MikeyT
07-04-10, 21:12
Not sure if this is the correct section to post this topic.
I personally have suffered in varying degrees from anxiety problems for about 17-18 years and in the early days, I became totally agoraphobic.
Managed to get back to working and now work for myself running my own design and print business.
Also during this period I have managed to have two children, daughters, whom I love dearly and I tell them this often. They are now 13 and 10. My partner and I are still together and we live as a family unit.
Being a Dad has been very hard for me to maintain some sort of normality for them.
I still find family outings and holidays very difficult, as I feel out of my comfort zone, but if its just me and my daughters then I can cope, we do the normal things like, swimming, museums, fun parks etc. (my partner works Saturdays, so I take this opportunity to do these sort of things with them).
But on the down side for instance say a trip to say London with all of us would be a nightmare for me, if I had to go on my own for any reason, then I would do so, is it all about control and distance from home.
At the moment my partner and children are away on holiday for a week with members of family on her side, which is something they do at this time every year, as I am not good with holidays as mentioned and also because of business pressures I have not gone for a few years and it is now presumed I won't be going when this is arranged.
We do try and have 2 or 3 weekends at the coast as a family throughout the year, which is about the most I can manage before I have the urge to return to my comfort zone and normal routine.
I realise more than anyone that our family dynamic is not what most would consider normal, the reason for my post is that my 10 year old daughter has it in her mind that she wants a holiday in Spain and has mentioned it on several occasions, finances are tight, but this aside, the thought of this is just to hard for me to contemplate.
My children don’t have any notion of my anxiety struggles, my 13 year old may have a slight idea, I have talked to my partner about discussing my problems with our children, but she was against the idea. But what do forum members think...do you think our children should be told or should we hide it from them?
Regards
Mike
I personally have suffered in varying degrees from anxiety problems for about 17-18 years and in the early days, I became totally agoraphobic.
Managed to get back to working and now work for myself running my own design and print business.
Also during this period I have managed to have two children, daughters, whom I love dearly and I tell them this often. They are now 13 and 10. My partner and I are still together and we live as a family unit.
Being a Dad has been very hard for me to maintain some sort of normality for them.
I still find family outings and holidays very difficult, as I feel out of my comfort zone, but if its just me and my daughters then I can cope, we do the normal things like, swimming, museums, fun parks etc. (my partner works Saturdays, so I take this opportunity to do these sort of things with them).
But on the down side for instance say a trip to say London with all of us would be a nightmare for me, if I had to go on my own for any reason, then I would do so, is it all about control and distance from home.
At the moment my partner and children are away on holiday for a week with members of family on her side, which is something they do at this time every year, as I am not good with holidays as mentioned and also because of business pressures I have not gone for a few years and it is now presumed I won't be going when this is arranged.
We do try and have 2 or 3 weekends at the coast as a family throughout the year, which is about the most I can manage before I have the urge to return to my comfort zone and normal routine.
I realise more than anyone that our family dynamic is not what most would consider normal, the reason for my post is that my 10 year old daughter has it in her mind that she wants a holiday in Spain and has mentioned it on several occasions, finances are tight, but this aside, the thought of this is just to hard for me to contemplate.
My children don’t have any notion of my anxiety struggles, my 13 year old may have a slight idea, I have talked to my partner about discussing my problems with our children, but she was against the idea. But what do forum members think...do you think our children should be told or should we hide it from them?
Regards
Mike