My 10 year old niece have been hospitalized due to severe anxiety attacks

[mapuc]

It's not like it is something new, she have had these attacks before, but they were only in the slim section.

Even though she has a Mensa-brain, she has also a vivid imagination and she have problem separating the fantasy and reality.
In addition, daily she is being bullied by the other students in the school where she goes.

It is a lot more than I can put into words except I feel so terrible about this. When children is harmed I feel pain in my heart and now it is my own niece it makes it even more painfully

The doctor has order as mention my niece to be hospitalized to get correct diagnostic.

The children at the school also keep on showing her youtube clip of people dying and she gets very anxiety about that.

Markus

[Onkel Neal]

Sorry to hear that, Markus. It's very stressful on the family when a little one has severe medical issues. I know when one of my daughters went through medical problems, it was terrible. I hope you and your family can get through this, and your niece can be treated to help her.

[mapuc]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

Sorry to hear that, Markus. It's very stressful on the family when a little one has severe medical issues. I know when one of my daughters went through medical problems, it was terrible. I hope you and your family can get through this, and your niece can be treated to help her.

Thank you Neal for your concern.

I also hope they find out what's wrong with her, so she can get proper medication and get some "talk therapy" with a child psychologist.

Markus

[Oberon]

Bless her, I hope she is able to get the help she needs to make it through what is a difficult time in any childs life, let alone a child in todays world. I can understand the whole fantasy vs reality bit though, she's a smart child, she has an idea with what's going on in the wider world and how scared and depressed people are, it's little wonder she wants to stay in that fantasy world where things are under her control and can't hurt her.
I think it's a form of psychological self-protection, and sadly it's always the smart ones that get the worse of the bullies, sadly it doesn't get much easier, but you do find ways to cope with it better.
Give her a hug from me when you see her next and tell her that for all the bad things in the world, there are just as many wonderful and fantastic things on our planet and out in the cosmos, human nature seems to dwell on the negative, but it mustn't blind you to the beauty out there.
I was once told by my mother, and feel free to pass this on to her if you think it will help, to think of the humble flower that over time pushes its way through thick concrete to bloom into beauty amongst the dark grey slabs of the city around it. She's that flower, things are tough and people can be very horrible, but push on and great things can happen.

[mapuc]

Originally Posted by Oberon

Bless her, I hope she is able to get the help she needs to make it through what is a difficult time in any childs life, let alone a child in todays world. I can understand the whole fantasy vs reality bit though, she's a smart child, she has an idea with what's going on in the wider world and how scared and depressed people are, it's little wonder she wants to stay in that fantasy world where things are under her control and can't hurt her.
I think it's a form of psychological self-protection, and sadly it's always the smart ones that get the worse of the bullies, sadly it doesn't get much easier, but you do find ways to cope with it better.
Give her a hug from me when you see her next and tell her that for all the bad things in the world, there are just as many wonderful and fantastic things on our planet and out in the cosmos, human nature seems to dwell on the negative, but it mustn't blind you to the beauty out there.
I was once told by my mother, and feel free to pass this on to her if you think it will help, to think of the humble flower that over time pushes its way through thick concrete to bloom into beauty amongst the dark grey slabs of the city around it. She's that flower, things are tough and people can be very horrible, but push on and great things can happen.

Thank you and I will give her a big hug, next time I see her.

The problem with her imagination is that it content "terrible things" and she have problem with "what is fantasy and what's not" what i understand, from what I heard from my little sister, this huge attack came from some youtube videos of zombies, which some children had shown to her at school

The anxiety can not be cured, but she can by help from expert learned to live with them and hopefully learned to "see" what is fantasy and whats real.

Markus

[Oberon]

Originally Posted by mapuc

Thank you and I will give her a big hug, next time I see her.

The problem with her imagination is that it content "terrible things" and she have problem with "what is fantasy and what's not" what i understand, from what I heard from my little sister, this huge attack came from some youtube videos of zombies, which some children had shown to her at school

The anxiety can not be cured, but she can by help from expert learned to live with them and hopefully learned to "see" what is fantasy and whats real.

Markus

Ah, yes, I can understand that a bit now. That is the problem with the technological world we live in now, the special effects are so good that for someone of a young age, it's almost impossible to tell that it's not real.
Gone are the days when you'd spot the wires or sticks on the Thunderbirds puppet. Things you see at that age can leave a definite psychological mark. I recall a scene in a movie my father was watching...I think it might have been 'Holocaust' and he'd put it on whilst I was in the room, I think I was about five or six at the time, and the German guard picked up this American chap and slammed him against a glass wall, then dragged him along it so that his teeth were ground against the wall. Now, up until that point I had never had a problem with the sound of nails on a chalk board...after that...nope, nope, nope.
Needless to say when Mum walked in and saw what Dad was watching with me in the same room, his ears were ringing for a while after.

