I have LD. I also have an anxiety disorder. How do I deal with this combination?

T. J.

You're not alone, LD has pushed my kid into an anxiety disorder. Therapy and meds together help her a lot, as does lessening the stress in her environment. As a parent this means we have "managed" her environment for many years, since she is an introvert by nature she has not been involved, for instance, in many extracurricular activities. But we recognize that she needs a lot of quiet, "down" time to re-charge her batteries.

Dealing with the LD issues takes a huge amount of psychic energy, and we find that our daughter needs more time to re-charge than her extroverted non-LD sister.

Hope this may be helpful.

Barbara,
You are so right. Respecting your child's need for down time is a good strategy. It sounds like she is drained by activity and a lot of people. ANd in my experience, the only way to recover the lost energy and stabilize one's nerves is to have some alone time. Don't listen to people who try to draw her (or you) out or who say things like, "c'mon, it'll do her good". It won't. Give her all the recovery time you can --- it will pay off in the long run. Especially if she learns to manage it herself as she gets older.
You are a smart mom.

Hi TJ,

The very basic thing to do is to make sure that you take care of yourself by getting adequate sleep, healthful nutrition, and daily exercise. ADD/anxiety disorder has a very low to no tolerance for neglecting any of these three areas.

In his books, "Healing ADD" and "Healing the Hardware of the Soul", Dr. Daniel Amen outlines techniques to use to cope with anxiety and depression. One chapter is entitled "Killing ADD ANTs (automatic negative thoughts). He also uses biofeedback, self-hypnotic reprogramming, counseling, relaxation techniques, meditation, and medication in his practice.

Are you presently taking medication? Taking only a stimulant (ritalin, adderall, etc.) for ADD can aggravate your anxiety. Usually, a stimulant with an anti-depressant or anti-anxiety medication is needed. Check with your doctor.

I encourage you to check out Dr. Amen's website at brainplace.com. Click on "anxiety" in the menu on the left-hand side. His entire website contains a wealth of information on ADD.

Blessings, momo

My daughter suffers from anxiety do to a learning disability and she also has social problems. We set up her a IEP program in school and the teachers are working around her disability. I have tried to teach her to ask for help when you are confused.

The medicine has helped some in reducing alot of her crying being scared of alot of things: noise, people, and change in situations. We have a doctor, neurologist, who has helped my daughter with anxiety medication.This has to be monitored and the parents have to work with the teachers on behavior monitoring.