Motivating Kids by Asking, “What is Anxiety or OCD Ruining for You?” It can be hard to motivate kids to work on anxiety or OCD. It can be a hard sell to tell them that the more they do hard things, the easier it will become. Anxiety or OCD can be demanding and convincing. So how are we supposed to motivate our kids to work […]
Sometimes it just seems impossible. Beating anxiety or OCD seems like an insurmountable task that is not worth taking. This is especially true for our kids. When just getting them to do their homework or eat healthy is an uphill battle, how on earth can we encourage them to take steps towards their fear?
Anxiety and OCD can take its toll. It can be exhausting, overwhelming and traumatizing for the whole family. So, when your child starts to make some big improvements, it’s normal to be worried about how long it will last. It’s normal to doubt the progress. You might ask yourself, “Is this for real? Is this the new normal?”
How to Help a Child Who Gets Images Stuck in Their Head We all get songs stuck in our head from time to time. But kids with anxiety or OCD have “sticky” minds. Things get stuck in their brains all the time. When a child gets images stuck in their head, it can cause some serious distress. They might wonder: When will this image […]
I didn’t know the level of my anxiety until I brought little people into my world. It seemed like my anxiety just couldn’t hide under the weight of parental stress. That happens to many of us. We strive to become a better parent and we begin to realize that it is actually our own anxiety that is holding us back.
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 […]
Parenting is a hard enough gig. But when you add your own anxiety to the mix it can be an uphill battle. I spend much of my time talking to you about how to help your kids with anxiety and OCD, but what about you? As parents we often put our needs last. This is unfortunate because parenting will take every ounce of your strength and of your sanity. You will need to be at your best. So how can you do that? By taking care of yourself and your needs – including your own anxiety. Parenting with anxiety can feel like parenting with one arm tied behind your back.
The hardest part about having anxiety is the onslaught of anxious thoughts day after day after day. Now imagine you are just a kid. A kid who is learning how to tie his shoes. To multiply and divide. To make friends and keep friends. The constant flood of anxious thoughts is enough to make a child stop dead in their tracks. It is enough to make them want to retreat, to not get out of bed. It can derail their education and their ability to socialize.
Do you know why child OCD and anxiety can be so hard to get rid of typically? Because most kids subscribe to the OCD and anxiety channel in their brain. It is playing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. You can’t compete with that. A therapist can’t compete with that. Until your child learns how to change the channel in their brain or at least not subscribe to the OCD and anxiety network, little progress can be made.
So how do you get kids to change the channel? It is actually a hard skill for all of us, not just kids. But, it can be done! This week on Ask the Child Therapist Kids Edition I am talking to kids about how to pay attention to what is playing in their head and how to have some say in the programming.
When children are afraid or obsessed with a horrible thought you might think that the best way to help them is to teach them to get their mind “off of it.” Not only is this not effective, it can actually make anxiety and OCD worse. ERP for OCD and anxiety, also known as Exposure and Response Prevention is a counterintuitive therapy that has some parents running in the opposite direction.
But let me tell you why this wacky approach not only works, but is the gold standard for treatment.
Is anxiety and OCD bullying your child? Do you find your child spends much of their time avoiding fears and giving in to their anxiety or OCD bully? Families can feel like they are held hostage by anxiety and OCD. It can feel like every decision, every activity is controlled by this outside force.
It doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, it is important that your child can see that taking back power is the way to emotional freedom! So how do you do that? Especially if your child is paralyzed with fear or shutdown and won’t talk about it?
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