6yo DD “hearing voices”

[Metalhead]

The last few days, 6yo DD2 has been getting upset because she’s got a voice in her head telling her to wash her hands or wipe door handles. I’ve asked her what happens when she doesn’t do what the voice says, and she said it just keeps going on at her. I’m guessing this is some kind of Covid- related anxiety (the whole family had it earlier this month and she missed two weeks of school), but I’m at a bit of a loss as to how to handle it. Do I just wait and see if things calm down again, or do I need to take her to the GP?

Aw the poor thing has her school been pushing hand cleaning due to covid? For a sensitive child it could cause worry. Sounds like intrusive thoughts, I would go to gp to try and get ahead of it really. In the meantime lots of reassurance and reducing the anxiety around the voice. I sometimes get intrusive thoughts and just shrug them off now as it’s related to anxiety, but when you fear them they stick and cycle in your mind. Try to laugh at them with her if you can as that reduces the hold.

Thanks pugtails, I think they do push hand washing in school for obvious reasons, and we always make sure we wash hands when we come home. I had a good chat with her last night and tried to reassure her that nothing bad is going to happen if she ignores the voice, that her dad and I are here for her and love her, and that she’s maybe just a bit stressed and upset at the moment because if everything that’s happened recently. Hopefully that’s helped a bit, but we’ll see. I will try and speak to the GP as well to see if they can suggest anything.

If she has been ill herself recently and this is a sudden onset then I would consider asking the GP about PANS

I was also going to suggest illness, I'm afraid. My DD hallucinated voices (aural hallucinations?) when she had a nasty ear infection. (They were saying random nonsense to her though! Nothing as useful as 'wash your hands', but that could just be influenced by the current situation, obviously).

Whatever the cause, I hope she's well soon

Yes it's definitely high anxiety. Poor thing!

I don't want to alarm you, and the thought has probably crossed your mind already, but OCD sufferers report this sort of thing 😥😟.

Just do your best to make her feel as safe as possible and reminders that she's doing her best already.
Staying safe doesn't mean going overboard, it means taking basic consideration, which she is already doing.

It's such stressful times for us all, and managing our children's mental health is the biggest worry personally.

It sounds very much like intrusive thoughts which can lead to OCD behaviours. It's provoked by anxiety. I would have a chat with your Gp to see if she needs some help.

Keep an eye on her and try not to make the voices into an ‘enemy’ -acknowledge them, recognise that they have a sensible basis (“well done you, for remembering to look after yourself”) without giving them controlling power. Give her ‘permission’ to tell the voices that they’ve reminded her, she’s listened, they’ve done their job. A kind of metaphorical sticker chart for the voices that are a function of her anxiety-trying to protect her from danger- and need some recognition that she’s got this (she is taking care of herself) and you’ve got this (you’re taking care of her).

Thanks for all the comments. I read up on PANS and I don’t think it’s that, she wasn’t really ill with Covid (only had a raised temperature and headache for a day) and this new behaviour isn’t extreme. I will try and get some advice from the GP on anxiety and OCD.