Hellobee Boards

@alohaorchid: I don't know if it varies for a child vs an adult but my DS is seeing a LCSW for anxiety and I was told to force him to do it - that he needs to learn how to cope with the situation. Its ok to leave once you get there if things get overwhelming but we have to at least try.

My anxiety is pretty specific, it comes when I fly. It can't be avoided so I really have to mentally prep myself and when I do, I can get through it without incidents.

I think that knowing your triggers in important, but anxiety should be addressed. (Addressed as in- talk to a dr., a counselor, do self help, excersize, whatever helps.) I really can't give advice, I'm no professional!

I know for me personally, diving right into the activity works. Avoiding it never helped me.

I think it depends. I see a therapist for my anxiety, which is both generalized and triggered by specific situations, and we talk about levels of avoidance. For example, if there are things that cause low to mid-levels of anxiety, they shouldn't be avoided, because I can work through them and gain confidence in doing so. But, if there is something that causes an extreme level of anxiety, like panic attack status, it's OK to avoid it, because purposely inducing panic is basically self-torture and could undermine confidence. The goal is to get the anxiety to a manageable level on a daily basis and then consider experimenting with situations that would have previously induced panic, all the while being gentle enough with myself to know it's fine if I can't do something.