My child worries much of the time.
Could he have Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?
About OCD
OCD is a type of anxiety disorder. Kids with OCD become preoccupied with whether something could be harmful, dangerous, wrong, or dirty — or with thoughts about bad stuff that might happen. With OCD, upsetting or scary thoughts or images, called obsessions, pop into a person's mind and are hard to shake.
Think of OCD as an "overactive alarm system." The rise in anxiety or worry is so strong that a child feels like he or she must perform the task or dwell on the thought, over and over again, to the point where it interferes with everyday life. Most kids with OCD realize that they really don't have to repeat the behaviors over and over again, but the anxiety can be so great that they feel that repetition is "required" to neutralize the uncomfortable feeling.
The discomfort and stress brought on by OCD can make them feel scared, out of control, and alone. Sometimes kids feel as if they are “crazy” and they are often too afraid to tell an adult.
It's important to understand that the obsessive-compulsive behavior is not something that a child can stop by trying harder. OCD is a disorder, just like any physical disorder and is not something a child can control.
Among kids and teens with OCD, the most common obsessions include:
- Obsessions with food
- Preoccupation with body wastes
- Lucky and unlucky numbers
- Sexual or aggressive thoughts
- Fear of illness or harm coming to oneself or relatives
- Iintrusive sounds or words
- Fear of contamination
- A need for symmetry, order, and precision
- Fear of dirt or germs
These compulsions are the most common among kids and teens:
- Grooming rituals, including hand washing, showering, and teeth brushing
- Repeating rituals, including going in and out of doorways, needing to move through spaces in a special way, checking to make sure that an appliance is off or a door is locked, and checking homework
- Rituals to undo contact with a "contaminated" person or object
- Touching rituals Rituals to prevent bad things from happening to ones self or others.
- Ordering or arranging objects
- Counting rituals
- Hoarding and collecting things
- Cleaning rituals related to the house or other items
Diagnosing OCD
If your child shows signs of OCD, schedule a consult with your preferred doctor at our office : 513 -336 -6700.
In screening for OCD, your doctor will ask about your child's obsessions and compulsions in language that kids will understand, such as:
- Do you have worries, thoughts, images, feelings, or ideas that bother you?
- Do you have to check things over and over again?
- Do you have to wash your hands a lot, more than most kids?
- Do you count to a certain number or do things a certain number of times?
- Do you collect things that others might throw away (like hair or fingernail clippings)?
- Do things have to be "just so"?
- Are there things you have to do before you go to bed?
Treating OCD
The most successful treatments for kids with OCD are behavioral therapy and medication.
Excellent easy to read books for young kids and teens are:
What to Do When You WORRY Too Much
and
What to do When you Brain Gets Stuck — A Kids Guide To Overcoming OCD
By Dawn Huebner,Ph.D.
These books can be found on Amazon and they're great for grown ups with anxiety as well.
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