Why Rationalizing with OCD Makes it Worse This episode is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the guidance of a qualified professional. OCD thoughts and behaviors can be wildly irrational. It can make our kids wash and re-wash, even though intellectually they know they are clean. It can make them check and re-check, even though they know what they saw. It […]
OCD can be stigmatizing enough, but when you add sexual themes it can add another layer of guilt and shame. It can also make parents and even therapists uncomfortable! How are you supposed to deal with a sexual intrusive thought that makes you squirm? What if your child’s lack of motivation is due to the embarrassment over the content of their thoughts?
There is nothing worse than finally getting rid of one OCD theme, only to have a brand new one take its place. Often this is the time when kids and even parents start to lose hope. Even though this can be so disappointing, it isn’t necessary that anyone give up hope. In fact, having new themes pop up is no indication that the skills and tools aren’t working. Believe it or not, sometimes it is a sign they are working well
OCD is often like whack a mole. Just when you get one OCD theme under control, BOOM, another one creeps up to take its place.
Helping Kids with OCD Who have to Read and Reread OCD can impact so much of our children’s lives, including their ability to read. Often this is missed completely or misdiagnosed as a learning issue. OCD can make people feel that they might not have “fully” understood what they are reading. Or perhaps it makes them feel like they didn’t really read a sentence and […]
How the Inhibitory Learning Model Changes OCD Treatment OCD approaches are constantly evolving and changing. This is in part due to the wonderful, ongoing research around OCD. In recent years we’ve seen a growing number of OCD therapists incorporate ACT, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, into OCD therapy. We’ve also seen more clinicians embrace the Inhibitory Learning Model approach and have seen practitioners adapt ERP (Exposure […]
Helping Kids with OCD Who have a Hard Time Showering OCD likes to disrupt anything in its wake, including the things we must do on a daily basis. OCD can make it hard to eat, go to the bathroom and especially shower. This happens for a variety of reasons depending on the person’s OCD themes. In this week’s Youtube video I talk about how to […]
Conscious Parenting with Sue DeCaro Parenting can seem overwhelming and exhausting. But when you look at it through the lens of conscious parenting, it can offer some hidden gems. Parenting can tell us so much about ourselves. It can offer us insights that we might not have gotten otherwise. Our kids can also be our teachers. They come with so many gifts if we allow […]
Helping Kids Who Feel too Overwhelmed to Work on OCD or Anxiety Sometimes anxiety or OCD feels SO big that any step to work on it can feel like too much. Sometimes our kids aren’t motivated to work on it because they are too overwhelmed. In this week’s Youtube video for kids and teens, I talk about how to get past the paralysis of overwhelm […]
Helping the Siblings of Kids with Anxiety or OCD Anxiety and OCD don’t just live within our child, it lives within our home. It impacts everyone in the family, including the siblings. What happens to the sibling when all eyes are focused on the child with anxiety or OCD? What happens to them when there are big meltdowns, panic attacks, and overwhelm. What happens when […]
How to Lovingly Detach from Our Kids Anxiety or OCD Kids with anxiety or OCD need an anchor. They need us to be a rock that helps ground them through the chaos. Unfortunately, we cannot do that when we are so immersed in their struggles that we are drowning right along with them. In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast, I talk about learning how […]
What to Do When Your Child Regrets an OCD Exposure We are always encouraging our kids to take one small step towards fear, towards discomfort. What if they do an OCD exposure and it all goes terribly wrong? What if they take a giant leap towards their fears, but instantly regret it? Pure panic can ensue. So how are we supposed to help with that? […]
When OCD is Misdiagnosed as Learning Issues OCD doesn’t just stay in our home, it likes to wreak havoc in all areas of life, including at school. OCD intrusive thoughts and compulsions can make a child look like they: Struggle to read Struggle to write Struggle to do math equations Struggle to complete assignments Struggle with comprehension Struggle with focus Struggle with expression Struggle with […]
Letting Go of How Life Should Be We have expectations about how our children’s lives should be. We have expectations about how our family should be. This can be reinforced by friends, family or even the school system. So what happens when all those expectations fall short? What happens when we look at our reality and it doesn’t match up? Parenting is messy and we […]
Here’s the Way to Handle OCD Regardless of Theme I often get very specific questions. Natasha, how do I handle this type of OCD? or What exposures should I do for this OCD theme? Honestly, the answer is always the same. Themes and subtypes can help us categorize our child’s OCD and it can even help us spot patterns in compulsions, but it shouldn’t slow […]
