OCD loves to cause doubt and so it makes sense that OCD would sometimes target your child’s memory. This can show up in various ways. In this week’s Youtube video for kids and teens I talk about the various ways OCD can target their memory and what they can do about it.
OCD can make our kids worry about all sorts of things. OCD comes in many disguises and themes. Harm OCD themes are often missed or misunderstood. In this week’s Youtube video I talk to kids and teens about what harm OCD themes look like and what they can do to get some OCD relief around this type of theme.
Your kids have a predictable relationship with OCD. OCD gives them an intrusive thought or feeling and they do their part in responding. A key part in getting OCD relief is disrupting this predictable OCD loop. In this week’s Youtube video, I’ll teach them how to disrupt OCD compulsions to throw OCD off-kilter and start taking their life back.
OCD exposures, ERP (Exposure Response Prevention), is the go-to strategy when working on OCD. But what if exposures don’t seem to be helping? In this week’s Youtube video I talk about one of the most common reasons why OCD exposures don’t work and what to do to make this OCD approach more effective.
OCD isn’t just about physical compulsions, there are mental compulsions as well. Compulsions are compulsions whether they are physical or mental. All of them serve to make OCD bigger and more overwhelming. So how are you supposed to help your child with mental compulsions? In this week’s Youtube video I talk to kids and teens about what mental compulsions are and the best strategies to decrease them.
Have you ever noticed that when you try to rationalize your child’s OCD intrusive thoughts away it doesn’t help? Even when you tell them their compulsions don’t make sense, they have a hard time not doing them? That feeling of danger, incompleteness, or fear is not in their mind, it’s in their brain. There is a biological reason why they can’t shake off those uncomfortable feelings. Once they understand the science behind their doubt, it will make more sense why it is so important for them to override those feelings and not give in to OCD’s demands. In this week’s Youtube video, I talk to kids, teens and young adults about why those OCD intrusive thoughts feel so real and what to do about it.
One of the most common anxiety themes is the fear of choking. Kids with this fear often hyperfocus on what they eat and how they eat. At its worst they can avoid all sorts of foods that they feel are “unsafe.” This can limit their diet and cause nutritional issues. In this week’s Youtube video I talk to kids and teens about the fear of choking and what they can do to overcome it.
OCD comes in many flavors. One flavor involves the ongoing fear of being a bad person. Ironically the most kind hearted people often struggle with this type of OCD theme. When our kids have these types of intrusive thoughts they might find themselves consumed with worry about behaviors they did in the past. OCD has access to their mental database and can present them with a long list of “bad” things they’ve done. We are all human and have done things we regret. In this week’s Youtube video I talk to kids and teens about how OCD uses their experiences against them and how they can stay one step ahead and stop OCD in its tracks.
OCD progress is not linear. It is often actually bumpy along the way. In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast, I explore why things can get messy and how to see beyond the messy to recognize the OCD progress.
What’s Your Child’s Personal Relationship like with OCD? This video is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the guidance of a qualified professional. What is your child’s relationship with OCD? They are in a private relationship that no one, not even those closest to them can see. Only they know when they are feeding their OCD. Only they know when they […]
It can be so disappointing when your child has gotten relief from OCD, only to find it rear its ugly head again. It can be even more disappointing if you had the mentality that you can “cure” OCD. OCD is like Diabetes or Asthma. It is something that needs to be watched and managed throughout their life. But there is good news! The more they build those skills at recognizing and identifying OCD, the better they’ll be able to handle the bumps that come their way. Their skills are not lost. All that they worked on is not lost. Their OCD muscles to handle discomfort and deal with OCD head-on are still inside of them. Don’t let OCD convince them that they are starting from square one. They aren’t. You’ve got this. They’ve got this. In this week’s Youtube video for kids and teens I remind them that even with setbacks their skills are still there; their strength is still there.
OCD wants us to take its threats seriously. It wants us to debate with it, argue, and come up with solutions to circumvent the issues it presents. In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast, I explore how these issues can show up and how we can teach our kids and teens to not get caught in OCD’s trap.
The fear of throwing up is a common anxiety. In fact it is one of the most common anxiety themes I saw in my therapy practice. Emetophobia, the fear of throwing up, impacts many people. But most people suffering from the fear of throwing up get this one thing wrong. They work hard on convincing themselves that they won’t throw up. Unfortunately, that only serves to grow Emetophobia more. In this week’s Youtube video I talk to kids and teens about how to get relief from Emetophobia by outsmarting their anxiety and not falling for the trap that will grow it bigger.
As a cognitive behavioral therapist I talk a great deal about how to help our kids by reframing their anxious thoughts and taking steps to do brave things. But I want to expand your child’s toolbox with other useful ways for them to calm their mind and body. The more diversified our children’s coping mechanisms, the better they will do long-term! In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast I invited Kristi Fischer and Kelly Winkler to the show. They host the podcast Mindful Conversations with KAY (Kidding around Yoga).
We all care about what other people think on some level. But does your child stress over what people think? Do they worry people don’t like them? Does it consume them and make them socially anxious? Caring too much about what people think can impact their self-esteem and create mental health struggles like social anxiety. In this week’s Youtube video, I talk to kids and teens about how to overcome caring too much about what other people thin.
