Emily and Lindsay both struggled with OCD as kids. Even though they were sisters, OCD showed up in very different ways for each of them.
Helping Kids Understand Why Distraction Doesn’t Help Anxiety or OCD When I ask kids what’s the main way they cope with anxiety or OCD, I almost always hear distraction. “I try to get my mind off of it,” they usually say. Unfortunately that is like putting a bandaid on a bullet hole to stop the bleeding. Ignoring the problem doesn’t make it go away, it […]
Helping Kids Cope with Bad Thoughts Having “bad thoughts” is the hallmark of both anxiety and OCD. I often get asked questions like, “How do I get rid of bad thoughts” and “How can I make bad thoughts go away?” Those aren’t the right questions to be asking. It isn’t the bad thoughts that are the issue, it is how we respond to those bad […]
Helping Kids with OCD Understand the Power of Exposures Does your child struggle with OCD? Do they have intrusive thoughts, intrusive feelings, unwanted images or bad thoughts that overwhelm them? Often the way to get OCD relief is the opposite of what people think. The only evidenced-based treatment approach is a type of CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) called ERP (Exposure Response Prevention). In this video […]
Helping Kids Who Need to Take Medication for Anxiety or OCD Some kids will need to take Insulin to address their Diabetes, and some kids will need medication to help address their anxiety or OCD. But many kids and teens might feel nervous about the idea of medication. In this week’s Youtube video I talk about why some kids with anxiety or OCD need medication […]
Should You Tell Your Child They Have Anxiety or OCD? Many parents worry about telling their child they have anxiety or OCD. Some worry about potentially labeling their kids. Some worry that it will make their child feel different. Others worry about the stigma the child will face. In this week’s AT Parenting Survival episode, I dive deep into the pros and cons of telling […]
Helping Parents Handle the Grief that Comes with an Anxiety or OCD Diagnosis Most of us had a fantasy of what parenting would look like. It might have involved Pinterest crafts, bake sales and play dates. It probably didn’t include hyperventilating, panic and avoidance. None of us signed up to parent a child with anxiety or OCD and most of us weren’t prepared to do […]
4 Simple Steps to Help Kids Self-Regulate with Lauren Spigelmyer Many of our kids have a hard time self-regulating. Just like other skills, we often have to teach our kids how to successfully handle their difficult emotions. This can be especially hard for kids that have anxiety and OCD. When you are a child who already struggles with hyperarousal, it doesn’t take much to throw […]
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 […]
Important Highlights from the 2020 OCD Conference for Parents The International OCD Foundation’s annual conference was cancelled along with pretty much everything else in 2020. But the online version did not disappoint, offering some great takeaways for parents raising kids with OCD. In the latest episode of the AT Parenting Survival Podcast I highlight some areas parents need to be updated on, if they haven’t […]
How to Help a Child with Anxiety or OCD Who has a Hard Time Making Decisions Kids with anxiety or OCD often have a hard time making decisions. This can be for many different reasons. An anxious child might worry that they’ll miss out if they make the “wrong” decision. They might not feel confident in their ability to make their own decisions. A child […]
What to Do When OCD Makes a Child Feel Like they are Lying Many kids with Moral OCD worry that they might be lying. This type of intrusive thought often gets missed because the compulsions around the thought are so subtle. I want pizza… I think. I had a good day… I guess. The very act of talking, making decisions and answering questions becomes a […]
What Effective OCD Treatment Looks Like (and Doesn’t Look Like). Getting OCD treatment from a general therapist who doesn’t specialize in OCD is like going to your primary care physician to get a heart transplant. Proper OCD treatment requires an understanding of evidenced-based treatment approaches, most of which are not taught in graduate school (don’t get me on that soap box). If you suffer with […]
Helping Kids with Intrusive Thoughts We all have intrusive thoughts, but when you have OCD those thoughts get stuck in your head. They get loud and constant and are hard to ignore. So how is someone meant to get any relief from OCD and these thoughts? It is often the opposite of what you may think. OCD wants you to argue with it. It wants […]
What to Do When Therapy isn’t Enough for a Child with Anxiety or OCD Your child needs help, but therapy isn’t cutting it. Maybe it’s because she refuses to go or perhaps it’s because her issues are just too intense for outpatient therapy. What’s a parent supposed to do when the help isn’t helping? Outpatient therapy is where the road starts, but not where it […]
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