OCD symptoms
Question:
Hi, Can anyone give me the lowdown on OCD symptoms that include sucking the front of shirts or sleeves and scratching. My stepson does these things, and at first he would literally eat the front of his shirt and when that was gone, he would start on the sleeves. He suffers mild eyczma and when he begins to scratch, he scratches until he is bleeding. Then he starts on a new area. These areas are usually legs, arms and hands. He leaves his face and torso alone, but has a habit of holding himself (you know what I mean) when he is nervous. He suffers undiagnosed TS, has a brother with moderate TS and a dad with Mild TS. His mom died when he was 6 and he suffers separation anxiety (understandable) His maternal grandmother is bi-polar and his uncle committed suicide (schizoprenia related). His mother and grandfather both died of brain tumors (in frontal lobes) within six months of each other. All of his mothers family have difficulties establishing and maintaining long term relationships. Poor kid, he is 12 and although some of these things were not so obvious when he was 7,8,9,,10…they are starting to stick out at 12. Any advice anyone. Thanks, Cathy
Response:
that’s so terrible i don’t know what to tell you. if you can afford it please please take him to get help. a little pill and talking to someone about his problems can make all the difference. my situation was ignored and because of that i am suffering more. i feel so bad for this kid. it is better to accept and agknowledge then to ignore and pretend it is a phase. please talk to him. the scratching sounds like ocd related symptoms and it is not all that uncommon for people with TS to have OCD too. i hope i could help. liz
Response:
> He suffers undiagnosed TS, has a brother with >moderate TS and a dad with Mild TS. His mom died when he was 6 and he >suffers separation anxiety (understandable) His maternal grandmother is >bi-polar and his uncle committed suicide (schizoprenia related). His >mother and grandfather both died of brain tumors (in frontal lobes) within >six months of each other. All of his mothers family have difficulties >establishing and maintaining long term relationships.
gee, it seems like your stepson has been dealt a very bad hand. i wish i knew what to say to help. the only advice i would give is to maybe take him to a psychologist & have him evaluated. perhaps they could put him on some medication & get him started on some behaviour therapy. i think the bad thing to do would be to wait. my ocd became really noticeable when i was 13, & i didnt go to the doctor until i was 21 [im now 22]. the longer the patterns, etc have to sink in, the more difficult they are to overcome/correct/etc. thats how it has been for me anyway. good luck! nothing
Response:
Hi I was wondering if someone could provide me with symptoms or examples of ocd other than the standard ones like washing your hands or fear of germs ? Thanks —-== Posted via Newsfeed.Com – Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==—- http://www.newsfeed.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 Newsgroups —= 19 East/West-Coast Specialized Servers – Total Privacy via Encryption =—
Response:
Cleaning/contamination obsessions, I think, are the most common symptom of OCD, but a great number of sufferers have many different symtoms ranging through (as classified by some people) four groups. Cleaning, checking, hoarding or counting. Symptoms could be carrying out rituals which could be from washing hands or checking electrical appliances/power points over and over, to hoarding useless items (old papers, pamphletts/flyers, containers, old mail to name a few) or compulsively counting things to certain numbers/obsession with certain numbers (an example might be counting steps or no. of times they tap their finger/s in, say, sets of 4 or 10, or 29, etc.). OCD is sometimes called "the doubting disease" because you are sure the fears and thoughts are not real, but they ‘feel’ real, and this may get to a point where your mind is filled with doubt. Uncertainty or doubt may mean they are constantly seeking, reassurance or approval (especially children). The person might doubt their own thoughts. Constant reassurance from a doctor about all sorts of things might be a symptom (NOTE: do not confuse this with ordinary worry or someone who’s a mild hyperchondriac. We’re talking constant reassurance). Many people are slaves to rituals of arranging objects or items. I read that someone used to painfully arrange a pen back in it’s place for a quarter of an hour if they bumped it out of place, for a deep fear of losing things, or fear of not being able to find something when it is really needed (hence that something terrible will happen caused by them). A sufferer might think that if they don’t perform their ritual, they might hurt someone or cause a terrible incident. Being overly concerned with certain words, numbers, sounds or images can be a symptom. An example might be that the person might blink or touch a lamp 4 or 8 times when they want to blink or go to bed, or it might be that certain words, numbers, etc are viewed as ‘bad’ or ‘evil’. Intrusive thoughts, I think, are quite common (but i’m no doctor or anything like that). Intrusive blasphemous or unreligious thoughts might occur, and the person may feel very guilty about them, or fear they might occur. These "invade" or "intrude" the person’s mind, and may also be of a violent or perversely sexual in nature as well. An information website that has some common obsessions and compulsions is http://www.mentalhealth.org.au/ocd.html . It’s an aussie website (cause I’m from Australia) with links to resources, etc. (P.S. I think I’m a little obsessional in not missing out any info, or compulsive info giver. Hope all that helped you.) Col. colhea…@hotmail.com "vh" <n…@none.xyz> wrote in message
