OCD

Teaching Our Kids How to Handle Discomfort is Key for Anxiety & OCD

We all struggle to some degree when faced with discomfort. But when you have anxiety or OCD you are faced with discomfort on a completely different level. Anxious thoughts make us uncomfortable. Intrusive thoughts that are not satiated with a compulsion lead to discomfort. When we work on anxiety or OCD, a key component is building our muscles to tolerate discomfort. This can help us beyond our anxiety or OCD. Learning how to handle any discomfort can increase resilience. Life brings discomfort in many forms. Building resilience goes beyond anxiety or OCD. It can impact how we approach life, obstacles and challenges. It can make the difference between giving up and persevering. In this week’s YouTube video I talk to kids and teens about ways to build their ability to handle discomfort beyond anxiety or OCD.

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PSP 333: Should You Tell the School About Your Child’s Anxiety or OCD?

Parents often ask me if they should tell the school about their child’s anxiety or OCD. The answer isn’t a simple yes or no. There are things to consider. Like does their anxiety or OCD impact their academic performance or ability to function at school? Is there a chance that they will be mislabeled or misunderstood due to their anxiety or OCD? In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast I explore the areas to consider when weighing the pros and cons of telling the school about your child’s anxiety or OCD.

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How to Teach a Child with Anxiety or OCD to Advocate for Themselves

There may be times that our kids have to advocate for their needs when it comes to their anxiety or OCD. Learning how to find their voice and communicate their needs is a huge skill that will benefit them throughout life. When our kids depend on others to advocate their needs they can become disempowered. Learning how to be their own voice can take time. These skills don’t show up overnight, rather they are built one small step at a time. Advocating their needs doesn’t mean everyone caters to anxious avoidance or compulsions. It means they know what help they need to excel. They know what environmental factors are impeding their progress. They know what tweaks can be made that will make them thrive – and they voice them. In this week’s Youtube video for kids and teens I discuss why it’s important to advocate for their anxiety or OCD needs and how to start doing it!

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PSP 332: Understanding Relationship OCD in Kids and Teens with Kristina Orlova

It is helpful to understand the many different disguises OCD can wear. When we understand how OCD can show up, we can nip it in the bud more often. Relationship OCD is often talked about in an adult context, but it impacts kids and teens as well. I invited Kristina Orlova, an anxiety and OCD therapist and creator of OCD Academy, to come onto the AT Parenting Survival Podcast to help us understand ROCD better.

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PSP 331: The Biggest Misconceptions Parents Have About Child Anxiety and OCD Therapy

When your child is in therapy or you are searching for an anxiety or OCD therapist, you might have expectations and assumptions about how treatment should go. Often those expectations and assumptions are inaccurate. I invited therapists Dr. Josh Spitalnick and Marti Munford from Anxiety Specialists of Atlanta, to sit down with me on the AT Parenting Survival Podcast to discuss the most common misconceptions they see among parents.

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Helping Kids with Anxiety or OCD and Sensory Processing Issues

Helping Kids with Anxiety or OCD and Sensory Processing Issues This episode is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the guidance of a qualified professional. Anxiety and OCD don’t live in a bubble. Often kids with anxiety and OCD have sensory processing issues as well. It can help to understand what is sensory, what is anxiety, what is OCD and what […]

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PSP 330: Tips to Travel Internationally With Kids with Anxiety or OCD

When your child is struggling with anxiety or OCD it can feel overwhelming to travel internationally. How will their anxiety handle all the change? Will their OCD be triggered? Helping our child with anxiety or OCD is a marathon not a sprint, and life should still be lived and enjoyed. In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast I discuss my tips, tricks and hacks to traveling internationally with kids who have anxiety or OCD.

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Is Your Child Catching New OCD Compulsions?

Working on OCD is like pulling weeds. Our kids are slowly taking their garden back by eliminating one OCD compulsion at a time (or several at a time!). The less they do compulsions, the weaker OCD becomes. But what if they let some new compulsions grow some early roots? What if they focus so hard on the weeds in front of them, they miss the new weeds starting to form in the distance? What if they want people to see a clean garden, so they hide the new weeds to everyone but themselves? In this week’s Youtube video I talk to kids and teens about the importance of pulling out those small OCD weeds and preventing any new OCD compulsions from ever taking root.

