DD (13) has been having a tough time and has developed quite severe anxiety about school. She's been seeing a counsellor and school have started to put a few things in place so I was hoping things would improve.
She normally perks up in the holidays and is much more cheerful but has been really down this weekend. One of the only positive things she ever has to say about school is that she likes her friends. However an issue has arisen recently. This year (Y8) she had settled into a nice group of friends - a couple from primary school and a couple of new friends. Unfortunately there are five of them in the group and recently they have started pairing off sometimes. DD says she is always the one left out. She always thought she was especially close to one of the girls but this week apparently this girl started up a conversation of "who do you like best in this group?" (that was never going to go well) and she then said a child other than my DD in front of her.
I know friendship issues are incredibly common for this age but they have always bypassed DD before and she doesn't know how to deal with it. Given her already fragile state of mind I was hoping for advice in how to support her. I have suggested she is just reading too much into it and asked her to talk to them but she says she absolutely cannot do that. I have persuaded her to try a hobby that her younger sister does after Easter, so I'm hoping that will help her mix with more people.
I was really hoping the holidays would be a chance for her to relax away from school but now she is worrying about friendships instead.
Grateful for advice from anyone who has been through it. Maybe it's just best to stay out of it.