OCD and Eating Disorders are often comorbid conditions, but beyond that, OCD can cause disordered eating. Many OCD issues including Emetophobia, Moral OCD, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Orthorexia, PANDAS/PANS and ARFID can impact our kids ability to eat. In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast I explore the various OCD issues that can overlap Eating Disorders and some that can be incorrectly diagnosed and treated as only an Eating Disorder.
There is a difference between OCD coping strategies and OCD treatment strategies. When we talk about OCD treatment we are focusing on ERP, Exposure Response Prevention, a type of CBT, cognitive behavioral therapy. In order to get relief from OCD we tell kids to lean in and often do the opposite of what OCD compulsions want them to do. But what do they do to cope with the stress, anxiety and overwhelm OCD typically brings with it? What do they do when OCD symptoms are taking a toll? In this week’s YouTube video I talk to kids and teens about the difference between OCD coping strategies and OCD treatments and how to do both.
Shaun Flores was only a couple of years into his own struggle with OCD when he became an OCD advocate. He quickly became a stronger messenger of hope through his OCD awareness work. Recently I had Shaun back on the AT Parenting Survival podcast to discuss how his OCD recovery is going, what he does to maintain progress and how the perception of recovery can be part of a bigger issue.
OCD loves to dictate everything, including what words and topics your child and other people around them can use. It’s an OCD trap. The more they avoid these words and topics, the smaller their world becomes. OCD will eventually have them avoid words and topics similar to those they are already avoiding. Before they know it, they’ll have a long list of things OCD says they have to avoid. A list that is impossible to avoid without impacting everyone’s life. In this week’s YouTube video for kids and teens I discuss how OCD will want them to avoid certain words and topics and how to get their power back from OCD.
When kids feel stigma attached to their OCD they are less likely to want to discuss it or receive treatment. One of the first steps we can do to help kids with OCD is to help remove the stigma society has placed on this disorder. In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast I talk about the importance of removing stigma around OCD and concrete ways to do that.
Shaun Flores had been suffering from OCD for years without knowing it. He hopped from OCD theme to OCD theme, listening to OCD’s lies and searching for certainty with each new worry. It wasn’t until 2022, when he finally met the right therapist, that he learned that all of his fears had one explanation, OCD. Shaun has turned his OCD pain into a passion to advocate. Since his diagnosis he has added a new face to the OCD advocacy scene. A face that was desperately underrepresented. As a black man, he is helping normalize a disorder that doesn’t care about race, ethnicity or gender. In this week’s episode of the AT Parenting Survival Podcast, I had the honor to talk to Shaun about his journey with OCD and the incredible work he is doing to help others.
OCD can make our kids worry about all sorts of things. OCD comes in many disguises and themes. Harm OCD themes are often missed or misunderstood. In this week’s Youtube video I talk to kids and teens about what harm OCD themes look like and what they can do to get some OCD relief around this type of theme.
When we are raising kids with OCD it is important that we fully understand the therapeutic approaches our kids are being taught in therapy. Ultimately we will want our kids to be able to utilize those tools throughout their life. The use of imaginal scripts can be an effective tool in their OCD toolbox. In this episode of the AT Parenting Survival Podcast I explore what imaginal scripts are, how to write an effective one and the most common pitfalls that make them less effective.
Your kids have a predictable relationship with OCD. OCD gives them an intrusive thought or feeling and they do their part in responding. A key part in getting OCD relief is disrupting this predictable OCD loop. In this week’s Youtube video, I’ll teach them how to disrupt OCD compulsions to throw OCD off-kilter and start taking their life back.
OCD exposures, ERP (Exposure Response Prevention), is the go-to strategy when working on OCD. But what if exposures don’t seem to be helping? In this week’s Youtube video I talk about one of the most common reasons why OCD exposures don’t work and what to do to make this OCD approach more effective.
OCD isn’t just about physical compulsions, there are mental compulsions as well. Compulsions are compulsions whether they are physical or mental. All of them serve to make OCD bigger and more overwhelming. So how are you supposed to help your child with mental compulsions? In this week’s Youtube video I talk to kids and teens about what mental compulsions are and the best strategies to decrease them.
Have you ever noticed that when you try to rationalize your child’s OCD intrusive thoughts away it doesn’t help? Even when you tell them their compulsions don’t make sense, they have a hard time not doing them? That feeling of danger, incompleteness, or fear is not in their mind, it’s in their brain. There is a biological reason why they can’t shake off those uncomfortable feelings. Once they understand the science behind their doubt, it will make more sense why it is so important for them to override those feelings and not give in to OCD’s demands. In this week’s Youtube video, I talk to kids, teens and young adults about why those OCD intrusive thoughts feel so real and what to do about it.
Dealing with OCD isn’t like dealing with a cold. It isn’t cured and then we move on. It can help to shift our perspective to focus on how to live and, more importantly, thrive with OCD. In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast I talk about how to shift our kids from a victim to an empowerment mentality (and us as well)! We also dive into how to create a lifestyle that acknowledges and works on OCD organically within the home environment.
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