my dd 9 1/2 has been having Panic Attacks

[bitofcheese]

just wondered if anyone else on here has a child who has been having PA's? she has been having the odd one here or there (although getting worse) the last month, very upset about it. my life has been blighted by the bastards since i was very young and i am guessing she has heredited it from me. i never discussed the subject with her (my mental health) and she would never have known that i had had them (she knew nothing on the subject). just wondered. not sure how to deal with it as delicate situation. if it gets worse i guess i will ahve to go down the gp route with a view to some kind of therapy/cbt although i never had any, kind of got through it myself as they would pass after a spell (although always come back with a vengance at some point in my life). really rather miserable about it, got so bad as of late that it is hard going anywhere with her for fear of her 'having a turn', feel so helpless, can't bear the thought of her going through something so frightening and her not knowing what the fuck is going on, scary stuff

am bumping this for you.
No experience myself,but poor DD and poor you.
Hope you both get helpful advice.

ah thanks amillion :)

My niece (11) started to have panic attacks,and it turned out that she was being bullied at school. It might be worth trying to broach that subject.

no, she is really happy at school, popular type, she has been off school for 4 weeks and is always really happy/up kind of kid, these attacks have come from nowhere (the last few weeks). i sat down her her the other day and asked her if there was anything making her unhappy as i know all about PA's as well read on the subject having suffered with them off and on all my life so i am aware of the possible triggers. there doesn't have to be any. i myself have no reason to suffer from them and yet all my life from a very young age i have had bouts of them, i put it all down to my brain/serotonin or whatever it is, i don't even try and analyise mine anymore, they just 'are'. possibly the same for her, scary either way. if you could see/hear her now. such a happy confident upbeat child, you would not recognise the scared opposite person she can turn into from nowhere. i am really worried about it although no, she isn't aware, but inwardly i can't stop thinking about it. she is very different to me so i had hoped that my nervy side would not touch on her, it would appear the poor sod didn't get off so lightly :(

I really think you should take her to the dr. My dd is older and has recently had PAs but there is a reason and we are dealing with it.

You need to get to the bottom of it, whether it is something chemical or another reason. It would be awful for them to carry on when the dr may be able to help them stop.

When my ds was suffering from anxiety I found some really good coping tactics for children online.
As you suffer yourself I'm sure you know about controlling your breathing. One that really helped him was he wrote some simple short sentences on cards and carried them with him. When he felt the anxiety coming on he could read them and it helped focus his mind. He did about 6 and they said things like 'I feel unwell because I am anxious'
'this feeling will not last for ever' - helped him remember that it will pass.
'everyone feels anxious at some time' - this one was helpful for him as he thought he was the only one who felt like this.
'deep slow breathing'.
He said that they really helped him think when having an attack - instead of the panic taking over. After a while just knowing the cards where in his pocket helped him keep control.
Thankfully after speaking to me and his form tutor about how he was feeling he stopped getting them. Nothing really set it off for him. I just think it was puberty kicking in and everything suddenly more intense at school etc.

thanks snozzle, that was helpful. actually all the things your son wrote on the cards are pretty much exactly the things i was calmly telling her when she had them as i know all about it. oddly it has stirred in me the fear, bought it out of hiding so to speak, just seeing her this way, i guess i feel part guilt and it is also like watching me although when i went through it as a kid i was totally alone as noone had any idea or understanding (when i tried to tell them) what i was going through, even now my mother just doesn't get 'it' which i find really frustrating although unless you have experienced an attack it is truly hard to understand or know what it feels like, however much you may try to understand. you know, i think i will give the writing down on a card thing your son did a go with my dd. she shows absolutely no signs of anything being wrong at all, just sometimes when she is out in a restaurant she suddenly has that sick feeling and needing to go to the loo although those are pretty common symptoms i know some people get when going to a restaurant. i really don't think there is anything wrong with her causing these attacks, she shows no sign of anything, she is so happy and has a fab' life but yes, i don't know for sure. dr here i come if it keeps happening (for her, not for me! i am past help!!)

I hope this is sorted for her (and you) soon. Sounds like you're doing brilliantly supporting her through it. She's incredibly lucky to have you who understands what she's going through.

thanks alot snozzle, funny but i have mild anxiety since this has happened. she wrote a list about five minutes ago re your suggestion. i hope it helps her if she has another. she has admitted that she is nervous of going into a restaurant as she associates them (the fear) with restaurants, so bloody similar to me in the past, can't believe my dd has this, says alot about the brain, how someone can inherit something as opposed to learning to be like it. i NEVER discussed anything like this around her, never. she knew nothing on the subject etc, she just naturally seems to have my shitty brain!!! (although fortunately she seems to have inherited her fathers brainy part!!)

With regard to being nervous of restaurants, it was very similar with my ds. Only his place that set it off was school. So not so easy to avoid.
His became a viscious circle. Whatever made him anxious the first time at school made him feel ill so he then got panicky everyday about feeling sick at school, which made him panic and worry all the more. In the end I think that the worry of being sick at school was the sole cause of the anxiety. He's got a bit of a phobia about vomiting, but once we discussed what was making him feel sick he improved. I made him understand that it was highly unlikely that he was going to be sick.
Its good she can talk to you about how she feels. It definitely helped my ds. I helped him understand that its ok to be scared of situations and even the bravest if us are at some point.