My 12 yr old has anxiety

[Ozwald]

Hi our 12 yr old son suffers with anxiety, we are currently seeing a new child psych and have tried different things to help him but most of the time to no avail! I was wondering if any other parents had tried animals as a way of helping, he keeps saying if he had a dog it would make his anxiety go away? I know it's not gonna be a miracle cure but has anybody tried this avenue and with what results? Cheers

[AGrace]

Hi Ozwald,

I actually don't have children and therefore haven't tried this, however I wonder whether it's worth looking into some pet therapy for your son before purchasing a dog.

I can understand how terrible it must be to watch your son suffering, and no doubt it's also very frustrating for him. Is he able to still attend school, and participate in day to day activities?

Has the Child Psychologist given you any information about pet therapy? It might be worthwhile asking or at least googling.

You might also like to introduce your son to the youthbeyondblue website.

All the best with this.

AGrace

[Ozwald]

Thanks Agrace, 

thats not a bad suggestion, I'll look into that. 

Thanks for helping

[Diddy]

Hi Ozwald.  My 11 year old daughter suffers anxiety and now also depression.  I think that the idea of pet therapy is great 🙂  We have lots of animals at our house.  The biggest problem has been when a pet dies so I guess that is something to consider as well.

We have also just discover the "Brave" program through beyond blue and we are working through that at the moment.  My daughter is really liking the relaxation techniques which are helping to calm her down when she is losing control.

Totally wish I could snap my fingers to make this all be better so I totally understand how frustrating it is.  Wishing you all the best

[scaredmum]

Hi Ozwald

My 14 year old son has suffered anxiety since the age of 6. However at the beginning of this year he became so anxious he stopped eating and was diagnosed with anorexia and hospitilized. 4 months down the track the anxiety has become so severe he now has depression. he is hard to get out of bed. We have a 2 year old pup and I can honestly say our dog has been great for my son. I often find him sitting outside with the pup and see him laugh at the silly things the dog does. I hear him talking to the dog too about how he is feeling. I couldn't recommend a pet more.

I dont think that the dog will make the anxiety go away entirely but Im sure it will help alot. I hope this helps and I wish you and your son all the very best.

Cheers

Scaredmum

[Guest_97441694]

I had anxiety and then I got a little cockateil and then I started to feel better and better.