It's good to see that anxiety screening is now part of a well-woman check-up for girls as young as thirteen. I remember the anxieties of my own thirteen year-old self like it were yesterday. They were poured into journals I kept at the time because there was no one I trusted enough to share them with. I learned to live with anxiety, confusion and doubt over the rest of my teen years. It probably become part of who I am as a person. I learned that anxiety is a shape changing creature but it lives on inside and the triggers change over time.
The journals from childhood were torn up and burnt at some point when the writing felt futile and did not appear to provide any resolution. With J, I like to believe I used the lessons learned from my own experience to help her in that very confusing time in a woman's life. We were able to talk through and resolve many things, I was able to anticipate some of what she was feeling without her needing to articulate what is uncomfortable at that age. Despite my efforts, I am sure there were gaps. A baseline of a child's mental health and checking every year is definitely a good idea for both the child and their parents and caregivers
..in adolescent girls, “anxiety disorders can begin in childhood at a median age of 11 years, can develop in mid-adulthood, and often decline beginning at approximately age 60 years. During pregnancy and the postpartum period, anxiety disorders increase in both frequency and effects, including effects on the infant and family.”
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