If you have a child with anxiety or OCD they are bombarded daily with horrible, upsetting thoughts. This sea of overwhelming images and ideas can drown kids and pull them into a dark abyss. It can be hard to cope with anxiety or OCD when you are constantly fighting these thoughts.
Kids will often ask what they can do to get some relief from these thoughts, images and ideas. One of the best weapons I have used in my practice is teaching kids to create a “world.”
5 Things Every Child with OCD Should Know: Here is #2 This video is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the guidance of a qualified professional. The reason why OCD is so hard to control is because kids (and parents) often do what feels intuitively right – they rationalize, problem-solve and feed OCD. -If OCD says to be afraid of germs, […]
OCD can make kids feel guilty, gross, or crazy. It is one of the main reasons why people often keep their intrusive thoughts and feelings to themselves. What if people think I’m crazy? What if they think I’m weird? What if they think I’m sick or disgusting? The truth is, we all have intrusive thoughts and feelings. We all have thoughts that feel foreign, bizarre, or disturbing. Many of us might hyperfocus on a bodily function or get an image or song stuck in our heads.
How to Not Compare Your Child to Other Kids The comparing game can be so tempting. Why can her kids do that and mine can’t? Why is it so easy for them and everything is so difficult for us? Why do we have to go through this? I wish my child was like that. Trust me I get it, I live it. But in this […]
How to Help Kids with Perfectionism There is no room for mistakes. There is no room for growth. Everything must be perfect the first time or your child will crumble. Perfectionism has the power to paralyze our kids and make them give up before they even begin. Often our kids think imperfection is synonymous with failure. Ironically it is actually perfectionism that holds our kids […]
Empowering Our Kids with Anxiety or OCD to Help Themselves We want the best for our kids. We want our kids to blossom and live a happy fulfilling life. But when our kids start to struggle with anxiety or OCD we might think that rosy picture is gone forever. We might think we have to “cure” anxiety or OCD for them to be well again. […]
What to Do When OCD Makes Your Child Doubt They Have OCD OCD loves to make people doubt. It loves to make people doubt so much that it can even make them doubt they have OCD. Even when they have been diagnosed. Even when they have been successful in treatment. Often this doubt comes when OCD is desperate, when the person has made some great […]
Things Kids Can Do to Prevent OCD from Getting Worse When our kids have OCD it can feel like we are losing control. New compulsions are popping up all the time and all our efforts can seem futile. That is why it is so important to give our kids the tools to help themselves. Educating them on what OCD is and how it works is […]
Helping Kids Realize that Avoidance Grows Anxiety & OCD One of anxiety and OCD’s favorite behaviors is avoidance. Avoidance grows these struggles quicker than any other behavior. Anxiety will whisper, “just don’t go.” OCD will plead, “just don’t touch it.” The more our kids avoid (and the more we help them avoid), the bigger these issues grow. In this week’s kids YouTube video, I talk […]
No one will get it. They’ll think you are crazy. Your thoughts are ridiculous. You better keep them to yourself.
Anxiety and OCD’s most powerful weapon is shame and secrecy. That is why the very first thing I do with kids is normalize their anxiety and OCD. Right after that I let them know anxiety and OCD’s favorite tactic…secrecy.
Do I Tell My Child They have Been Diagnosed with Anxiety or OCD? Often one of the initial hurdles parents face when their child has been diagnosed with anxiety or OCD is what to tell their child. Do they even tell them at all? If they do, is it going to help or hurt the situation? I do have some strong opinions about this […]
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?
Helping Kids with Anxiety or OCD who have Holiday Overwhelm What can be wrong with lots of time off, plenty of parties, some pent up excitement and gift giving? Lots actually, especially if you are a child with anxiety or OCD. It is not unusual for kids to struggle a bit more during the holidays. The reason for this varies depending on the child’s issues, […]
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