COVID-19 fears

[Brummy]

My daughter has done so well with her studying and working at her job thru this all. She had to get tested last week which was negative. Now her fear of catching the virus and passing it on is consuming her. She’s talking herself into feeling ill. Besides reassurance she’s still struggling. 

[Sophia-RO]

Hello @Brummy , I am sorry to hear that your daughter has been concerned about catching coronavirus. It sounds like this fear may have worsened after your daughter needed to get tested - is that right? Have you had a chance to discuss your daughters concerns with her to find out what exactly she is concerned about or what she thinks might help her? 

From the sounds of it, you may find it helpful to talk to a counsellor about what you are experiencing with your daughter. You can speak to a counsellor from Parentline and they will be able to support you through this and possibly give you some advice. It might also be a good idea for your daughter to call up a helpline such as KidsHelpline to speak to a counsellor herself  (if she feels comfortable with that idea). Your daughter could discuss her concerns with a counsellor and they will be able to support her directly. 

You sound like a very caring and supportive parent, hopefully you find these resources to be helpful! Please feel free to keep us updated here on the forums

[Brummy]

Hi there. I have spoken to my daughter about her concerns, her main concern is passing it on if she ever got it. She said she would suffer with guilt. She is such a caring girl and hates to see people upset. We have been to the doctors twice during this time as she had her Travel immunization booster done, I raised her concerns to the dr and the dr reassured her, obviously the second time was when she got tested due to a sore throat. After that she was fine and once the results came thru she returned to school quite ok. As far as her health she is not showing symptoms but worrying that much, is making herself sick then getting panicky. My husband and I have calmly gone thru all the symptoms, local cases and keeping safe by washing hands etc. She has just got herself into a state. I am hoping that school holidays in a week will give her some down time. This virus is going to be around for a while yet so it’s concerning me how she’s going to handle it. 

[Maddy-RO]

Hey @Brummy 

We're definitely in tricky times at the moment. I think a lot of people are feeling scared, but if the fear starts to take over and consume her, then that's not good . 

Have you seen this sort of reaction in her before or is it new? Also, how old is she?

It sounds like what she's going through is really stressful for her and that she might benefit from talking to someone.  I support my colleague's recommendation of calling Kids Help Line.

Also, my colleague recommended that you contact Parentline which I also agree with. Another idea is that you can also organise a free, one-on-one session with a counsellor by filling out this form here.

It sounds like your daughter is experiencing a sense of worry or stress. Generally speaking, in these circumstances, parents can assist their child by listening sympathetically, by keeping calm when she becomes stressed, by trying not to inadvertently reinforce her stressful beliefs (e.g., to continue taking her to the doctors when there's no clear sign of coronavirus),  by (gently) avoiding to accept her negative or worry-saturated view of the situation, and to praise (acknowledge, reward) adaptive and brave thoughts and behaviours (e.g., if she does things to distract her from letting the thoughts consume her). These ideas may or may not apply to you and your daughter, but I think if you both speak to someone, then they should be able to provide you with some specific techniques on how to best tackle this issue going forward.

Wishing you all the best!

[Brummy]

Thank you for your feedback. We have already implemented some of your advice. We have gently told her unless there are any symptoms then we will not be going back to the dr and my husband and I have agreed that when it comes up we will make sure she knows that we hear her, but let’s focus on the positive things in life right now. We gave her ideas on how to help herself such as music, taking the dog for a walk, playing her game with friends. She is 17. And has always been a thinker and a worrier. She is me when I was that age. Yesterday was a good day, she was smiling when I picked her up from school and work. I will reach out for further help for both of us if needed. Will keep following the advice you posted. Thank you so much.