My teen does not want to go to school and can't give a specific reason why. Everyone she knows has encouraged her to go back, but she won't. Has anyone dealt with a teen with severe school anxiety or had this problem themself? What were some good solutions?

Have same problem with my 15 year old. She is a freshman and was fine for a few months. December was bad and she was put on prozac. She was home for a while and then went back a little, however she developed very bad stomach aches and has not been to school in weeks. Gastro did lots of tests, so far all negative. SHe is now off the prozac for 3 days, but still has stomach aches. We are not sure if its the prozac, but psych said to take her off to see if it is.

I put my daughter on 504 plan at school. Its for kids with disabilities and she has anxiety diagnosis. Perhaps try having her talk to a therapist?

Good luck, I am in same boat, and from what I hear its common.

for me the bad thing is my daughter is so bad at times, its giving me anxiety myself.

Is she getting bullied? How is her self-esteem?

I know the question is not for me, but my daughter was not getting bullied, High school was just huge compared to tiny K-8 school with less than 300kids, and Highschool with nearly 1800 kids and 31 trailers.

1. A psychologist(ask your doctor for a referal)

2. A new school (a fresh start for her?)

3. Tough Love

4. Maybe an antidepressant or tranquilizer if the doctor feels it is indicated

Thanks for all of your replies. She isn't being bullied to my knowledge, but has mentioned not liking the "drama". She has had to miss a lot of school due to illnesses, so I'm sure the adjustment back to the day-to-day school routine has been difficult. She seemed excited to be going back, but the anxiety of it all has overshadowed that. She does see many doctors for her various health issues and takes meds, so that is already in place. The school change may have to happen to help her get through this. She is such a strong person in so many ways, but just doesn't seem to have the strength to push through it and try to make things work.

Maybe a few days on Valium or Librium to get her over the crunch of going back, maybe a week or so?

These things are always worse in the imagining than in the reality, so she will probably be quite ok after the first day or so.

You will need to be hard and force her to go, just for a few days.... remember, her entire life might be changed by this.

I would suggest trying to understand what is going on with her. I am sure she has some worries in her head which with help she could solve.

Your post brings back memories of my dreaded high school years. I remember hating high school. The reason I hated high school was because I suffered from terrible social anxiety, and low self esteem. I did have a small group of friends; however, I stuck with these friends and did not venture out much. These friend were also very dysfunctional. When I look back I can't believe I actually graduated as much as I hated it. However, my parents were very adamant about me going to school and I don't remember missing a lot of days even though there were times I suffered from severe stomachaches (by the way, is nothing more than IBS from the anxiety). If I could back to high school right now, I would probably take an AD along with Xanax as needed. I think my life would have been better if I had done this in highschool. Paxil has helped my social anxiety tremendously.

Anyway, I think your child needs to see a psychologist (CBT Therapy) to work on the Anxiety issues. Also, I would take her to a Psychiatrist to see if meds need to changed or new ones prescribed.

Best Wishes!