Anxiety

No matter how many times I read reports about my son. The words contained in them always play on my mind.

You know the ones that land on your doormat, and you can tell who they are from immediately. Because you have become so familiar with the colour of the envelope and the font style addressed to you.

I always feel like I am never fully prepared to read the contents of the letter.

Because they are describing and listing my sons difficulties and although I am aware of them, I want him to know that to me he is much more then what’s written on paper.

But one word that has always been the hardest to read on documents is ANXIETY.

Having a child with a mental health disorder, is just as much of a taboo subject as autism is itself. Because it’s not widely spoken about, and it’s also not always taken seriously. Because anxiety is generally classed as more of an adult disorder. Because the stresses of adult life is deemed to have more contributing factors for anxiety, then children would have.

I’ve seen peoples faces when you mention anxiety being part of my child’s struggles, and the look followed by the words “but they are a child, I’m sure it’s something else” they could just be “shy”.

Harrys anxiety was diagnosed and written in reports when he was 4 and a half, and as he has got older people have expected it to get better or dare I say grow out of it. But that isn’t the case, as he has got older he has more things to worry about because he is understanding & navigating the world more. Which has added extra worries.

But life has added contributing factors to his anxiety, but it’s perfectly plausible for an adult to be worried about coronavirus and the impact it has had, then it is for a child to be worried about it?.

Because they should just have the ability to be young and care free right and bounce back?

How many times have you all heard the words “but kids are resilient?” Especially when it’s used in context to changes occurring in the world? Or a child’s life?

I wanna grab all these people and say “No not all children are, and it’s perfectly NORMAL for kids to have worries and be anxious”

People judge you not only for having a child with an additional need, but also a child with a mental health disorder. It’s exhausting and at times can feel like no one understands which can be worrying for you too.

We’re here to say you are not alone ❤️

“Sometimes real superheroes live in the hearts of children, fighting big battles”