From the article: Parenting Children With OCD
Parenting is one of the hardest jobs you'll ever have - especially when your child has a chronic illness like OCD. While it can sometimes feel overwhelming, many parents develop excellent coping strategies for managing both their child's OCD symptoms as well as their own stress levels. If you are the parent of a child with OCD, what coping strategies have you found to be helpful?
I HAVE OCD
- I am 48 years old . My son has ocd. I am verfy concerned for him , knows how it feels to be trapped into thoughts and constant fear of danger to loved one`s and as a believer; I pray contsantly for sfety for my loved one`s . I don`t get anything done properly. as soon as I have an intrusive thought ; i must first pray about it. I can not get any work done , the intrusive thoughts keeps me from focusing on my job. I get anxious for no reason. I am so depressed about the whole situation , i feel I will do anything to get out of this body that I an trapped in. I don1t know a moment of peace or fearlessness!!!!!!! afraid of everything!! the only way to flee from this thoughts is drinking a sleeping tablet. but the moment I wake up- the praying - to prevent bad things from happening with loved one`s starts, and it keeps on and on and on and on. And i believe that if I don`t pray repeatedly ---God wil allow bad things to happen to my loved one`s . The fact that my ocd is so intensely inte
- —Guest GUEST ESTHER
My 11 year old son has OCD
- My son was recently diagnosed with OCD, and it breaks my heart. I have found that meditating with him and having him think about calming thoughts seem to help, especially at bedtime.
- —Guest Liz
Try and separate OCD from your child
- What helped us a lot during times of frustration was to remember that it is okay to get annoyed, overwhelmed, angry, etc. as long as these emotions are directed toward the OCD and not our children. Having this disorder is not their fault and not something they can control on their own. And then of course getting the proper help for them is paramount: ERP Therapy. My son recovered from severe OCD and is now a senior in college doing great. OCD, no matter how severe, is treatable! I talk about Dan's story and what helped and what hurt in his journey through severe OCD on my blog at: www.ocdtalk.wordpress.com Good Luck to all the parents out there....I know it isn't easy!
- —ocdtalk
A strategie
- You may have heard about a Neuropsychiatrist, Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz and his 4 steps self help therapy. If you haven't just google it. And you would also need medical help. You can't fight this alone, trust me. All the best
- —Guest Claire
mom
- The bed time routine is exhausting, and the guilt, yes - we as a family are suffering from the constant worries and questions but at times I sit back and think what it must to be 11 trying to fall asleep each night with the weight of the world on your shoulders. Each day I pray for peace for him and compassion , strength and direction for the rest of us.
- —Guest min
We are only human too
- I shout because my OCD daughter calls me 10 times wanting to clarify something I said....she refuses counseling or help so it all gets put on me - I don't know how much more that I can take. My husband hides out now so I am basically a single parent. My daughter attends college and lives at home but I am thinking about leaving for awhile.
- —Guest tara
Exhausted Mum
- My 15 year old has just been diagnosed with OCD. He is now receiving treatment and support but there is a distinct lack of support for the parents. His anger, his low moods, his OCD and the changes to habits of years is a constant challenge. I often feel at a loss as to what I am doing and if I'm doing it right. Whilst I applaud input about needing to take time out this can be very, very difficult to manage when you're in effect a single parent. As for the reminder about staying calm - thank you - sometimes I get so stressed when he is being defeatist that it makes me angry and shout.
- —Guest Katrina
parenting
- We find that we need to parent differently to reduce stress levels. Taking breaks when we are overwhelmed as parents or our child is overwhelmed helps. Hollering, demanding, and negativity causes negative results for us. Negotiating, actively listening and showing understanding along with little rewards helps produce postitive results for us. When stress factors are high we avoid unneccesary confrontations. When stress is low we talk more about how to help and deal with things. Recognizing that you need a break or your partner does and then taking one helps a lot to avoid further grief.
- —Guest pati
I have OCD
- I find it really hard to deal with - I wish more people would understand and support me at times. Little things get me so stressed and I wish people wouldn't get angry about it. It's so confusing. I'm 17 and going off to school in a few months and am so over whelmed - some support would be nice instead of stress from family members.
- —Guest Ashley
