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.
Our kids with anxiety or OCD will often have moments of fear and avoidance. What we do in those moments can have a big impact on their long term success. In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast I talk about how to turn some of those fearful moments into an opportunity to sit in discomfort and walk towards fear.
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.
Often our kids with anxiety or OCD have BIG emotions. These emotions can be exhausting or overwhelming for us to handle. In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast I talk about how to shift our perspective when these big emotions show up and how to turn a dark moment into an opportunity for growth.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Parenting can be an isolating journey, but as women we often have many resources at our fingertips. We have Mommy and Me classes and endless Facebook groups ready to get our mama back. But what about fathers? The fatherhood journey can feel completely different and comes with its own set of obstacles and struggles.
You finally found help for your child with anxiety or OCD but they don’t want to work on it. Now what? That can be beyond frustrating! Especially if it took you a long time to connect with the right resources or help.
OCD comes in many different shapes and flavors. One way it shows up is through the concept of “contamination.” Contamination means something different for each person who suffers from OCD, but they all have two things in common:
Something/someone cannot be touched and should be avoided
Contamination can spread from object to object, person to person (and even place to place)
Having OCD can be a lonely experience. Kids can feel like there is no one else out there who gets their struggles. And really, who can blame them? The media (and even worse social media) often spend their time talking about OCD like it’s a meme or an adjective.
It is hard not to want to control our child’s anxiety or OCD journey. It is hard not to have expectations for how it should turn out. It’s human nature to want to do everything in our power to help our kids. But sometimes the best thing we can do for ourselves and our children is to recognize what areas we do not control. Sometimes we can make the most progress when we learn to let go of expectations and perceived control.
OCD is sneaky! It hides in the questions our children ask. It disguises itself with curiosity, constant checking or over apologetic responses. OCD is a family affair and it often gets us as parents to inadvertently grow it on a daily basis.
A common theme among kids with anxiety or OCD is their health. Are they breathing? Are they choking? Is that bump going to lead to a horrible disease? This week I brought Dr. Dawn Huebner onto the AT Parenting Survival Podcast to discuss how to help kids who have health anxiety or OCD.
