Anxiety Update and Tornado

We've had a good anxiety week. I don't want to jinx it by expecting it to stay good, but I can say with confidence that last week was something of a relief. Spring Break was hard. Last week was their week back at school and so much better.

James was having depressive episodes almost every day before Spring Break. He started taking Prozac and it just kept getting worse. We finally got a consultation with a pediatric psychiatrist who started him on another medication and gave us important insight into what might be causing this particular type of depression: anxiety. He assured us that he sees cases like these three times a day and that things would get better. We've been following the doctor's counsel, and James hasn't had a depressive episode since. It's only been a week, but I'll gladly take that.

Matthew wasn't doing any better on Prozac, either. Whatever effects it had early on, they were gone, and he was pretty much a hot ball of stressed anxiety that couldn't do much. It was severely affecting his ability to function and encroaching on our family's ability to function. We got in to see the pediatric psychiatrist and received another dose of insight and a heaping dose of hope. Matthew started a new medication regimen, including a vasodilator that helps him relax at bedtime. We've been following the doctor's counsel, and Matthew has had significantly less paralyzing anxiety. Matthew was too anxious to go to church, but Bobby was able to stay and do "home church" with him. In every other way, though, I feel like the last few days have been a relief. Matthew's appetite has improved, he actually played with James yesterday, and last night he decided to try sleeping in his own bed. It didn't work long, but he felt comfortable enough to try! 

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The tornado sirens went off during the second hour of church yesterday. That hasn't happened before in the 21 years I've lived here. One of Matthew's oldest and strongest anxiety triggers is tornadoes. Bobby and Alex at home were able to calm him enough to get to the bathroom and stay until the danger had passed. Every time there's a storm strong enough to create a tornado, we assure Matthew that the chance of a tornado destroying our home is so small that it's really not something we worry about.

At church, when the sirens went off, we started moving into the halls and bathrooms. My friend sitting next to me thought it was ridiculous. She stayed seated, insisting that we'd all be fine and should just continue with the lesson as planned. I moved toward the hall. I spent the last half hour of church chatting pleasantly with ladies in the bathroom and sharing tidbits of weather news as it came. The storm "hook" that was capable of causing a tornado passed just a couple miles south of us. My friend's prediction was right. Everyone would have been fine and we could have continued the lesson without incident. That's the gamble we take. When the warning is sent out, we always have a choice. I've taken shelter during tornado warnings a dozen times. In every case, if I had stayed out and about in my home, I wouldn't have sustained any damage to myself, my family, or my property. That's the message we emphasize when talking to Matthew. I still take the warning seriously, though, and will continue to take the warning seriously, because the cost of being wrong once is too great. That's the message I was trying to share with my friend. 

Both messages are true, and while they seem to contradict each other on the surface, they aren't contradictory at all. The statistical probability of a tornado striking my home is very, very small. The statistical probability of a tornado causing damage to my home if it DID strike my home is very, very high. That's why I don't get stressed about tornado sirens and I always take shelter :)