Checking behind doors, inside wardrobes, under beds

[PurpleOnionss]

10 year old daughter checks these places all the time, especially at nighttime. She was initially scared someone might be hiding, but now she does it not because she’s scared by “out of a habit”.

is this a normal behaviour of a 10 yo?

Does she have any other rituals?

I would consider that she is developing traits of OCD.

Not that I can think of…

That was my initial thoughts. Is it best to intervene sooner than later?

My OCD started with a similar ritual. Then I started counting things. Then it escalated from there. Ask her if she has any others.

Thanks, will do. Does your ocd interfere with your daily life and when did it start? Are you getting any treatment for it?

@PurpleOnionss My anxiety started when my DM got married. It was a very stressful period; I was 8 at the time. It gets bad during times of stress. I was also diagnosed with depression. The only treatment I've had is antidepressants.
I wasn't treated for anything at the time, as I hid my rituals well.
I know CBT can be beneficial, the earlier the better. You could access this through your GP.

I did this when I was little. Was horrible. Not sure I ever knew what I was checking for but it was stressful and tiring. I grew out of it eventually. I was diagnosed as AuDHD 35 or so years later and have often reflected that I might have been diagnosed much earlier if I was growing up now. I also used to be obsessed that I was being poisoned.

I used to habitually check all the plugs were off (because I was paranoid about fire after the fire brigade came into school). I did it till I was about 14. I also used to do all this weird stuff where I would hold my breath till I walked to X place. Don’t know why but I remember I had to do it. I believe it stopped on its own, but I am autistic and I think these behaviours were for me linked to autism. They were more fixations than anything. I would keep and eye on her and look at her other behaviours.

I used to do this until my early 20s. It’s not unusual for a primary school child. I actually checked the cupboard under the stairs last night because I’d been reading a murder novel and I’m fifty-odd. I don’t have OCD.

Actually I think this sort of behaviour is really common at that age. I did something similarly OCD in appearance, my best friend used to do the counting of things, another friend had a ritual every time she ate. Other friends that I met later in life talk of this too. All of us grew out of it and none of us have ocd now as adults.
I think at around ten you are no longer a little child and the world can feel a bit overwhelming. Things that seem ordered, rituals, checking things, can make you feel comforted. At least that’s what I wonder now.

Oh yes the breath thing ! I did that. I am not autistic, so I don’t think it’s linked with that. It’s also one of the things a friend did.

Things that seem ordered, rituals, checking things, can make you feel comforted. At least that’s what I wonder now.

Thanks for this comment, Chris. In fact I’ve found this whole thread very interesting and useful. I didn’t know how common this behaviour was. I used to do it a lot as a child, but learnt to hide it as I got older. It was all about feeling safer.
I discovered the number puzzle Sudoku a few years ago and realised this worked fro me the same way!

I use to do this and also repeatedly check doors where locked and things where unplugged. I don't do it anymore I think it just got less and less and eventually stopped

Thanks all. I think it’s similar to wanting to feel safer. She’s had a few stressful situations with the front door being left slightly ajar for a period of time without us knowing and accidentally leaving the house key in and shutting the door. She probably knows in her head there’s no one hiding but the experiences may have been quite traumatic for her.

Thanks for this. I’ve had CBT with the nhs myself for something else but didn’t help much as they were a very young trainee. Unless we have suicidal thoughts I think they allocate inexperienced therapists, which is a shame, but I guess they’ve all got to start somewhere..

I do think catching potential OCD at it's early stages is a really good idea. It may prevent these behaviours becoming entrenched, and it is an anxiety thing. If you can afford private therapy, look around for paediatric psychologists who specialise in OCD. Anxiety is a horrible thing, as even when your rational brain is telling you that all is fine, the anxiety bit is telling you lies that it's not.

@Ahsheeit
thanks for this. Unfortunately we can’t afford private therapy

Ah, it's hard, and I get it. Would be worth a chat with the GP to see what they can suggest x

Hi everyone, just wanted to update you all that I tried CBT on my daughter (ChatGPT helped me with what to work on) and one month on she no longer needs to check those places at bedtime.

we had a few chats about her symptoms could potentially escalate and become an issue, in the gentlest possible way, and she understood. Whenever she felt the urge to check, we counted to 10 before she did so, and sometimes the urge would go and she didn’t have to do it. We also named the urge so that she could look at it objectively.

At one point she was doing this excessively that she was beginning to lose sleep, so I’m glad we worked on it at an early stage.

she does however still check behind doors from time to time, but I leave her be and it’s so much better now. I know she is still prone to OCD but we will keep working on it.

Once again thank you all for your kind comments.