Does anyone have experience of this and could offer some advice or a handhold? DS is 15, in Yr 11. Bright boy, doing well at school and mostly predicted 7s and 8s in his GCSEs. He's had periods of anxiety on and off throughout his life, he was a very very anxious toddler and when starting school, settled down until about Yr 4/5 when hormones started kicking in, has been pretty much OK the last few years but always an underlying tendency to worry, especially regarding his health.
We have done our very best over the years to support him and give him tools to build his resilience and cope with life in the real world. He's doing amazingly well and growing into a thoughtful mature young man.
Over the last few weeks he's been describing what I think are classic signs of a panic attack. Feeling light headed, chest pains, difficulty breathing. We've had him checked out at the GP and physically he is strong fit and healthy. We have talked about breathing techniques which he learned when at Junior School.
I think he feels embarrassed and frustrated by these symptoms, he says he doesn't feel stressed but of course there is huge pressure in Yr 11 and its bound to have an impact. I have yesterday contacted school via his mentor who has responded and will pass the information on to the school's pastoral care team. In the meantime I would welcome any advice and support from anyone who has been through this with their child.