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PSP 329: What to Do When Your Child with OCD or Anxiety Won’t Discuss it

Often parents give up before they even start because their child with OCD or anxiety refuses to talk. It is easy to think there is nothing you can do if you can’t get your child to discuss their anxiety or OCD. But there is always a place to start, always.

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When Your Child’s Faced with Anxiety or OCD Struggles Do They Give Up Before They Begin?

How does your child talk to themselves when faced with anxiety or OCD struggles? How they show up to these anxiety or OCD issues can make all the difference. Do they cheer for themselves or do they cheer for anxiety or OCD? In this week’s Youtube video I talk to kids and teens about how our internal dialogue around anxiety or OCD is crucial.

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PSP 328: Dealing with School Refusal with Dayna Abraham

School refusal can be one of the hardest aspects of anxiety or OCD. It can impact so many areas including your child’s education and your employment. With everyone so stressed, it can be hard to respond in an intentional, effective way. That is why I brought Dayna Abraham, author of the new book, Calm the Chaos, onto the AT Parenting Survival Podcast. She has a talent for breaking things down into simple steps.

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Would Your Child Notice Other OCD Themes?

OCD comes in many disguises. OCD is OCD and it is treated as such, but it can be easy to miss new intrusive thoughts and compulsions. That is because OCD can morph and present in a completely different way. The best way to approach OCD is to educate ourselves and our kids in the many ways it can show up. It can help to learn about other OCD experiences and common OCD intrusive thoughts and compulsions. When you do this, you and your child will be able to catch new OCD struggles before it can grow big roots. Then you’ll approach it the same way you do with any other OCD theme using ERP, Exposure Response Prevention.

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PSP 327: Reducing Inflammation to Improve Mental Health

We are hearing more and more about how inflammation is implicated in many mental health issues including anxiety and OCD. But what does that mean? Are there ways we can see if our child is struggling with inflammation? Are there things we can change in their diet or lifestyle that will reduce inflammation?

I don’t know those answers, but I do know someone who does! That is why I invited Dr. Ann Kulze, a renowned physician and founder of the Healthy Living School to come and talk to us. Dr. Ann has been featured on the Dr. Oz show, Oprah and Friends Radio, Time, and WebMD sharing her expertise in this area.

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Helping Kids Understand OCD Distraction vs Refocusing

Helping Kids Understand OCD Distraction vs Refocusing This video is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the guidance of a qualified professional. When your child is bombarded with OCD intrusive thoughts they might be on the hamster wheel of distraction. In fact it is the most common way to get relief from OCD intrusive thoughts. Unfortunately, this avoidance only grows OCD […]

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PSP 326: OCD and Eating Disorders

OCD and Eating Disorders are often comorbid conditions, but beyond that, OCD can cause disordered eating. Many OCD issues including Emetophobia, Moral OCD, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Orthorexia, PANDAS/PANS and ARFID can impact our kids ability to eat. In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast I explore the various OCD issues that can overlap Eating Disorders and some that can be incorrectly diagnosed and treated as only an Eating Disorder.

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Teaching Our Kids How to Handle Discomfort is Key for Anxiety & OCD

PSP 333: Should You Tell the School About Your Child’s Anxiety or OCD?

How to Teach a Child with Anxiety or OCD to Advocate for Themselves

PSP 332: Understanding Relationship OCD in Kids and Teens with Kristina Orlova

PSP 331: The Biggest Misconceptions Parents Have About Child Anxiety and OCD Therapy

Helping Kids with Anxiety or OCD and Sensory Processing Issues

PSP 330: Tips to Travel Internationally With Kids with Anxiety or OCD

Is Your Child Catching New OCD Compulsions?

PSP 329: What to Do When Your Child with OCD or Anxiety Won’t Discuss it

When Your Child’s Faced with Anxiety or OCD Struggles Do They Give Up Before They Begin?

PSP 328: Dealing with School Refusal with Dayna Abraham

Would Your Child Notice Other OCD Themes?

PSP 327: Reducing Inflammation to Improve Mental Health

Helping Kids Understand OCD Distraction vs Refocusing

PSP 326: OCD and Eating Disorders

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