Summer,


Thank you for your heart-felt story...I can only imagine your distress.


The thing is, your own anxiety (in general - not just as a phobic, but also your "worry" about your daughter) will fuel her phobic tendencies. So there really isn't any "conversation" you can have with her that will help. What WILL help is for you to get some therapy and begin to reduce your own anxiety. This will in turn reduce hers. When her eyes go wide with terror, mum's eyes mirror hers, which tells the child that there really IS something to be afraid of. If mum can alleviate her own anxiety, this mirroring will stop, and her anxiety will calm down.


This will be a long journey for you (and your family). I know because I've been there. But it is worth the trip - the time, the money, the commitment to it. If your daughter had cancer, and this was the cure you would do it - you'd go to any length. Your daughter's quality of life is similarly at stake here. And this isn't a problem with her - it's in your hands.


All the best to you. Please take advantage of the articles written at the top of the "Treatments" thread about general info to give your doctor, as well as how to find professional help.


Keep us posted - or send me a private message at least.