start of OCD type behaviour

[Rubeywednesday]

My 11 yr old DD has started showing OCD type behaviour. It's pretty mild so far, happens only before bedtime. Last year she had a spell of anxiety and worrying about death and illness, which turned into a bit of separation anxiety - all this I put down to usual kids stuff, her age and her personality (she's a pretty serious, responsible kid). None of it was too bad and didnt stop her going to school or clubs. We talked about it a lot and she seemed ok eventually.

Now she has developed a few little compulsions before bed time. She's rearranging things in her room, getting up to turn off plugs in the house. I could do with some general advice on how to respond to this - do you challenge kids on these behaviours or let them get on with it, seeking help if things gets too severe? so far the only impact it's having is keeping her up later than I would like, but I worry it could get worse. Does anyone have any general advice about how to gently steer her off these habits? All the info I've found online seems aimed at kids when it's really having a bad impact on their every day life

I would like to know the answer to this too. I think official advice is to try to not let them do it. I know with tics you are supposed to ignore them. But its different with ocd. For my child I tend to try and reduce stress levels as this seems to worsen it. I don’t stop any rituals I see as I have a feeling he would then do them in secret when I can’t see what he is doing. He has got better over time

I'd try having a chat with your DD about how it feels if she doesn't do the OCD behaviours. We found the book "What to Do When Your Brain Gets Stuck" was helpful - like a CBT course that you can take at your own pace.