Is Your Child Catching New OCD Compulsions?

Is Your Child Catching New OCD Compulsions?

Working on OCD is like pulling weeds. Our kids are slowly taking their garden back by eliminating one OCD compulsion at a time (or several at a time!). The less they do compulsions, the weaker OCD becomes. But what if they let some new compulsions grow some early roots? What if they focus so hard on the weeds in front of them, they miss the new weeds starting to form in the distance? What if they want people to see a clean garden, so they hide the new weeds to everyone but themselves? In this week’s Youtube video I talk to kids and teens about the importance of pulling out those small OCD weeds and preventing any new OCD compulsions from ever taking root.

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PSP: 257 Helping Kids with “Pure O” and Mental Compulsions

PSP: 257 Helping Kids with “Pure O” and Mental Compulsions

Helping Kids with “Pure O” and Mental Compulsions Many kids have what some people call “pure O” or purely obsessional thoughts. But more often than not those obsessional thoughts are quieted by a menu of mental compulsions that go along with it. So what is a parent to do if their child is doing unseen mental compulsions? I explore “Pure O” and mental compulsions in […]

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Helping Kids Understand the Difference Between Obsessions and Compulsions

Helping Kids Understand the Difference Between Obsessions and Compulsions

Helping Kids Understand the Difference Between Obsessions and Compulsions The biggest gift we can give our kids with OCD is knowledge. The more they understand how OCD works, the more effective they’ll be at crushing it. One of the biggest areas of confusion is the difference between obsessions and compulsions and why it matters. In this week’s Youtube video, I explain to kids and teens […]

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How to Help Kids with Contamination OCD

How to Help Kids with Contamination OCD

How to Help Kids with Contamination OCD Contamination OCD can make kids feel contaminated by anything, not just germs. It can be a thought, a feeling or a person that makes something contaminated.  I have seen kids who were consumed with contamination around bodily fluids, dust, “bad” people, and cleaning supplies to just name a few! OCD can be creative on what it makes kids […]

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PSP 179: Understanding Magical Thinking in OCD

PSP 179: Understanding Magical Thinking in OCD

Understanding Magical Thinking in OCD OCD symptoms and behaviors can look vastly different in each person. You might have a child who has compulsions centered around contamination while another person might have a child with compulsions around magical thinking. You might have a child with both! I always tell parents that you want to be well versed in all the many ways OCD can pop […]

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How to Help Kids with OCD Checking Behavior

How to Help Kids with OCD Checking Behavior

How to Help Kids with OCD Checking Behavior It starts off with a little nag. Did you do it? Are you sure? The uncertainty grows. The nagging impulse grows. Check! Check again! Until eventually the child caves and checks. But OCD checking behavior is a trap. Mental quick sand, I like to call it. It catches people in a vicious loop that they can’t get […]

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Helping Kids Realize that Avoidance Grows Anxiety & OCD

Helping Kids Realize that Avoidance Grows Anxiety & OCD

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 […]

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PSP 163: Three of the Most Commonly Missed Compulsions in Childhood OCD

PSP 163: Three of the Most Commonly Missed Compulsions in Childhood OCD

Three of the Most Commonly Missed Compulsions in Childhood OCD OCD loves to hide. It loves to go undetected. We often think that compulsions are obvious behaviors, like over washing or over straightening. Things that we can see. Things we can measure. But compulsions are often so much more complicated than that. They can be subtle. They can hide in plain sight. In this week’s […]

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Helping Kids with OCD Realize Reassurance Can be a Compulsion

Helping Kids with OCD Realize Reassurance Can be a Compulsion

Helping Kids with OCD Realize Reassurance Can be a Compulsion The compulsion is disguised as reassurance. You think you are talking to your child, but you are really talking to OCD. “Will I get sick if I…” “Am I a bad person if I…” “Do I have a fever…” “Did you touch that?” “Can that hurt me…” “What if I called you a bad name […]

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