"It came out of nowhere.  One minute I was on the bus on my way to school, and the next minute I was dying.  I couldn't catch my breath.  My heart was beating out of my chest, and I was shaking so hard I thought I was having a seizure."
 

Over the last 20 years, In Step has seen a steep rise in anxiety related suffering among our children and teens. Viewed as an internalizing disorder, anxiety is frequently not obvious to an outsider. This means there are many children suffering in silence.  Panic Disorders (PD), like the one Meryl struggles with, are both terrifying and agonizing. This painful disorder is challenging enough and is compounded when situations that evoke fear of panic are avoided.

It's terribly challenging for the parent of the child with PD to know how to handle both the panic itself and the avoidance behavior. When your child is experiencing real physical symptoms such as a racing heart, chest pain, sweating, trembling, dizziness, and nausea, it's terrifying for you too. If you don't take them to the ER, what if you are wrong and something terrible does happen? When your child, crying hysterically, protests going to school, how can you force them to go?

The following are Five Steps for you to help your child who suffers with panic attacks: read more. 

Cathi Cohen, LCSW, CGP will hold an informal talk for parents who are interested in learning more about her anxiety group for elementary age children. She will discuss in detail the format and treatment modalities of the group and the kinds of issues she will address with the members.