This was the first "real" week of school, although it was technically only 4 days. We had a hard, hard Labor Day weekend. The kids were wigged out from the stress of the start-stop approach to the beginning of school our district has adopted.

Basically, they have the first day of school the Wednesday before Labor Day, then a regular day on Thursday, and then no school on Friday, giving everyone a 4 day weekend. In theory, it sounds great, but in reality it gets the kids all revved up for the start of school and then BAM! Nothing.

The kids were very whiny and clingy all weekend. They even cried when we left to go out for dinner and a movie on Saturday night. This was so unusual that we blew off the movie portion of the evening and came home early to be with them after all. They went back to school on Tuesday and were predictably exhausted.

Wednesday afternoon, I received a call from the nurse's office at Pepper's school. Pepper was recovering from a real, honest-to-God panic attack in her office. The nurse said her heart rate had reached 180 at one point, and she was trembling and shaking and sweating and pale and asked the nurse if she was dying.

Which almost made me burst into tears at the thought of the terror she was going through, because I've had a few panic attacks in my life and each time, I honestly thought I was going to die.

I went and picked her up, and she looked terrible. Called the pediatrician and made an appointment for next week. Made soothing noises and reassured her over and over that everything was ok. No, she wouldn't have to go to the hospital. No, she wasn't going to get into trouble. No, it wasn't going to happen again, right now... take deep breaths, honey!

And so went the rest of my week. One minute she is fearful, the next snappish and crabby. All these years of occasional panicky flip-outs, I've been thinking of her as "oversensitive" or "highly emotional." In fact, what I think we are dealing with here is an anxiety disorder, something I am intimately familiar with.

Oh - wait! I haven't even mentioned the stomachaches she has been suffering from for the last 2 months. We even started her on prescription reflux medication, thinking that was the problem, but she is still complaining that her stomach hurts. And carrying a bowl around the house with her "in case she throws up." Which she hasn't yet done, but that doesn't stop her from freaking out if I don't put a towel down on the carpet next to her bed each night, "just in case."

So, yeah, anxiety, duh. I have spoken to Pepper in the past about how some kids feel better after visiting a "Feelings Doctor," and I think that is the next route - some talk therapy, some panic management skills for all of us, and perhaps some medication for especially bad episodes. We'll see.

How was YOUR week?

Labels: anxiety, drama queen, emotionally fragile, Pepper