I'm not quite sure where to post this, so I'm cross-posting to get a range of ideas.
Dd is 6. She's a spirited child, with occasional streaks of compliance. She's definitely a highly sensitive child. She's bright, meaning she can see the consequences and potential dangers of situations, but with the emotional regulation of a 6 year old, meaning she can't put it in perspective.
Last year (a year ago exactly), we went to the beach as a family to celebrate our anniversary. About an hour in, we got hit by a sneaker wave that came up higher than expected and washed over our blanket. Dd and ds freaked out completely. Dd REALLY freaked out and had to leave the beach. It was a full blown panic attack.
We'd already booked a camping trip to a coastal campground and so we tried again in August of last year. Dd couldn't get near the beach without freaking out. This last weekend (so a full year later) we went on our church camp-out which happened to be at a coastal campground. Dd freaked out the first night with just the sound of the waves. The second day she made it to the beach, but only in the company of her best friend. When she stayed in the sand dunes, she was clearly fighting panic. When the rest of the kids went down toward the water, she tried to follow and ended up with a panic attack. The last day she ended up in a panic attack when we tried to take her back for one last quick visit.
I think this is a phobia that's not getting better, and is part of a larger set of things. She had a panic attack when we took a canoe ride and hit some very mild rapids. She had a panic attack when we were driving on the highway and there were a lot of trucks around. (Dh had to brake quickly to avoid a truck changing lanes and dd was convinced for 2 hours that we were going to be run over by a truck.)
Dh is convinced that it's a 'stage' she will outgrow. He's also convinced that I'm just ticked/overreacting because we can't take trips to the coast because of her aversion to the waves. I love the coast, I'll admit. It pains me that we can't enjoy it as a family. It's also a good 1 1/2 to 2 hour drive, so we can't easily desensitize her slowly.
Am I overreacting? Is this a stage that she'll outgrow? I've tried some of the ideas in "Freeing Your Child from Anxiety" and they don't seem to work well for the beach/wave phobia. Is it time for some therapy? She's a bit young for cognitive behavioral therapy to work (she's bright, but she's still 6).
Dd is 6. She's a spirited child, with occasional streaks of compliance. She's definitely a highly sensitive child. She's bright, meaning she can see the consequences and potential dangers of situations, but with the emotional regulation of a 6 year old, meaning she can't put it in perspective.
Last year (a year ago exactly), we went to the beach as a family to celebrate our anniversary. About an hour in, we got hit by a sneaker wave that came up higher than expected and washed over our blanket. Dd and ds freaked out completely. Dd REALLY freaked out and had to leave the beach. It was a full blown panic attack.
We'd already booked a camping trip to a coastal campground and so we tried again in August of last year. Dd couldn't get near the beach without freaking out. This last weekend (so a full year later) we went on our church camp-out which happened to be at a coastal campground. Dd freaked out the first night with just the sound of the waves. The second day she made it to the beach, but only in the company of her best friend. When she stayed in the sand dunes, she was clearly fighting panic. When the rest of the kids went down toward the water, she tried to follow and ended up with a panic attack. The last day she ended up in a panic attack when we tried to take her back for one last quick visit.
I think this is a phobia that's not getting better, and is part of a larger set of things. She had a panic attack when we took a canoe ride and hit some very mild rapids. She had a panic attack when we were driving on the highway and there were a lot of trucks around. (Dh had to brake quickly to avoid a truck changing lanes and dd was convinced for 2 hours that we were going to be run over by a truck.)
Dh is convinced that it's a 'stage' she will outgrow. He's also convinced that I'm just ticked/overreacting because we can't take trips to the coast because of her aversion to the waves. I love the coast, I'll admit. It pains me that we can't enjoy it as a family. It's also a good 1 1/2 to 2 hour drive, so we can't easily desensitize her slowly.
Am I overreacting? Is this a stage that she'll outgrow? I've tried some of the ideas in "Freeing Your Child from Anxiety" and they don't seem to work well for the beach/wave phobia. Is it time for some therapy? She's a bit young for cognitive behavioral therapy to work (she's bright, but she's still 6).
