Overcoming anxiety: Amy’s story
Everyone experiences anxiety and stress at some point in their lives.
Without coping mechanisms, anxiety can become overwhelming and affect a person’s wellbeing and future outcomes.
For young people, anxiety can make it hard to get schoolwork done or go to school.
Targeted Youth Support Service (TYSS) in Hobart prevents homelessness by helping young people aged 10 – 18 years overcome challenges in their lives and increase resilience. Thanks to the support of Department of Communities, the TYSS team helped young Amy learn skills to overcome her panic disorder and enjoy school again.
Amy’s story: Crippled by anxiety and panic attacks
Amy was like any other young student. Sadly, a traumatic incident caused Amy to experience PTSD and panic attacks. The panic attacks made school extremely difficult.
As much as she wanted to join class, Amy struggled to cope with the overwhelming anxiety she felt inside. During her panic attacks, she would leave school or worse she would be trapped in the girl's bathroom, alone, unable to move or breathe. Feeling hopeless and afraid, Amy would often skip school worried it would happen again.
Concerned for Amy, her school reached out to our TYSS for help. Our team met with Amy and listened carefully to her story, concerns and fears.
New hope for Amy
Our team focused on growing her coping skills and building a close-knit trusted care team around Amy. Equipped with new coping strategies, Amy gained the strength to return to the classroom.
Amy still feels anxious from time to time but when she does, she knows what to do.
Through trial and error, the team discovered that low-key admin tasks like creating booklets or laminating help Amy regulate and after 20 minutes, she is ready to return to class.
The school and family are thrilled Amy is enjoying school again. Now equipped with clear strategies and support, Amy is thriving in class and learning new skills. Her latest project is learning how to crochet. She plans on crocheting cacti for her care team to say thank you for supporting her. We can’t wait to see what new skills she learns next.
Read more about our youth services.
*Names and images have been changed to protect the identity of the people we help..
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