Advice for parents?

Question

I’d be grateful for any guidance you can provide to a parent of a young adult with social anxiety. My daughter is 18, a freshman in college, living in a dorm in our hometown. She transferred from a large HS to a small HS because of the anxiety and graduated with great grades and a decent amount of college credit. She had a few casual friends in HS but never close friends, and throughout high school she tried various clubs/hobbies, but never stuck with one thing. The only people she talks to in depth are me and my husband. She says she hates being on campus and wants to move home. She wants to come home every weekend. She says she spends all of her time on campus worrying and wondering whether people are looking at her, judging her etc. She won’t go to any clubs and doesn’t appear to be connecting with anyone in college. Her social anxiety started before covid but then magnified intensely during/after covid. She has been refusing to talk to therapists for years, says it won’t help, says she doesn’t know what to say to them, etc. She is on 60mg of Prozac, and has been for about two years. We saw improvements around when she went on it. I would love to hear any suggestions you have for me and my husband how we can guide her and support her. Maybe books we should read or strategies or suggestions we can make. Thank you!

Posted Oct 3, 2025, 5:11 PM UTC

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