Help with OCD teen

[maximus2018]

My daughter has exhibited signs of OCD since about 8 or 9 but it has been been hugely exacerbated by the Covid pandemic and lockdowns. This has increased her anxiety massively and she has added lots of new routines into her day. It is getting to the point where it is quite restrictive. She is particularly anxious around vomiting and sickness and avoids all foods that she thinks may give her some sort of sickness. We try to talk and make her challenge some of her compulsions and we watched videos together about OCD and she understands that she has extra worries to some other children. We’ve tried CBT with her but she refused to engage with it (it’s too scary for her I suppose). I am at my wits end as it’s both heartbreaking to see her go through it but also it’s so tiring for everyone else and is affecting daily life to the point where sometimes I am nervous to enagage with her in case it sets off a row or stressful situation. Any advice on dealing with a teen with OCD or how to try and help her will be gratefully received.

This must be so hard, OP

I’m 26 and have OCD since I was around 8/9. I only sought help for it for the first time during lockdown and CBT has been an absolute life changer for me. My OCD has become a mere inconvenience which hardly affects me, where before CBT it felt like each day was a constant struggle. I would recommend potentially looking into online CBT - would your daughter feel more comfortable if it was online? Or can they provide some resources that wouldn’t require as much face to face time talking to the therapist? Perhaps try reaching out to Mind, too - they have great resources and will be able to help explain what options there are out there.

This must be really difficult for you to see your daughter going through - but I can only say that you are doing a great job by engaging with this and trying to help your daughter. A lot of young people with OCD don’t spot the signs until they’re much older which in my experience has made it more difficult to manage. You’re doing a great job.

My best friend has OCD from about 11 years old and had to go through about 5 or 6 different CBT therapists before she found one that worked for her. If you can, try to persevere with getting her the right kind of help. I'm impressed you managed to spot it early, kids are extremely good at hiding it from others!

Best of luck!

Thank you for your positive comments. Some days feel tougher than others. The problem is some of her behaviours make her quite hard to like. It’s so difficult with mental illnesses other people can’t see, and so they don’t understand the struggles she has. I worry that she’ll find things tougher as she gets older, due to something that is not her fault ☹️ I’ll keep trying to get her to engage with the CBT and hope we will eventually find something that will help her navigate it better and be able to enjoy life more.

Hi OP,

I'm sorry your DD is struggling so much with OCD at the moment- it's a horrible illness to have to cope with.

I've had OCD since early childhood with various obsessions, one of which is a 'contamination' obsession linked to Emetophobia (i.e. Specific Phobia of Vomiting). The main treatment for both OCD and SPOV is CBT so it's worth talking to your DD about trying to engage with CBT again. You could also talk to her GP about whether an SSRI/anti-depressant might help.

If her previous CBT treatment involved lots of hygiene/contamination related ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention) but didn't focus on the Emetophobia aspect of her condition then it would be worth looking for a CBT therapist with experience of working with clients with severe emetophobia.

There are lots of Emetophobia resources on this site: emetophobiahelp.org/ and the OCDuk forum is also great when you (or your daughter) are in need of support: www.ocdforums.org/ .