My teen says that chores "stress" him and exacerbate the OCD. I of course don't want this to happen but I also feel that his chores are minimal and he needs to be able to be responsible and to function.
For me I’ve been recently diagnosed with ocd, a lot of tasks I would put off because I was stressed to move certain things that would trigger it or move stuff around. However that was just me and everyone’s situation is different
Thanks for reaching out. This can be hard, as parents we usually want our kids to be happy, and to see them stressed out causes us stressed. Remember that with OCD treatment we want to teach our children that they can tolerate the distress of the feelings they have. Many people who have OCD feel that they cannot tolerate uncomfortable feelings and must learn that they indeed can. By working alongside a therapist who specializes in OCD you can develop a treatment plan that addresses your specific needs. You can call NOCD today for a free 15-minute call to get started.
Thank you. He's actually scheduled for his first appointment in a few weeks. I'm hoping the therapist can help us, as his parents, to learn how to best support him.
For me its always been dificult because for example cleaning my room thr mess freaks me out and makes my intrusive thoughts worse cause everything feels dirty but then i have to touch the stuff and clean it again/clean down my whole room and the amount there is can be overwhelming or if things have to be done in a certian way and the intrusive thoughts anf other compulsions can drain me, sometimes there are small things to that can help a lot for example with cleaning sometimes putting things into 3 baskets helps tho it still sometimes feels dirty and things it isnt so overwheling and there is order to it
Hi everyone, I’m Cayla. I’m a mom that’s lived with OCD since childhood, but my breaking point came more recently after having my son. I was consumed by terrifying thoughts—What if I hurt him? What if I did something awful without realizing it? I was so afraid of my own mind that I couldn’t be alone with him. The shame and exhaustion were unbearable, and I convinced myself I was broken. In 2024, I finally sought help. ERP therapy at NOCD was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but it saved my life. Even now, I have tough days, but I know I don’t have to be ruled by OCD. When my 12 year old daughter began showing signs of OCD, I felt overwhelmed with guilt. I never wanted her to go through what I had, but I knew what to do. I told her that I have OCD too and made sure she knew it wasn’t her fault—and that she wasn’t alone. One of the hardest parts of this journey was trusting someone else with my daughter’s OCD. I knew how vulnerable it feels to share intrusive thoughts, and I wanted her to feel safe. Her NOCD therapist was able to establish trust and genuine empathy from the start, and that relationship gave her the confidence to face ERP head-on. Seeing her build that trust made me certain she was in the right hands. ERP has helped both of us reclaim our lives, and it is beautiful to see my daughter managing her condition and making visible progress. Parenting with OCD while raising a child with OCD isn’t talked about enough, but I know so many parents are struggling with these same challenges. If you have questions about managing OCD while parenting, helping your child through ERP, or breaking cycles of guilt, drop them below—I’d love to share what I’ve learned. I’ll be answering all of the questions I receive in real-time today 4-5pm ET.
Overwhelmed
Hi everyone. I’m having a really hard time today in my relationship. I am just feeling so frustrated by my back-and-forth feelings about my relationship. One day I’ll feel so good, and then the next I don’t at all. I think my biggest trigger in the house is the chores that the two of us have to do in the house. I’m much more of a clean person than my boyfriend is. I’m also thinking that he has ADHD and struggles to remember when to do specific chores and I have to remind him pretty often, but he will usually do it when I ask. Today, I’m on a huge spiral of telling myself that he is never gonna be able to learn to do things on his own, he’s not gonna be able to take care of our kids in the future If we do get married, he’s not gonna be able to help take care of our house when we do have one one day, And I am just exhausted. It’s so hard fighting these thoughts all day and then I feel like I have to sit down and talk to him about chores and obviously that doesn’t go well when I’m not feeling good. Definitely a compulsion… It feels so much better when I can just relax and just let him figure things out on his own, and I can just take care of myself. I also come from a household where I was constantly criticized and controlled in certain ways, so I have that to carry too…I’ve gotten much better at doing that most of the time but today is pretty bad. It always feels a little bit worse as well when I’m on my period and feeling very hormonal as well… Can anyone please shed some light on if they’ve experienced this before and any support they might be able to offer in relation to this? Anything would be helpful and please be kind!
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