I think that, in due time, she'll start to see the difference between fantasy and reality, but I hope that she always keeps a little part of that imagination and fantasy with her, because that creative spark is what gives rise to some of the greatest works of art and literature this world has seen.

[Commander Wallace]

Sorry to hear about this. Hopefully the hospital and docs can get it all figured out for her. It seems there are so many stressors today with facebook,youtube and the like.

All the best to your niece and family that they all come through this .

[Cybermat47]

I hope she's okay. I have anxiety, but not enough to put me in hospital, so I can't imagine what it's like for her

[u crank]

Hope she's alright Markus. All the best to you and your family.

[Reece]

That's terrible Markus, typical of children though, they can be very cruel!!
I will pray that the doctors can help her and that she hopefully can be cured.
Give her a hug for me, and hopefully the children at the school can be educated about this and stop teasing/bullying her.
All the best my friend.

[NeonSamurai]

Is she going to a psychiatric hospital or is it a psychiatric inpatient unit? Speaking from experience in the US working as a clinical social worker in an inpatient unit for children starting at about her age, I would be leery of accepting an actual diagnosis from the inpatient unit, for the simple reason that the vast majority of psychiatrists spend almost no time at all with their patients (typically about 5 minutes a day plus maybe a 30 minute family meeting), and they are the ones that issue the final diagnosis. She would be better off seeing a private therapist when she leaves the hospital and having the therapist formally diagnose her.

Anyhow, medication may or may not be the answer or part of the answer. Medication comes with its own problems the big one being side effects. A large number of clients experience side effects from anti anxiety medications, and some of the side effects can be pretty severe including things like massive weight gain which can increase health risks. Also one on medication it is likely that they will be taking those meds for the rest of their live. So medication is a double edged sword, and not a cure.

Also so you know (and I believe this applies in Denmark too) the following are the general roles played by mental health professionals.

Psychiatrists: primarily responsible for medications including prescriptions. Some also perform therapy but most do not. They have a medical degree with a specialization in psychiatry.

Psychologist: they typically administer different types of psychological tests and profiling, in private practice they often act as therapists too. They have a PHD in psychology.

Clinical Social Worker: they perform a wide variety of roles, and are often primary therapists, and case managers. Requires a masters degree in social work, generally with a clinical specialization or focus.


Depending on what she has she could potentially benefit from therapy techniques such as play therapy, and possibly CBT depending on how intellectually advanced she is. I would also suggest that she learn meditation as meditative practice would be very helpful for her to cope with her fears and the bullying.

Anyhow I hope things go well for her and her family.

[mapuc]

Thank you for your reply NeonSamurai. It is at something called children's psychiatric hospital she has been hospitalized.

a little more information about her situation (from what I have heard from her mom)

She runs outside in the night after she have woken and she sits on the lawn crying and are very afraid of going inside, ´cause she see dead people

Last night, she kept on saying there are dead people who wants to leave their house and they(the dead people) keep on knocking on the door. My sister had to leave in a rush, TV lights computer was stil on when the left, and their cats were outside and their two dogs(they are little) had to be left home alone for many hours)


I'm not an expert on this thing-the psychological part of our brain. But it looks like that her brain is playing her a (forgot the word) and because of this she can not see what is real an not.

My sister(her mom) said to her several times-stop there are absolutely nothing there.

My mon and her neighbors are so convinced that she really can see dead people.(Told my mom, if that is the case, then see should see them every where and not just in their house)

In her "reality" she see these things(hallucinations) and it is (this is so complex to explain)things that has happen around her together with her brain that have created this situation.

I hope they will find what is wrong with her.

(my senses tells me it is - some kind of schizophrenia )

Markus

[fireftr18]

Prayers for your whole family Markus. Be supportive for your sister, her family, and your niece. Help out any way you can. Best of luck for your niece.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by mapuc

I hope they will find what is wrong with her.

Keeping fingers crossed for that myself.
I wish you and your family the best, man. Hang in there, and stay strong, Markus !

[Red October1984]

Sorry to hear of this. I've not been in her position but i've been in some medical troubles.

It's not fun.

I'll pray for her and your family, Markus.