Published on 12, July, 2020
i am new to posting on the forum but I wondered if anyone has advice for coping with the sheer terror I feel when I think about my teenage daughter’s future? She doesn’t go to school because of such overwhelming anxiety and we have no social network around us. So life is extremely lonely for us both and the social isolation which I can see her facing is heartbreaking. I’m so scared for what her future may bring, particularly when I’m no longer around to be her advocate, her support, her company. Friends are non-existent for us both which is sadly a whole other story! When I suggest doing things, my daughter’s anxiety just overwhelms her to the point where we sit day after day doing very little. What can I do to help her? I don’t want this to be her life forevermore.
Thank you to you both for taking time to reply. It makes me feel less isolated.
My daughter is 14 but a young 14 if that makes sense. I know that key to improving her life is empowering her and helping to educate the world around her in autism acceptance but that is easier said than done as I’m sure you’re both aware. It breaks my heart for her and I find myself struggling to stay strong and positive for her. She is such a kind, loving and sensitive person but fears the world around her. We are both extremely isolated socially which, I know, doesn’t help. In addition, I am haunted by the words of a CAMHS professional who told me that I must simply face the fact that I will die soon and my daughter will need to fend for herself! This so-called professional had no basis on which to make such an offensive comment but his words truly haunt me every day. I am scared for my darling girl’s future in a very unforgiving and often cruel world. Today I woke feeling sick and shaking at the prospect she faces such a world without me one day. We have very little family around us, no friends at all and life is bleak.