Published on 12, July, 2020
My daughter, 18, is suffering with really bad anxiety. Chloe has a job cleaning a house, 3 hours a week. She also has a babysitting/child sitting job which she goes to once every few weeks. I'm am off work this week so she is going to clean one of my customers houses. To help with her anxiety, I am making her a jobs list of what she needs to clean.
Her anxieties are also based around money. She really struggles to save so always ends up having no money left at the end of the month. She mainly spends money on petrol because of how many miles she drives a week. She can drive over 100 miles a day sometimes. She says she loves driving because her brain is stimulated at all times and she can listen to music. If anyone knows what activities she/we can do which can substitute the driving, please let me know!
Her anxieties are causing daily frequent tears and high emotions, however I can see she is bottling it in. She is hard to get her to see family friends, but they are very understanding in her needs which makes it easier for everyone.
I am trying to keep routines the same, for example she is obsessed with Criminal Minds and is watching the series, making PowerPoints about the profilers/agents and the criminals, which is impressive. I am using visual timetables and schedules with her again. I am also offering tablets to stop her menstruation this month because this will make it all worse. I am also giving her tablets to help her sleep again.
If anyone knows of any other ideas or opinions, please share them, whatever they may be. She is really struggling.
Hi, I'm an older autistic woman. I haven't brought up a daughter, but I can try to make some suggestions based on my own experience of being a female on the spectrum.
Anxiety has been a problem throughout my life. It's only recently that I have found something that helps, which is CBD capsules. These are available without prescription and I haven't noticed any side effects, although I only use them occasionally.
I had decades of problems with periods. I disagree with Desmond regarding inhibiting menstruation - I became severely depressed when my periods got really bad but I couldn't take the combined contraceptive pill as the oestrogen raised my blood pressure too much, so I chose depo-provera (progesterone only) injections, which stopped menstruation, stopped all the pain, stopped the PMS, and really improved my quality of life. Everyone is different though, so it's best to take the advice of a medical professional when making such a decision.
Regarding the driving, although it stimulates her mind, perhaps it is actually over stimulating her and tiring her, which is causing her difficulty in dealing with other areas of life? Does she have any interest in video games? They would engage her brain and it's easier to just stop.and have a break if she gets tired (if she's tired when driving, she has to drive home first before she can take a break)
Hope things improve soon.