids who don’t like School put themselves through that battle? Don’t mean to sound harsh but I have genuinely seen loads of cases on TV etc where the kids are desperate not to go to School to the point the whole family’s life revolves around it.
To me it seems easier to take them out and let them turn out into who they want to be?

Dodie, My dd is also 15- nearly 16 has some serious mental health difficulties that she is having therapy for.

Despite being very bright and articulate, she sometimes 'acts young' too. The therapist has said to go with it. I'd be asking myself in your situation, what is she trying to tell me when she acts like this? You could try asking your dd what she is trying to say. I'd try and be a bit more patient with this as there could be something underlying the behaviour that needs exploring.

Now, when my dd acts like this I ask her if she'd like a hug. She usually does!!

The following link talks about pschoanalytic ideas about emotional regression.
www.betterhelp.com/advice/psychologists/understanding-regression-psychology/

I'm not a psychologist but know that a lot of Freud's theories are disputed. Nonetheless, there may be real reasons why your dd is acting this way.

Perhaps someone else will be along with more advice.

Good luck.