Mikayla

Monday morning I took Mikayla to a new doctor. Her counselor suggested this guy – he is a pediatrician but also specializes in mental health issues. The counselor was thinking that Mikayla has agoraphobia as well as some ocd. Dr. Murphy says that Mikayla's fear of going places stems from her fear of people and has diagnosed her with social anxiety instead. We have seriously been having so much trouble with her. School is the only place we can get her to go without a meltdown (and she's not happy about going to school either). If we force her to go to the store with us, she will lay on her bed and cry – a loud, sobbing type of cry. You would think the world is ending. Once we actually get to wherever we're going, she normally calms down. It's the anticipation that really stresses her out I think. 

The doctor also mentioned general anxiety and depression, but I think social anxiety is the only actual diagnosis since anxiety and depression go hand in hand. He has started Mikayla on Celexa. This is the first time that Mikayla has ever been prescribed any kind of pill so it makes us a little nervous, but we are hopeful for the possibilities. The interesting thing is that I have all 3 of these as well, but I didn't mention it to him until after the diagnosis. I didn't even get to my list of sensory issues that Mikayla has or her need to wash her hands all the time because of her fear of germs. I'll talk to him about that next month. For now I'm just happy to get a start on this anxiety that has not only changed her life but all of our lives. The doctor said it will take a few weeks to start noticing any changes though. Wish us luck on making it to the 3 Thanksgiving dinners we have this week!