Daughter complained a lot about writing style requirement and other stuffs last week. Turned out that she was having anxiety attack and mood swing. She couldn’t do her works that were piling up because of that, leading to death spiral. She luckily recovered in 3~4 days and before midterm started. But now she sees other girls having similar problems. Maybe this is a good time for the kids to receive kind, undemanding but encouraging calls from home?
When are final/term exams at her school? If they are now (before Christmas break) then that explains a lot. 
Tell her to talk to her advisor, perhaps older girls at school like prefects, and even the school counselor if needed. Better to address this earlier than later as anxiety issues can become overwhelming. Support and love from parents is needed but speaking up and seeking guidance from those at the school will help with tips and tricks that are best known by those in the environment. Students learn how to manage time and workload and often their peers and the school staff can have insights on that.
Very much depends on the kid. Ours does better without much contact from home when she’s having anxiety issues, she prefers to seek help herself on campus, as that helps her feel like she has a measure of control. So I’d say that of course parents should always try to be aware of what’s going on with their kids, but frankly the best thing you can do is actually lay the groundwork when times are good. When everything is going well, that’s the time to have some non-demanding conversations along the lines of "I’m so happy that everything’s going so well right now. You know, though,
^ agree with soxmom. We have learned that our role has changed tremendously since BS. We are more of a dumping ground than ones who can fix anything. Laying the groundwork in better times has been our new approach as well. And learning to let certain things go- something new for me
I will also add that living in a dorm during finals is rough! The sleep deprivition and stress, exacerbated by the cramped living conditions, makes the dorms atmosphere toxic. My kid is on a trimester system so her exams were before Thanksgiving. All she needed was to get away, and sleep a lot. The past 2 weeks back at school have been much better despite a heavier schedule. Sounds like Sculptorkid just needs a good break! as they say @ here bless her heart!
She is taking midterms, and will be home next week!
Being anxious is definitely normal for a high school student. But having a full blown panic attack and big mood swings are not.
Have you considered having her evaluated by a professional?
I asked her to see a counselor but she said her mood swing is gone and she doesn’t have time due to midterm. Perhaps I should take her to a professional during winter break. She sounded very much her normal self today, but better safe than sorry.
@SculptorDad I don’t think it will hurt. But as a parent of 2 teenage girls, the behavior sounds pretty normal for times of extreme stress. It might just be the words you chose to describe. I agree with some of the posters above, many times after our kids “dumped on us” how tragic everything was, we worried about them and tried to come up with solutions to their problems, only to find out later, they hung up the phone and went to a party with friends.
Our latest example was a flurry of text and phone calls on why a clubs upcoming event was going to be horrible. She didn’t like the club, it was a waste of time, she was quitting etc… We just let her vent and didn’t intervene. Fast forward a few days and she shared that the event was amazing, she met tons of new kids that she couldnt have met otherwise and loves the club!
I find that my DD gets stressed the week before coming home. Most of that is due to the workload (lots of big tests etc.) but it could also be anxiety over “transitioning”. DD is making plans with friends from home and is looking forward to her time with us, while at the same time trying to stay present and focus on the demands of school. It’s a lot to cope with. I remember reading on one school’s website that they purposely don’t schedule exams, tests, large projects/papers for the week that the kids are going home. I can’t remember which school it was, but I thought that was a smart idea.
@SculptorDad , you may want to suggest to your DD (later, when she’s home) that it would be a good idea to check in every once in a while with the school counselor. Even when times are good, it’s a nice relationship to foster. Then when/if times are bad, she will already feel comfortable with that person and will be more likely to seek help early. It’s all about establishing habits of self-care, which can only benefit her in the long run.
Daughter texted me that her teacher gave an extra candy to everyone who cried after the exam. I replied, “How Sweet.”
SculptorDad- Do I remember correctly that your daughter is at an all girls school? She can be adjusting to that as well. I went to one for 12, long years! No, seriously it was great in many, many ways. Those girls are still my sisters- however, the emotions can run particularly high- there will be a lot of tears, mini dramas and unnecessary anxiety. It wasnt until I went to a coed college that I realized the value of many boys abilites to goof around, or be “chill”. Boys can neutralize the girl drama-
@GMC2918 thank you for that feedback! Everything up until now has been fairly smooth for AppleKid, but the conversation today took an odd turn about what life would be like right now if the local option had been settled upon instead. Now it makes sense–reentry into the friend group at home is probably kinda stressful especially with break lasting 3 weeks!
Reminder… Parents are the safe space to be vulnerable. Boarding School is performative 24/7. You are a blanket to scream into
Nice image, @jdewey! Perfect. 
I prefer to be the blankie.
@AppleNotFar my daughter gets very stressed about coming home and is already stressing about summer. Not that she doesn’t love to come home to family, but her “friend” group here has completely stopped speaking to her and wants nothing to do with her when she comes home all because she left. 
Add that on the stress of exams week…
@jdewey I love that! It’s perfect!
Coming through on the other side of these tense weeks is a big confidence booster - it gets easier with practice, and if it gets harder, feel free to PM me as I have some experience with kids who have anxiety
Thanks @chemmchimney!
@ruralroute that’s a sad story. My kiddo never had much of a friend group at school locally because no one was in the same sport, plus kiddo is frankly kind of a nerd, but the friend group from the club team, who attend a wide variety of other local schools, were and are super supportive of AppleKid’s decision to go to BS. I think some of the fear of the awkwardness of going back home is lessening as plans are being made for movie dates and even a NYE party–at our house! What may also be tough is that AppleKid is settling into a new “home” with a new “family” at BS and now needs to leave them for what seems like a long time for a 14 year old. As mentioned above, kiddo hasn’t had the benefit of a true friend group at school before, so I’m guessing it’s hard to leave this new one behind. I’ve also gotten about a handful of calls just today asking for advice about what should or shouldn’t get packed to come back home!
@jdewey I’ve quoted you to several of my friends! They all like how you put that. Helps add color to the holiday party small talk about how your kids are doing.