crippling anxiety is ruining my life

[jacques_g]

hey, this is one of my first posts so i hope its in the right area

i'm 14, I have been diagnosed with separation anxiety, ocd, social phobia (severe social anxiety), depression and panic disorder. The last time I went to school was grade 7 and it was briefly, becoming the main cause of my anxieties and making me terrified of everything. I am in grade 9 now. I have a therapist and am working toward a schooling program but struggling hard. Recently my therapist of over a year quit, and my new one does not seem interested in me at all. In the past 4 months I've had 2 meetings with her and we make no progress. I'm trying to work my way back to school but i can't, I have panic attacks at the thought but i can't do anything about it. Is there a way i can find online homeschooling courses to get my year 10 certificate so i get have at least some form of education. I'm really struggling and anything helps.

Thanks!

[geoff]

Hello Jacques g, thanks for posting your comment.

Are you having any parental or family support at the moment during this difficult time?

You have a great attitude with pursuing your education and good on you, can I suggest you contact our friends at 'The Kids Helpline' on 1800 55 1800.

They provide gentle support for young people up to 25 years of age.

The helpline is also no judgemental and private and operates 24/7.

If you have any questions at all I do hope you can post back if you can.

I just want to say how proud I am of you and your healthy focus.

Take care.

Geoff.

[Beth_co]

Hi jacques. Great of you to reach out for help. It's brave for such a young person.

I think home schooling is a great idea! Let's face it, dealing with MH problems takes up so much time and energy. Anything you can do to alleviate the pressure will serve you well.

It's likely that Family and Community Services can help you with funding and options for study. If you take a report from your psychiatrist to them, they might do everything for you. After all, you're too young to be roped into this dilemma. You've got enough on your plate yeah?

Keep talking here too as people are kind and responsive and it's a place for you to let it all out. I'm new, but I've been reading posts for a long time before actually posting. Even us oldies have issues with putting ourselves out there.

I hope everything takes a turn for the better. 🖐😊

[smallwolf]

Hi jacque,

welcome to beyond blue.

Sorry to hear that you are struggle with some mental health issues, but I want to point out a couple positives in your post here. Not only that you posted here, which is brave, but you also are working on a schooling program with your therapist, even if that going a little slower than you like, but that you also want to get an education. My kids went to a regular high school, and there were other kids there who would rather be somewhere else.

There is an article on the ABC web site (some on SBS) on the rise in home schooling, perhaps because of situations like yours, so you are not alone.

If you go to Google and search for ...

homeschooling australia

there are a number of links that you can read to get information. A useful starting point would be

https://www.aussieeducator.org.au/education/homeschooling.html

which has links to other sites for registration, FAQs, other legal information. Can I ask what your parents think about the home schooling idea?

Hope it all works out for you,

Tim