OCD Archives - AT: Parenting Survival for All Ages

Does Your Child Worry Accepting OCD Thoughts Means They Agree with Them?

As therapists, we teach people with OCD to accept their intrusive thoughts without doing compulsions. We might even suggest that they sarcastically agree with their OCD thoughts so they don’t fall into the trap of arguing with OCD. But what if OCD uses those skills against them? What if OCD tells them that because they are able to accept or even sarcastically agree with their intrusive thoughts that somehow they are true? In this week’s Youtube video I talk to kids and teens about how OCD can try to outsmart them and how they can stand their ground.

Read Me

PSP 290: Helping Kids with OCD when it is a Feeling, not a Fear

OCD is not always about a fear, sometimes it is about a feeling. Kids with OCD can have intrusive feelings around disgust. They can have issues where things don’t feel just right. They can be hyper focused on bodily sensations like their breathing, blinking, heart rhythm and bladder. In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast I explore how these types of OCD themes show up and how to do ERP (exposure with response prevention) with this type of issue.

Read Me

Is Your Child Afraid of Death and Dying?

One of the most common anxiety and OCD fears is death and dying. Most of us don’t want to die, but for some this level of fear robs them from living. In this week’s Youtube video I talk to kids and teens about how to tackle the fear of death and start living life again.

Read Me

Does Your Child Argue with OCD? Why That Makes OCD Worse.

Anxiety is like playing checkers, but OCD is like playing chess. You can try to rationalize with anxiety. You can problem-solve and try to talk yourself out of anxiety. It may not be easy, but with skills, you can make some headway. But OCD is a different game entirely. OCD will easily outsmart you if you don’t know the rules of the game.

Read Me

Does OCD Make Your Child Repeatedly Say Sorry?

OCD will often make our kids feel like they are a bad person. When they struggle with OCD subtypes like moral OCD or harm OCD they might have compulsions that make them repeatedly say they are sorry. Often OCD will want them to say they are sorry several times to make sure the person heard them or to get a response that makes it all okay. Or OCD might be satisfied if they just say it out loud. Regardless of what type of compulsions they have to do, saying sorry for OCD only serves to grow OCD bigger. In this week’s Youtube video I talk to kids and teens about why saying sorry is a common compulsion and how to outsmart OCD and not do what it wants.

Read Me

PSP 287: How Our Attitude Impacts Our Child’s Anxiety or OCD

We are only one piece of the puzzle in our child’s long term success with anxiety or OCD, but our attitude is something we have full control over. How we show up to our child’s struggles can have a big impact. In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast I talk about our parental attitudes and how to shift them while having self-compassion.

Read Me

Helping Kids with OCD when Songs Get Stuck in their Head

Many of us get songs stuck in our heads, that’s common. But when you have OCD, thoughts, images and even songs can get “sticky.” In this week’s Youtube video I talk to kids and teens about why this becomes an OCD issue and how to overcome it.

Read Me

Two Ways of Looking at OCD

There are two ways to approach OCD. The first is to align with OCD and appease, negotiate and listen to the rules it dictates. The world outside of OCD is the problem. The second is to recognize that OCD is not a friend, confidante or protector. It does not dictate rational rules to keep you safe or comfortable. It is the discomfort maker. In this week’s Youtube I am talking to kids and teens about this and asking them, which way do they want to see OCD?

Read Me

PSP 285: How to Get Kids with Anxiety or OCD to Move Towards Their Fears

As parents we want to encourage our kids with anxiety or OCD to move towards their fears and discomfort, not away from them. But how do we do that? In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast I talk about the small steps we can take to help our kids move towards their fears. I also talk about effective ways to offer encouragement and instill the feeling of success.

Read Me

Does Your Teen Worry Anxiety or OCD Will Take Over Their Life?

It is not uncommon for our kids (and us) to worry about worrying. They might wonder: What if my anxiety or OCD grows bigger? What if I am not able to go to school or get a job? What if I can’t find happiness? Feeling worried about their future can impact their present. It can also rob them (and you) of any energy they might have to meet these struggles head on. In this week’s Youtube video I talk to kids and teens about how to handle their fears of the future, while making progress in the here and now.

Read Me

PSP 284: How Puberty Impacts Anxiety & OCD

Puberty is hard enough, but add anxiety and OCD to the mix and UGH! In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast I talk about the good (yes there is some good), the bad (oh yeah, there is that too) and the ugly (plenty of that) when kids with anxiety or OCD enter puberty.

Read Me

Did I Miss Something? Rewind and repeat OCD compulsions

OCD isn’t always about fears, sometimes it is about feelings. A feeling of incompleteness is common in OCD. One way OCD shows up is in the feeling you didn’t “catch it all.” You might have a feeling of incompleteness or it might trigger other themes like, “am I lying if I said I read this?” Or “will something bad happen if I don’t reread or rewatch this?” This can cause people with OCD to read and reread lines, paragraphs or chapters. It can make people rewind and rewatch videos over and over again. It can make you ask people to repeat themselves or explain themselves over and over again.

Read Me

PSP 283: Inpatient Treatment for OCD: When to Consider it & What to Do After

OCD can take over our child or teen’s world and sometimes we have to get more intensive support. In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast I talk about the different levels of care that are available to kids with OCD, when to consider intensive outpatient or residential care and what to do when they come back home.

Read Me

PSP 282: Signs and Symptoms of Agoraphobia in Kids

Agoraphobia can prevent our kids from being able to leave the house, be in crowds, go to the movies or travel – just to name a few. It can be a debilitating and life altering disorder and often the signs and symptoms can start in childhood.

Read Me

What is Anxiety or OCD Taking Away from Your Child?

Anxiety and OCD can rob us of the things we love the most. It can also be a powerful tool to motivate our kids to work on their anxiety or OCD. In this Youtube video I talk to kids and teens about what anxiety or OCD is taking away from them and what things they want to take back

Read Me

OCD

Does Your Child Worry Accepting OCD Thoughts Means They Agree with Them?

PSP 290: Helping Kids with OCD when it is a Feeling, not a Fear

Is Your Child Afraid of Death and Dying?

Does Your Child Argue with OCD? Why That Makes OCD Worse.

Does OCD Make Your Child Repeatedly Say Sorry?

PSP 287: How Our Attitude Impacts Our Child’s Anxiety or OCD

Helping Kids with OCD when Songs Get Stuck in their Head

Two Ways of Looking at OCD

PSP 285: How to Get Kids with Anxiety or OCD to Move Towards Their Fears

Does Your Teen Worry Anxiety or OCD Will Take Over Their Life?

PSP 284: How Puberty Impacts Anxiety & OCD

Did I Miss Something? Rewind and repeat OCD compulsions

PSP 283: Inpatient Treatment for OCD: When to Consider it & What to Do After

PSP 282: Signs and Symptoms of Agoraphobia in Kids

What is Anxiety or OCD Taking Away from Your Child?

FREE WEBINARS & CLASSES

ONLINE CLASSES

WEEKLY SUPPORT

AVAILABLE BOOKS

Resources

Want to Know When I have New Material?

Looking for something specific? Search!

Follow