Stressed

@Erin P ERP is a game changer. Do you ever fear your kid will have OCD?

@Kids4Christ My son is 15. He has ADHD, perfectionism (ADHD, not OCD based), oppositional defiance disorder, depression and anxiety but so far no OCD even through the whole pandemic shut down. I watch for it and the therapist he saw was the same one I had for OCD so the therapist was watching for it too. Looks like he got genes from the other side of the family tree. I am thankful for that. But I do feel like I’d be able to recognize it and get him ERP therapy if he were to show evidence of it. I think early intervention would keep OCD from being unmanageable.

@Alyssa1995 Like I’m not in a dark pit of doom like depression can be. I literally just feel blehhhh and kind of irritated ab everything😂

@Kids4Christ Me too. Just kind of low level worried about everything and scared, and very emotional. And I know what to do to get better but am too blah to do them and then I get stressed at myself for NOT doing them, which makes my OCD worse 🙃

@Alyssa1995 This is literally 100% me right now every part. I got 3 boys and have been so stressed about our future & wanting to give them the world but jus so caught up with my own crap to see towards a positive future if that makes sense

@Kids4Christ I’m glad I’m not the only one. For me, it’s seasonal depression too because where I’m located it’s just grey as hell for days on end 🫠 I think we’re both placing too much emphasis on “checking how we feel” and adding weight to our emotions. It’s okay to feel stressed, depressed, anxious - we don’t need to label them as bad or try to figure them out. As hard as it is (and it’s SO damn hard), we have to just let the feeling be present and allow it to pass in time. Even though mine has been almost 24/7 bad for a few days now, I’m choosing to trust that it will subside naturally. That’s just how I’m looking at it from what I learned from ERP/acceptance from NOCD

@Alyssa1995 That’s very true I forgot today was the first day of spring! I hope your days get better & brighter. I know they will ❤️❤️

@Kids4Christ And same to you - I’m sure you’re a wonderful parent to your boys, even with your OCD. Sending all the good energy ❤️

@mslove There was a time I was unable to care for my son. It was terrible. All I can do is keep working to overcome my ICD with ERP therapy and do better as a mom now - which I am doing. I do the serenity prayer about the past. That’s what I can do. I hope this helps you.

@mslove You’re welcome. My teenage son reminds me that I used to yell at him because of my OCD. I have told him I can’t change the past but I am sorry for it. He had some therapy when he was young in part because of his confusion over my OCD. It’s hard but I can’t change it and we have a decent relationship now - which is the best I can hope for with a teenager. But I’m glad I got the help I needed. I don’t even know how long it’s been since I got mad at him due to OCD - it’s been a long time.

@mslove You’ll do the work. In the meantime practice self compassion.

@mslove If they are aware of your fear the book Scaredy Squirrel can help them understand what is going on with you - it helped my son when he was young.

@mslove Been there -it is a hard way to be.

@Erin P - When you feel triggered the moment you have a thought how do you calm the anxiety? If you don’t mind me asking

@mslove Because of all the ERP I’ve done most things are not high triggers so I either: dismiss them as OCD; or I do a maybe, maybe not; or I go towards the concern by touching what I fear and taking the risk of not cleaning my hands. For higher level stuff - I sometimes have to walk away, breathe, do 5-4–3-2-1 senses mindfulness and then ask myself “what can I do”. For my bathroom routine I am gradually reducing my compulsions using a hierarchy. Related links: https://www.shalanicely.com/aha-moments/shoulders-back-the-man-in-the-park/ https://www.shalanicely.com/aha-moments/erp-scripting-for-ocd/ What can I do example from earlier in treatment - go to use a restroom but the toilet has not been flushed for more than a pee - use a different stall, calm down with breathing, go to the initial stall and stare at the stuff in the I flushed toilet until me anxiety goes down by 1/2. This was in a IOP/ PHP for OCD so I could do this without worrying about what others might think if I needed to have the stall door open to do this.

@mslove **un flushed toilet until my

@mslove Untreated OCD will bring you fear anyway - you might as well have fear that gets you better instead.

@mslove ❤️