I hate anxiety! “Bully” seems to be a buzzword right now. The worst bully I have encountered happens to be the bully inside my daughter’s head. This bully is anxiety, and it roars its beastly head without any notice and without any reason. I often feel that anxiety is mentioned all around us, yet is mentions very little about debilitating anxiety. There are thousands of families out there feeling the same way. Yet, when we google help, it talks about test anxiety or anxiety about being around a dog, something that, while difficult and sad for the child and their family, it is not something that disrupts the majority of their daily life, each and every day. For those families who deal with extreme anxiety day in and day, there is little information on the internet and in books. Believe me, I have tried having a discussion with my child to calm her anxiety. I have tried bribing for being brave. I have tried sending my child to school with a picture of her family or her favorite lovey. When a child is clinging to your leg like a sticky tree frog and crying hysterically, trust me, a discussion, bribery, or a special lovey is not going to be of any help. If your child has withdrawn from or refused to participate in social activities/hobbies, lost friends, refused to go to school, told you that they want to die rather than be scared all of the time, then I am hopeful that this blog makes you feel less alone. I offer no magical cures but I can offer the knowledge that you are your child are not alone. You are not a bad parent and your child is not a bad child. Our families are stuck in the trenches of extreme and life altering anxiety. If you are like our family, you have tried a variety of techniques, ideas, and medication to help your child manage his or her anxiety. If you are like us, you have seen the light at the end of the tunnel for a period of time, until suddenly your thrown into the darkness once again, trying to claw your way back to the light. Some days, you have hope that the light will shine through once again, and other day you feel like you will never smile again.