Anxiety and OCD can cause our children to act in ways that can be overwhelming, disheartening and sometimes even hurtful. It is easy to fall into the trap of taking our children’s anxiety or OCD personally. In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast I talk about the many ways we can take our children’s anxiety or OCD behaviors personally, and what we can do instead.
We will all fall short sometimes and so will our children with anxiety or OCD. They will avoid, they will crumble, they will give in to their anxiety or OCD. That is all par for the course. More often than not they will view these situations as “failures.” They might beat themselves up or use the experience as evidence that they can’t do it again.
Anxiety and OCD love to feed on avoidance. It will make our kids avoid all sorts of things. But the most powerful thing it can make them avoid is even talking about anxiety or OCD. When they avoid talking about anxiety or OCD they can’t make progress. It keeps them stuck in a loop that continues to grow anxiety or OCD.
OCD is tricky. It can seem easy to outsmart. Maybe if I just argue with it, I can crush it with facts. Maybe if I just take preventative measures, it will leave me alone. Maybe if I just do what it wants, it will finally go away.
Helping Kids with Limiting Beliefs Around Anxiety or OCD I can’t do it. I’ll never beat it. It will always be like this! Those types of limiting beliefs are not only hard to hear, but they can become a self fulfilling prophecy. In this week’s Youtube video for kids and teens I talk about limiting beliefs and how kids can take small steps to slowly […]
Ugly Parenting Moments and How to Repair Them We all have our ugly moments as parents. We all show up in ways we don’t want to show up for our kids with anxiety or OCD. But what do we do after those ugly moments are over? In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast I explore what triggers ugly parenting moments and how we can repair […]
Calling out Anxiety or OCD When a Child is Angry We talk about helping our kids realize when it is their anxiety or OCD ruling their behavior. But what happens when we get a loud bark when we do it? Is it a bad sign if our child gets angry? Should we stop? In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast, I talk about when and […]
Accommodation vs Validation in Kids with Anxiety or OCD Even though we don’t want to accommodate our child’s anxiety or OCD, it doesn’t mean that we can’t support or reassure our kids. Yes, I said reassure our kids. It’s how we reassure our kids that matters. Do we reassure their anxiety or OCD, or do we reassure them. It is important to validate our children’s […]
Raising Multiple Kids with Anxiety or OCD It’s hard enough having one child with anxiety or OCD, but what if you have more than one? What if even your partner or you also struggle? It can be daunting to realize you have a packed house full of anxiety or OCD. Trust me, I get it! But even though we can’t control if this happens, we […]
What Anxiety or OCD Stories Does Your Child Believe? Anxiety and OCD like to tell our kids stories. Stories like… You can’t sleep in the dark You can’t eat that You can’t be in crowds You can’t do that alone You can’t touch that You can’t think that You can’t survive that When our kids embrace these stories and take them at face value they […]
Helping Your Child Celebrate Small Wins around Anxiety or OCD Mindset is half the battle when it comes to anxiety or OCD. But how do we teach that to our kids and teens? How they view their wins is key to their long-term success. Do they acknowledge when they’ve overcome a fear or challenge? Do they recognize how far they’ve come, even if they have […]
Don’t Let Anxiety or OCD Rob Your Kids of Self Love Anxiety and OCD already rob our kids of so much, so it hurts when it takes a hit at their self love as well. Anxiety and OCD can feel stigmatizing and embarrassing. It can bombard a child with feelings of unworthiness and hopelessness. In this week’s Youtube video I talk to kids and teens […]
Our Kids See What Their Anxiety & OCD Want Them to See Anxiety and OCD aren’t passively in the background. They are actively working to prove that the world is full of your worst fears. Anxiety and OCD will whisper, see I am keeping you safe. Look at all these situations that aren’t safe. Thank goodness for me, right?! Unfortunately, our brain is wired to […]
Helping Our Kids with Anxiety or OCD by Leaning into Acceptance It is hard to accept that our child has anxiety or OCD. It is even harder to accept the pain, discomfort, and struggle they have to go through each day. But often we spend so much energy trying to swim upstream we get lost in the struggle. In this week’s episode of the AT […]
How to Handle When You and Your Child Both have Anxiety or OCD Anxiety and OCD are both highly genetic, so it’s not surprising that many parents find themselves raising kids with similar issues. Often though, many of us back burner our own help to focus on our children’s needs. But what if focusing on your needs also helps your child’s struggles? In this episode […]
