She has always had problems going to sleep. Since been about 10. She suffers from anxiety and has had several camhs referrals but nothing has really helped she just lives with it. During the first referral they insisted it was down to screen time and we immediately implemented the rule of no phone after 9pm. Did this for about 6 weeks and I'm sure those of you with difficult teens will understand the tantrums this caused! Nevertheless we stuck with it but it actually made her worse. She dreaded the nights because she knew we were taking her phone and still didn't sleep properly and was so angry every night it upset the whole household.
Any moving on from that she gradually got the phone back and told me it helped her as she read stories on it and as soon as she felt sick it distracted her etc etc. A few years passed and she was ok to a certain extent. She still told me she was awake til the early hours but she got up for school ok and it didn't effect her.
But fast forward to now something has changed and she cannot sleep hardly at all. Shes got herself into this cycle of using the phone as a prop to get herself to sleep but it's not working. She says as soon as she puts it down she physically gips and cant lay in bed and relax to sleep at all. She's coped over the holidays as she's eventually fallen asleep at 5am ish and been able to lie in but now shes back at school. Yesterday she told me she had had no sleep for 48hrs and is falling asleep in lessons. Her teachers all know she is struggling. Then she got up to go to the toilet at school, was really dizzy and when she came back she practically passed out. She had to get first aiders to her and was sent home. I took her to gp and of course I know they judge me and ask what she is doing on her phone all night, just put it down. The gp gave her some antihistamines that will make her drowsy. I have no idea if they have helped yet as I dont want to go into her yet. I told her she has to help herself and if she doesn't i will have to cancel her phone altogether but she threatens to kill herself and run away etc etc. She wont physically give me the phone and last time her dad tried to get it off her he had to physically wrestle her to the floor which you cannot be doing with a child that age. She says the phone is in night mode and has shown me how dark the screen is so its not the brightness that stops her sleeping it's all this vicious circle. Help and sorry that's so long!