When we ask our kids to face their fears, it can be like asking them to jump off a cliff. Swim with sharks. Jump out of an airplane. All of which I know I would never want to do. That is why offering good incentives is key when trying to get kids to work on anxiety or OCD.
Ahhh. You finally have a nice break. Your child is curled up on the couch with little to no plans of ever moving. And frankly, you feel the same way. It might have been a tough school year of stress, anxiety and challenges. But ironically, there is no better time than the summer to work on anxiety or OCD.
Summer is here and most kids are ecstatic. But kids with anxiety or OCD can feel some dread. Dread over the downtime. Dread over the slow pace that invites anxiety or OCD to take center stage.
They dig their heels in. They refuse to go. They refuse to eat. They refuse to move. Oppositional behavior in a child with OCD or anxiety can be all consuming.
So, what are you supposed to do?
“Why on earth did I think that?!” – that is at the heart of many OCD Intrusive thoughts. The fear of the thought itself. Having disturbing thoughts is….disturbing. But what is even more upsetting is that you had the thought at all.
Anxiety or OCD can make you feel like you house has been hijacked. It can make you feel like your home is not your own. Having a child with anxiety or OCD can often mean, having a controlling child.
Your child is stuck. They are on a permanent loop that will not end. They have to do it again and again and again. Time passes but they cannot move on. Your child is not trying to make it perfect. They are not trying to do their best. They are just waiting until it feels “just right.” Welcome to the world of Just Right OCD.
People will try to treat OCD with many different approaches. Treatment of OCD can include the use of talk therapy, play therapy, biofeedback or EMDR. But the truth of the matter is, OCD will not improve significantly without ERP, Exposure Response Prevention.
Have you ever wondered what your child with OCD is going through? What their life is like growing up with OCD?
I had the pleasure of talking to John Tessitore, the founder of the JCK Foundation. He was willing to get raw with me and share some personal details of what life was like growing up with thoughts he hid from the outside world.
Hearing your child confess thoughts that do not make sense can be heartbreaking. Moral OCD is one of the most confusing OCD themes a parent, and for that matter, a child, can experience. Kids with Moral OCD are bombarded with thoughts.
There is a common OCD problem that no one likes to talk about – over wiping.
OCD loves to make our kids doubt. Doubt their safety, doubt their cleanliness and doubt their completenessdoubt their completeness.
I can’t do this. This sucks! I’m going to have the WORST day ever. I’ll never beat this! Life with anxiety or OCD can conjure up all sorts of negative thoughts like that. And who is to blame a child for having those feelings. Anxiety or OCD is overwhelming.
Sometimes anxiety or OCD is just too overwhelming. Sometimes fighting anxiety or OCD can seem like too much for kids (or for anyone for that matter!).
When Kids Focus on Helping Others, it Can Help Decrease Anxiety or OCD as Well When you are living with anxiety or OCD it can be all consuming. It can take up much of what you think about and dictate much of what you do. I talk tons about how to decrease anxiety or OCD symptoms in our kids. I talk often about the importance […]
I hear this over and over again. “I don’t have a fear. It is just GROSS!” or “I am not worried, it is just so DISGUSTING!” Often this can confuse parents and even professionals into believing there is no OCD hidden under these feelings. After all, where is the intrusive thought or the paralyzing fear?
