Anxiety causing my child not wanting to go to school

[Winnie11]

My child is missing school days due to anxiety and depression. She has asked to have these days off as "mental health'' days but are becoming more frequent. If I gently try to encourage her to attend school, she alludes that she may self harm if I send her. 

Does any one have any advice? She does have support from other services, GP, Family, Friends etc.

Thank you in advance. 

[Courtney-RO]

Hi @Winnie11 thank you for reaching out and sharing with us today.

I'm sorry to hear that you're going through so much at the moment. I can hear just how much you care about your child and how concerned you are for them. It all sounds like such a stressful and overwhelming situation to be in, so I am wondering what kind of supports you have for yourself right now. Have you had a chance to speak to a professional about everything that's been going on? One helpline that you may find useful is Parentline. You can call them to talk to a trained counsellor and get some advice around some of the things you can do.

I'm also wondering how you are looking after yourself during this difficult time? It's important to practice some self-care to make sure that you're getting through this too.

We are all here for you

[GoalHappiness]

Hi!
I saw your message and I know what you're going through.
After this pandemic many kids are having that disconnection to an environment and people that were their in daily life.
My son didn't want to go to school either. He would have anxiety attacks, would not have any breakfast, vomit, cry...etc and he'd said he didn't have any friends.
After making sure there wasn't a bullying problem or anything else that was making him anxious to go to school, we talked to the teacher and the counselor at the school and they came up with some ideas that helped him.
What helped the most I think was the counselor talking to him and coming up together with ideas that'd help him. One that stood out was making "playdates in school" with classmates my son would pick. They would play UNO, or connect 4, etc and that helped him bond with some kids.
After doing that at least once a week, he started to say "I am excited about school tomorrow".
I hope you don't need this because everything is better already or if not I hope this helps somehow.
Have hope!
Best wishes!

[Erin0110]

Hello, did you try to talk with the school staff (headteacher, class teachers)? Maybe she has some problems with classmates or the subject teacher...

I just want to say that it's serious problem. You should also talk to psychotherapist

Try to find out the reason, if you find the reason, the problem will be solved