news:Xns937B681E4A202xaixaixai@198.87.234.3… > Hi > I was wondering if someone could provide me with symptoms or examples of > ocd other than the standard ones like washing your hands or fear of germs > ? > Thanks > —-== Posted via Newsfeed.Com – Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==—- > http://www.newsfeed.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 Newsgroups > —= 19 East/West-Coast Specialized Servers – Total Privacy via Encryption
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Response:
Hi Thanks for the lengthy response When I was a bit younger I had a problem where I was afraid of germs and I would wash my hands like a bazillion times a day and have to clean anything in a bathroom before touching it, etc. Somehow I managed to break free from that. But these days I do a few odd things that I can’t help and I’m not sure if you’d consider ocd. For example when my wisdom teeth came in, some of the bottom teeth got a bit misaligned and so, this might sound a bit weird, I am always checking with my tongue to see if they are worse than before, I dont even realize that I’m doing it, and I seem helpless to stop. Is this bad habit or is it ocd? The fact that it acts as a re-assurance tells me it’s not just habit… I also have obsessive thoughts I suppose, although I don’t even know how to describe it… —-== Posted via Newsfeed.Com – Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==—- http://www.newsfeed.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 Newsgroups —= 19 East/West-Coast Specialized Servers – Total Privacy via Encryption =—
Response:
"vh" <n…@none.xyz> wrote in message
news:Xns937CA15FA633xaixaixai@198.87.234.3… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Hi > Thanks for the lengthy response > When I was a bit younger I had a problem where I was afraid of germs and I > would wash my hands like a bazillion times a day and have to clean anything > in a bathroom before touching it, etc. > Somehow I managed to break free from that. But these days I do a few odd > things that I can’t help and I’m not sure if you’d consider ocd. For > example when my wisdom teeth came in, some of the bottom teeth got a bit > misaligned and so, this might sound a bit weird, I am always checking with > my tongue to see if they are worse than before, I dont even realize that > I’m doing it, and I seem helpless to stop. Is this bad habit or is it ocd? > The fact that it acts as a re-assurance tells me it’s not just habit… > I also have obsessive thoughts I suppose, although I don’t even know how to > describe it…
Well, I can tell you some information to consider and help you learn about it, but it should only be you along with your GP who diagnoses whether you have it (and I’m no doctor). You might want to consider some of this, and have something to talk to your doctor or others about. But some things to think about are: The common element to the various symptoms of OCD is anxiety or discomfort. Anxiety associated with the obsessional thought/s is what drives the ritual/s. How much anxiety or discomfort do you feel if you try to resist checking your teeth with your toungue (or other rituals)? Also, most sufferers realise that their actions are absurd or useless, yet they still feel compelled to perform their compulsions or rituals. Many people have little quirks or idiosyncrasies which occasionally go beyond a habit (say, when we’re stressed or quite nervous), but if they go beyond that to when they’re just impossible to resist, or interfering with your life (say, making you late, missing appointments, etc), or you are sufferering because of it, then OCD may be the cause. Are you continuously performing these ‘out of control’ habits? To what level do they interfere with your life (if so)? Obsessive thoughts usually cause associated anxiety and/or distress to OCD sufferers. Sometimes sufferers will come up with distractions, mental rituals, or avoidance in order to lessen the discomfort (this is the basis of compulsions -they are performed to lessen discomfort, only mental things may be used instead). How much discomfort to you experience when you get these obsessional thoughts? Do you do anything, get distracted or do/think anything to avoid them? OCD sufferers often experience unwanted or intrusive thoughts. Keeping in mind that we all have things we don’t like to think about, whether from bad experiences or against our principles, Do you have any to which you try not to think about? Do they just feel like you can’t get rid of them or cause you much distress? Do remember that kids go through stages, and we all have our little things we do, but basically ask has it become or has it been a problem or really worrying you or causing you stress? This is just some information to think about. I’m not a doctor, I must stress that, but if I had to give any bit of advice to you, it would be that don’t panic or worry, have a chat with a doctor and when you do, be honest and don’t feel ashamed about any of it, as that is the only way they can be helpful (even if it’s just to tell you you have quirks like most people). You’ve taken a good step already and asked about it (that was one of my really big mistakes). And by the way, no, it doesn’t sound weird what you wrote because OCD, or similar like having that sort of personality, is very common, so there’s probably others concerned just like you, and learning about it won’t hurt either. Basically, chat with your doc -he won’t bite your head off for asking. I’m gonna stop writing now before a text book breaks out (sorry). Col. > —-== Posted via Newsfeed.Com – Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==—- > http://www.newsfeed.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 Newsgroups > —= 19 East/West-Coast Specialized Servers – Total Privacy via Encryption
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