Effective communication is one of the most essential aspects of parenting a child with OCD or anxiety. When communication breaks down, our ability to support them directly becomes limited.
We don’t just leave our childhood in the past. It comes with us, altering our lens of how we view life. This includes how we view and interact with our child’s anxiety or OCD.
When parents disagree on how to approach their child’s anxiety or OCD, they do more than irritate each other, it impacts their child’s progress with anxiety or OCD.
Trying to help a child with OCD or anxiety is not an easy task. One reason for that is because we are not steering the ship. This is not our battle. This is not our struggle. Although trust me, I know we have our own struggles on this journey raising a child with OCD or anxiety.
We all want our kids with anxiety or OCD to believe in themselves. We want them to try hard things. We want them to push through their fears. But we only have so much control on how motivated they are to do those things to help themselves.
How we reframe anxious thoughts vs OCD thoughts are vastly different. Understanding the nuances of how we talk to these two disorders differently is crucial for any parent trying to help their child.
Just because it is the holiday season doesn’t mean our child’s anxiety and OCD take a break. The holidays can stir up a variety of issues for our kids depending on their particular anxiety and OCD themes.
As parents we can be hard on ourselves. The parenting journey raising kids with anxiety and OCD can come with many ups and downs. Many of us blame ourselves when our child’s anxiety or OCD doesn’t get better.
Often it is hard to get our kids into OCD therapy, and when we do, it can be an uphill battle to get them to practice those skills in between sessions. That is why I’m so excited to offer another tool to your at-home toolbox!
We all want our kids to have strong sibling relationships, but often anxiety and OCD can get in the way. Siblings might feel targeted by the child with anxiety or OCD. They might be on the receiving end of aggression or they might just feel sidelined by how much attention their sibling requires.
Are you able to experience happiness while your child is struggling with anxiety or OCD? Do you feel guilty or tell yourself stories about your ability to be “happy” while your child is suffering?
It can be hard enough to help a child with OCD, but what if they are autistic as well? It can be confusing to figure out where autistic traits end and OCD compulsions begin. It can also be a struggle to navigate two worlds that don’t always intersect.
We may not have full control over our child’s recovery around anxiety or OCD, but we can control how we show up to their struggles. This can be tricky when our mind is bogged down with what-if scenarios.
The number one struggle I hear from parents is, “My child won’t accept help for their anxiety or OCD.” What are we supposed to do when anxiety or OCD has hijacked the house and everyone who inhabits it?
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