MindSG
Explore our suite of self-care tools and resources to help you better understand and manage your mental health.
Understanding
obsessive-compulsive disorder in children
Understanding
obsessive-compulsive disorder in children
As our children grows up and
develops new skills, they go through many new experiences. Naturally, some of
these experiences may leave them feeling overwhelmed and in some cases, our
children may start to have constant distressing and unpleasant thoughts
(obsessions).
These may include:
Obsessing about things such as germs
Things not being in a “proper order”
Fearing that they may hurt someone
To quell the distress caused by these thoughts, we may also see them perform repetitive actions (compulsions) which can include:
Tapping on things in a particular way
Washing or cleaning excessively
Repeating certain words or phrases
Understandably,
we might consider these thoughts and behaviours as part of the changes our
child undergoes during their growing years. However, if these thoughts and
behaviours are persistent, distressing, and interfere with their day-to-day
living, it may be a sign that they have
obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
As parents, we can play an important role in helping our child go
through this difficult journey.
Read on to find out how we can support our child
with OCD.
Supporting our child with OCD
Be open-minded
Our child may find it
difficult to talk about their obsessions
and compulsions. They may have kept them
secret for a long time and may be very
worried about our reaction.
Seek to understand what OCD is
about and what it can be like for our
child here.
Be
patient and
avoid judging
By being patient and
understanding towards what our child is
experiencing, we can help them feel more
at ease in sharing their thoughts and
feelings with us in the future.
Avoid judging them and instead,
assure them that we love and support
them.
Seek help from a healthcare professional
Healthcare
professionals can provide
necessary treatment and
help.
- If our child is concerned about doing so, assure them that their information will be kept confidential.
- Offer to accompany them for their appointments to show support.
- Our child might feel agitated, tired, anxious, or depressed during the treatment process. Discuss with them about what we can do to help make things easier.
- If they feel like things will never improve, especially when symptoms return or treatment seems hard, offer them hope by reminding them that most people with OCD do benefit from treatment.
Do
not help them
with their
compulsions
Although it may be easier to
go along with it, it is important to
gently, yet firmly, refuse to
accommodate their compulsions. Instead,
encourage them to challenge compulsions
where appropriate as these compulsions
might worsen if catered to.
We are the best co-therapists to
help our child – our gentle reminders
about their irrational repetitive
compulsions can make them more aware of
their concerning behaviours.
Recognise achievements
It takes time for OCD to
improve. Hence, we should manage our
expectations and recognise small
improvements.
Acknowledge
that our child is trying their best and
that it might take a lot for them to
accomplish progress, even if it may seem
small to us (e.g. a decrease rather than
complete stop in excessively long
showers).
Our acknowledgement
and words of encouragement can go a long
way in motivating our child to keep
trying.
Active monitoring
Actively monitoring our
child’s progress can help them in their
journey to improve. We can:
- Accompany our child to their appointments with the healthcare professionals.
- Read up more on their medication (and possible side effects) to understand what it does.
- Ask the healthcare professional questions pertaining to the side effects and report any behavioural changes we may have noticed.
- Share with our child the positive changes in behaviour we notice during their medication period.
Help them practise
In some treatments, homework
may be prescribed to our child. For
example, in Exposure Response Prevention
(ERP) therapy (the common form of
treatment used to treat OCD), they must
practise being exposed to the same
stimuli in different situations.
We can support our child by
helping them practise. Gently remind
them about their irrational repetitive
compulsions to make them aware of their
compulsions during these homework
exercises.
Self-care matters
Taking care of our child with OCD while juggling our own life
demands can take a toll on our physical and mental well-being. Ultimately, a
lack of self-care will make it more challenging for us to care for them.
Practising and prioritising self-care will allow us to recharge and be
in a better state to provide our child with the support they need during
their struggles with OCD. Take a look at some tips on
managing
stress and
emotions to keep ourselves
healthy.
