Published on 12, July, 2020
My daughter 14 has been under camhs for 2.5yrs. When first referred she had developed a phobia of eating,, due to a choking incident. We did lots of cbt/exposure therapy. She was diagnosed with arfid and after looking at her as a whole and how she responded to the sessions, which wasn't well ans progress was painfully slow, she was referred ans diagnosed with Autism.
Her eating is now manageable at her usual restrictive level and her weight is stable. She suffers so badly with anxiety, she wants to do social things,, but just can't. Our recent camhs sessions have been to face her fears slowly, that's not gone well at all, she now refuses to engage with camhs at all and just has a meltdown. So next appointment is a review and medication was going to be suggested at this appointment if she hadn't progressed.
I want her to be able to enjoy her childhood without anxiety crippling her, so I'm at the point I think we need to try, but my daughter refuses to take any medication because anything unknown /new triggers anxiety, but the meds might help the anxiety.. So how do you deal with this? Also have people seen benefits with medication in teens?
Did your doctor suggest she take antidepressants? These are drugs of the benzodiazepine series, which were invented in the middle of the last century. They have a different principles of operation, but all such means are potent. They are released strictly according to a doctor's prescription, they cannot be mixed with alcohol and other drugs, and it is important to take breaks in the course of admission so that addiction does not develop. In addition, hospitals create treatment programs for anxiety or depression, for example, fherehab.com/.../. It will help if you read more about it. Perhaps this will be the way out of the situation. Remember, you are not alone!