We all want our kids with anxiety or OCD to believe in themselves. We want them to try hard things. We want them to push through their fears. But we only have so much control on how motivated they are to do those things to help themselves.

OCD is sneaky, it often gets our kids to do compulsions that they may not even realize are compulsions! One common mental compulsion is neutralizing intrusive thoughts. Does your child have to compulsively pray, repeat a phrase or word or have a positive thought to neutralize a “bad” thought. Those are all examples of mental compulsions.

How we reframe anxious thoughts vs OCD thoughts are vastly different. Understanding the nuances of how we talk to these two disorders differently is crucial for any parent trying to help their child.