Is it OCD?? Please Help

[Guest mummy2two]

Hi all

I am really worried about my son. He is 11 years old and is displaying some signs of OCD, I don't know what to do to help him,

He has always been a little quirky, blinking initially, moving on to little noises, which my husband and I put down to a phase. He is quite particular about where is sits, and wont sit down on benches etc for fear of the dirt.

The most worrying thing which has made me question OCD is his recent behaviour this week. He is struggling to sleep as he cannot stop thinking about something bad happening to my husband or I. So much so that he gets very upset and vomits. I initially thought it was due to him trying to stay up later, but tonight my husband has taken him to the cinema, and whilst the trailers were running it happened out of the blue, and they had to leave the cinema as my son was crying and needed to throw up.

Any help you can give would be great, I cannot get a GP appointment for a couple of weeks, and I need to know whether im completely off track here,

Please help

Thank you

S x

[Guest Sally44]

Have a look on the "learn about OCD" link at the top righthandside of the home page.

What you have described is common in OCD. My son is 13 and has a diagnosis of OCD, but he started with Anxiety and received a diagnosis of an Anxiety Disorder when he was 11.

There are common obsessions amongst those with OCD. Fear of germs and contamination is one of them. Also intrusive thoughts that specific bad things are going to happen, or just a general bad feeling that something bad will happen is also common.

For example my son worries about going into school because of germs/contamination. If he gets contaminated he fears he will die, or the family will die. So his mind makes up rituals [compulsions], he has to do to stop the bad thing happening and to relieve the anxiety. But it is a vicious circle as the ritual does not relieve the anxiety for long.

There is also advice on this website about how to handle these symptoms with your child. Do not repeatedly reassure. Do not complete compulsions yourself if your child asks you to etc.

Ask your GP for a referral to CAHMS and also Childrens Clinical Psychology. CAHMS usually prescribe medication, and Clinical Psychologists deliver cognitive behavioural therapy.

[Guest mummy2two]

Thankyou for your reply, am waiting for the GP to call me back x

[legalseagull]

Yes it sounds like OCD to me, but I'm no expert. Your son clearly needs help as it's causing him distress. I hope your doctor gets back to you. You may find you'll have to push/fight to get help but hopefully not. In the meantime it would be useful to educate yourself about OCD and how best to support someone with it. Let us know how you get on.

[Guest worriedmum]

Hi there and welcome to the forums.

I have only just read your message but wondered if you had seen the doctor with your son yet and if so, how did it go? x