- What is and what is not OCD?
- Is OCD curable?
- At what age does OCD begin?
- Is there a trigger for OCD? Can it be prevented?
- Are there differences in the symptoms of OCD experienced by boys and girls?
- How long do symptoms have to last for an OCD diagnosis?
- What is the treatment for OCD?
- What is the approximate time it takes for a person with OCD to experience a reduction in their symptoms during therapy?
- If you take medication and it works, do you need to take it for life?
- Do yoga, meditation, or other therapies work for OCD?
- Is OCD dangerous for the person who has it?
- How can we differentiate OCD from the symptoms of ASD?
- If a child with ASD has OCD, should we leave it alone or try to reduce or eliminate it?
- Is OCD associated with ADHD or bipolar disorder?
- How can I tell if my son or daughter has OCD?
- My daughter's hair is constantly breaking, which weakens it. She's even gone into the house up to 10 times to check that the gas was off. What can we do to stop her?
- How can we help our daughter with OCD to gain more self-confidence and reduce her anxiety?
- Why does a person with OCD generally have thoughts related to magic and religion?
- What should mothers do if they detect exaggerated symptoms in their children that cause suffering?
- Can people with pathological jealousy be treated with strategies similar to those used for people with OCD?
- I have an 11-year-old daughter who does a lot of things that seem like OCD. Is a diagnosis necessary? I'm afraid the label will overshadow the disorder itself, and that any behavior will be excused because she has OCD.
- I was diagnosed with OCD 20 years ago, I can't stop talking to myself (silently or in a low voice) and I get very distracted. Why might this be and what can I do?
- What can we, as a family, do if our adult daughter refuses help and has no interest in getting better?
- When my OCD drives the people around me crazy, what should they do?
- What is the difference between having tics and doing compulsions?
How can we help our daughter with OCD to gain more self-confidence and reduce her anxiety?
It's common for many young people not to seek help or openly discuss their OCD symptoms because some of their intrusive thoughts are strange or absurd. They're usually embarrassed to share them, perform rituals "in secret," and may even subtly involve you, as parents, by asking you to do, for example, "what their OCD tells them to do": "Repeat that word," "Close that door," "Check that," "Place that object like this," etc.
It's important to communicate well with your daughter and, without invading her space, show her support and be there for her, so she knows she can trust you and that you're there if she needs to share something that's troubling her. It's also important to follow the therapists' advice and adhere to the proposed treatment plan without giving in to the demands of OCD.
Sometimes there may be some tolerance of the symptoms on the part of the family members , and some accommodation to the rituals, so it is very important to work with the parents and cohabitants, and that they do not become involved in the rituals of their children.
If these aspects are tolerated, OCD enters the home and ends up "dominating everyone," and this, to a certain extent, in moderate to severe cases, significantly interferes with family dynamics. If parents don't compromise, episodes of significant conflict can arise. Setting "limits to OCD" as parents is a key focus in therapy with adolescents. In adults, it's also beneficial to provide training to partners, parents, or cohabitants.
