Tuesday 3 May 2016

Concussions do heal....anxiety doesn't

It has been a long time. As you know Jake has recovered from his PCS remarkably well, even if it took over three years! He still struggles with focus and attention and short term memory but it is manageable. However, we have come to realize that while his anxiety was immensely intensified by the concussions, that is one thing that is just Jake, PCS or not. Jake suffers from generalized social anxiety disorder and it is not going to go away. He goes thru lulls, where it is not as evident and he seems to cope just fine. But when faced with a new situation outside of his comfort zone he encounters those worrisome and intrusive thoughts. My heart breaks for him now as a 17 year old having to deal with the anxiety of working  a full time job before he even considers post education next year. That worrisome brain keeps highjacking his plans and stops him from moving forward. He will acknowledge that his anxiety is stopping him but thinks there is no solution other than to avoid the stressful situations. Anyone who knows anxiety knows there are "tells" that allow me to know the difference between teenage laziness and anxious thoughts. A lazy teen doesn't get mad at themselves for their feelings or feel that hopelessness that I see in his eyes. So right now my heart aches for him as I wish I could fix it and make life easier for him. But for now all I can do is  acknowledge  those feelings and encourage him to accept them and name them. Apparently that is the first step. The next will be to figure out how to be ok with them, and then to put them aside and move forward. One step at a time. And breathe!