Freddie's Story

Freddie's Story is about a very young person learning to cope with his mother's anxiety and panic attacks with the support of his school and her GP.

"Freddie is 5 years old and lives with his mother, father and younger sister. He enjoys school, football, musicals and loves Spiderman.

His mother has anxiety, which causes her to have regular panic attacks and ‘jelly legs’ – a symptom where she feels her legs are going to give way when out in public or in unfamiliar environments. This can come on suddenly and is unpredictable. Recently, her panic attacks have happened when Freddie has been out with his and his sister, which meant she needed to hold his hand or the pram to help control the attack until she could find somewhere to sit down.

Although very young, Freddie is increasingly aware of his mother’s struggles, and this has made him worried. It also means that his mother doesn’t feel like she can take him out to activities like swimming, in case she has an attack.

Freddie’s mother is now receiving support from her GP and a local well-being service, with the goal of helping her to manage her anxiety. By taking notice of the impact on Freddie, practical steps have been put in place to support him and reduce his worry.

• Freddie’s father has shown him how to unlock his mother’s phone and find his father’s phone number. This means that if his mother is having an attack, he can phone for help or hand the phone to a trusted adult.
• Freddie’s school has been made aware, so that he has someone to talk to if he is worried or if something happens on the way to school. The school has also helped by permitting the mother to use the school car park, and have a teacher take Freddie to the car if necessary.
• The family has created a plan, so that if Freddie’s father is away for work, other family members can help.

Taking notice of a child in this situation is the foundation of beginning to support a young person, and a few simple, practical steps provide much-needed reassurance."

Some details of this story may have be changed to protect a young person's identity.

If you would like to share your own story, please get in touch with Nadya Bettioui, Our Time Voices Project Lead: nadya.bettioui@ourtimecharity.org.uk