One in six U.S. children, aged 6 to 17, have a treatable mental health disorder such as depression, anxiety problems or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
If you told me that my child would excel in sports, piano, cello, guitar, art, and even card tricks, well, I am ready to accept my Dad DNA Gene Pool Parent of the Year Award. My wife would attempt to take the award, but I flip the channel to The Gilmore Girls, and I quickly get to the stage first.
If you also told me that this same child would be so stricken with anxiety over south Florida storms, they would fake sickness, injury, interest in everything they ever excelled in, I would have said, impossible. And yet it happened.
Like so many, one of my children struggled with anxiety from 9 years old to 13ish. None of my other children did, and so it was new to our family, and truthfully we didn't recognize the early signs when they were struggling because, in every area of life, they excelled.
Some of you reading this are in the middle of it, wondering if there is hope. I want to help you as much as I can. Let me start by saying I wish we would've done some things differently.
Here are a few steps in the journey we missed and wished we hadn't about fear and anxiety:
Listen Better: What may seem minor to adults is massive to a child.
Take it Seriously: It's not always their big overactive imagination.
Find a Pro: You are not a therapist. Find the right Pro to guide you.
Ancestry Dot Com It: You can't outrun DNA, but you can train it. Check family history.
Make Faith Work: Pray, trust God, and then take action.
Which of these steps have you skipped? Don't lose hope. Find a great counselor or therapist and get started. My child is doing great, by the way. Feel free to contact me and let me know your story.
Tell me how you are doing. Send me a message at Erik@AlbertTheFox.com.
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