I had a feeling for sometime that we would reach this diagnosis and yet I had hoped it was not the case. It's now official. Brandon has OCD. I hadn't blogged about it before in hopes that if I didn't it wouldn't be true. Life this last year has been increasingly difficult trying to make sense of Brandon's actions. The problem is I'm a logical type person and OCD has to be one of the most illogical disorders I've ever heard of.
Brandon is an exceptionally bright little boy that can grasp concepts that are way beyond his 7 years. However I'm unable to logically get him through any of the issues that have arisen from the OCD. I'm just beginning to learn about this disorder and I'm having difficulty wrapping my brain around it. I'm finding I need therapy to learn how to help him. I'm also finding that the answer that the medical profession is leaning to is medication. Medication and therapy. Neither Bob nor I feel comfortable medicating a 7 year old. Not our baby boy. I'd appreciate any comments from those of you that know anything about this disorder. I'd love to hear from those that either have the disorder or those that have a child with it. I'm feeling very alone and I could really use some support. I've done some surfing to find out more and so far I've found what the medical "experts" tell me to be the norm. If anyone knows of other methods that work successfully for OCD in kids other than meds please let me know about it. I'm off to surf the web for more information.
3 comments:
I get a mild case of OCD at certain times of the month. I say mild because I feel sucked into it, like a door isn't shut just right, or double checking stuff to make sure it's latched, or being bothered beyond reason that there's a piece of fuzz on the floor. Even the mildness of mine causes me to freak out because I know it's not normal. But since I'm sure it's hormones, I let it go untreated.
For your little one, I don't have any answers beyond what I've seen on the Dr. Phil show about it. Maybe check his archives if you want. Some people don't like Dr. Phil, though, I don't know how you feel. *shrug*
Hi, Lillie. I am 22 and I have had OCD probably since I was 7 or 8, like your son. I know it seems really illogical, but I'd actually say that it is a highly structured, logical thing. Only thing is that the logic only makes sense to the person with OCD. For example, when I was 8 I was deathly afraid that my house would burn down. I had to touch things three times each to make sure that they wouldn't burn if my house caught on fire. It doesn't make any sense, really, right? I mean, I even knew at age 8 that touching something couldn't make it fireproof, but I HAD to do it. That's the other thing, then. People with OCD usually know that what rituals they do are not "logical" but they are what they MUST do in a set of structured logic they have created themselves. gawd, I hope that wasn't too confusing. But I guess it's kind of confusing anyway, isn't it?
Anyway, I can definitely see why you wouldn't want to give your son medication at age 7. The only thing I would suggest is not to just ignore it and hope it will go away. Cognitive behavioural therapy is really good. Also, read some books about the disorder, like "The Boy who Couldn't Stop Washing" by Judith Rapoport, and maybe ask a family doctor about other good ones. That will help you know that you are definitely not alone in this. Know also that about 3% of the population has some form of OCD, but most of them are just really good at hiding it. There are lots of us out there, and many of us do just fine most of the time. We hold down good jobs, have great friendships, etc. But it can be realy hard at some times. Just be there for your son and try to be understanding, because he might be just as confused by his symptoms as you are sometimes.
Best of luck, Lillie. I hope this helped. :)
Amy
J, I love Dr Phill and I will check the archives. I missed the part on kids with OCD. I came in on the kids with torrets (sp) but missed the OCD kids. I can't imagine how difficult it is to have this disorder and I don't want to cause him more anxiety I just don't know how to help him. I am praying for guidance. Thanks for your input!
Amy,
Thank you so much for your comment! I hope you will be back again as you would be a fantastic resource for Brandon and I! If you are will please email me at wifeandmotherof4@yahoo.com I will protect your privacy. Thank you so much for stopping by!
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