My anxiety won't let me go to school anymore and I don't know what to do.

[Lukewarmmilk]

I'm currently in grade 10 and my anxiety has been getting worse since grade 7. When I'm in class I feel like I can't breathe and like everyone is staring at me and I end up leaving halfway through. It started with just skipping acouple classes and now I'm only attending school around 2 days a week. My parents hate me for it and I can't explain it to them because they don't believe a young person can have anxiety or depression. Because of this I've become extremely depressed and don't want to get out of bed anymore and I have no motivation for anything, which has only made them even more angry at me. I've explained this to my school multiple times but they've done nothing to help. I've tried going to headspace but it did nothing for me. I want to get better but I'm starting to feel like that will never happen.

[Sophie_M]

Hey Lukewarmmilk,

We’re sorry to hear what’s going on, and that you’ve not felt understood when talking to your parents or to a headspace counsellor. That sounds really difficult and isolating. We’re really glad you could share this here though.

Hopefully, we’ll hear from a member of this amazing community, once someone spots your post. In the meantime, we wanted to let you know that there’s a few places you can reach out to, whenever you need to talk things through and get some ideas for how you can get some better support. There’s our friends over at KidsHelpline on 1800 55 1800, and you can also reach them online.

Please know that the Beyond Blue counsellors are here for you as well, and you can reach us on 1300 22 4636 or online anytime if you feel like talking it through.

Thanks again for posting here. It must have taken a lot of strength to share this but you never know who will read this post and feel less alone in their own experience.

Kind regards, 

Sophie M

[Matchy69]

Hi Lukewarmmilk I am a parent of someone who has been through with what you are going through.My daughter has very bad anxiety and their was many days she didn't attend school as she felt to sick from it.It really got bad for her when she started year 10 with her anxiety.As a parent with her missing so much school it did get frustrating for me but I did understand what she was going through as I suffered similar with my schooling.We did go to the school and discuss it with them and she was given work to do at home when she couldn't attend.She also recorded her orals on the laptop and sent them through to the teacher and did not have to get up on front of a class.I wish your parents understood and could go to the school to discuss it with them.Can you go to the guidence officer and talk to them about it?My daughter finished school last year and does TAFE one day a week and has not missed a day yet.She also volunteers one-day a week at the RSPCA.

[Beeee]

Hello Lukewarmmilk,

I'm sorry to hear what you're going through. School can be such a stressful time and it's unfortunate that your parents don't understand, but there are a lot of other places to find support. 

Have you spoken to your school counsellor or a trusted teacher? They might be more likely to understand what you're going through and can hopefully speak to your parents as well as help implement changes that make school less of an anxious experience. With headspace and therapy, it's often a journey to find the right person, while it might feel like you're not making any progress right now, when you find the right therapist/counsellor everything will just click and make sense. Some universities and TAFEs provide free psychological services for the public, so that might be an option to try out.

Wishing you well,

Beeee

[Petal22]

Hi Lukewarmwater,

Im so sorry you are feeling this way.

Anxiety can be a really hard thing to deal with but you really can learn to manage it.

You could see your gp and let them know how you are feeling and how your anxiety is affecting your life.

You really can get better but you need to seek professional help.

Im so sorry for how your parents are reacting.

Do you have another family member you feel close to that you could confide in?