My child had low-key anxiety, but then got suddenly sicker with a whole bunch of things. She had daily panic attacks at school. She was told she was disruptive, and she had to leave the class. In reality, she had her head down on her desk and her breathing was loud. Making her leave class put her more on edge; this made the attacks more frequent. Peers ignored her; this also increased the attacks. In one instance, she was dragged across a hall in front of the school because she was panicking in the corner. She was asked to take a week off. She then started being unable to walk into class. Or be there. She slid into worse depression, couldn’t go to class, and lost a whole year of high school. She had a 4-week in-hospital stay that improved her self-confidence at the end of the school year. She started a new school the next year. She was at a small school, which was supposed to help, but didn’t. The large public school has been so much better and more helpful.
School Phobia and Exclusion
Youth Mental Health Canada
