Hello to all, I'm new to this forum and am very worried about our daughter so am hoping you can offer a bit of help or guidance which would be really appreciated.
Daughter used to be very confident and independently walk to the shops in our village, catch the bus into town, catch the bus to various activities and each weekend would very happily walk about 5 miles in the countryside with husband and I, up and down the hills close to our home. She was happy and confident and seemed very content with her life and we were all working towards her living independently with support.
Then the pandemic arrived. She really struggled during the pandemic and became anxious (as we all did) and couldn't understand why she had to stay home. After the pandemic she was still very anxious and worried about lots of different things - sadly most of her activities had to permanently close. A couple of winters ago she decided against our wishes to walk to the village shop in the snow - she was very determined! She eventually returned home in tears with the support of a kind neighbour - she had fallen in the snow and struggled to stand up. From this point on she has worried about leaving the house and will cling onto someone's arm just to get to the car - she still does this now even though she using a walking stick for support. She will walk to the shops with me/husband but clings onto one of us for dear life - if it's windy she won't leave the house - if it's raining she won't leave the house - she also visits the toilet about 4/5 times before leaving the house. She says she can't go anywhere on her own any more. If she gets worried while out she will sometimes try to sit down on the floor wherever she is - once she sat down in the middle of a busy road which was soo distressing for all involved.
I've taken her to our GP several times and she's had an eye test which showed perfect vision. She's had an assessment at a Neurodivergent clinic this January (it took over one year to get the appointment) and they promised that one of their psychologists would work with her weekly starting in March - we're still waiting and I've phoned several times but to no avail.
We've both attended a Keeping Calm course at a local private Health and Wellbeing Centre where we tried controlled breathing, Yoga, Tai chi, meditation, pilates,sound baths and we're both soon to have massages. We have duffusers around the house with lavender, we listen to calming music, drink camomile tea, have a Tibetan singing bowl which we use daily.
What else can we do? Our GP has advised against her using any kind of prescribed medication eg antidepressants, as it could cause other problems too. She takes magnesium, omega 3, a night time herbal relaxing tablet.
We just want our happy confident daughter back - the one who loved to walk up and down the hills, get on the bus alone, visit her friends alone, and laugh every day.
Sorry for the lengthy post and fingers crossed that someone can offer suggestions. Thank you in advance .
A very worried and weary parent.
