advice on how to ask parents for help

So this has been on my mind for a while and I really don’t know what to do. To explain a little bit I’m pretty certain I have OCD, but I obviously don’t want to self diagnose. So i would like to go a professional and get tested. But the thing is I am extremely nervous about asking for help. There is a reason for this, about two years ago I was having extremely bad panic/anxiety attacks over very irrational fears. I would go to my mom a lot about these things because I had no where else to go. And one night we kind of got into an argument because she didn’t know what to do because of how dumb my fears were. I explained to her that I know my fears are irrational but I don’t know what to do. So she told me if I know it’s irrational to just keep it to myself. This may seem small but it really just put me in a place to not feel comfortable asking for help. Our relationship has gotten better over the last years, and I think I could say something. I really just don’t know how or when to approach this conversation. But it’s getting to the point where i’m miserable and need help. Any advice on where to start? (To clarify i’m a sophomore in high school so parents are the only way of getting help)

inorooi

Date posted: 46w

If your parents won't help or take you to a pro, you'll just need to wait this out. It's not ideal but as a minor without parental/guardian consent, you can't do much. And the way your relationship is with your parents makes it much harder for them to ever understand or agree (or rather, care to begin with). Im sorry that this isn't much help. I'm just basing off experience but medical/therapy for minors could potentially differ from country to country

Anonymous

Date posted: 46w

i can imagine this being tough especially as a minor when u feel like u still have to depend on ur parents and cant do what u feel u need to do on your own. ur feelings are completely valid, especially after what happened last time u came to ur mom about ur fears and didnt get the support u needed. my honest advice would be to give it a chance and try to communicate with her - or both ur parents (whatever is more comfortable for u). a simple “can i talk to u about something?” and just be honest and explain how youve been feeling. even if it feels scary or it makes u emotional in the moment (both valid reactions given the situation) i would say its worth a try. even if its not ocd its clear that u are suffering and u deserve to get help so u can feel better. wishing u the best :)

Athen@

Date posted: 46w

Hi. I would tell your parents you would like to see a therapist for anxiety. You don't have to go into the details of your irrational thoughts, because unfortunately, people who don't have anxiety/OCD won't be able to comprehend what we are going through and might minimize it. You could say it's getting in your way of your school/social life or something like that, so that maybe they are more willing to take you to a therapist. Once in therapy, you can see about how to talk to your parents about what you're going through if you would like. I hope this helps.

elro.elephant

Date posted: 24w

Can someone give me advice?

I’m not too sure where to begin so some stuff may be a bit scattered. I’d like to start with the fact that I’m not sure if I just have anxiety or if it is actually OCD. I’ve been dealing with these intrusive thoughts for as long as I can remember. TRIGGER WARNING NEXT PARAGRAPH Stuff like “what if my teacher just raped me in the middle of class” or “what if I pulled all my veins at.” Those are some of the more graphic and violent things but I do get lesser things like “what if I imagined that whole conversation” when I know for a fact I did experience that exact memory/conversation. I don’t like these thoughts and I don’t ever want to think them. If anyone has any advice it would be greatly appreciated. I’m only 16 and I want to be sure about this stuff before I ask my parents to get me diagnosed.

Adi7

Date posted: 17w

Advice please ❤️

Hi ❤️ I’m really struggling right now I’m in my sophomore year of Highschool and I’ve finally started planning or thinking abt my future (for context I was extremely depressed and suicidal from 6-9th grade) After conquering my depression this is a huge leap for me and I’m proud of myself ❤️ But there’s something still holding me down :( and I’m not sure what to do anymore that thing is OCD. Since 6th grade I have had strong and invasive intrusive thoughts all the time they scare me so bad and make me feel as though I’m not even real anymore :( I’m sick of taking the time to do ridiculous compulsions to rid or ease these thoughts it’s a waste of time and energy and it hurts me so bad I feel like I will never get to just live my life without this :( How can I plan my future when I can’t even find myself in this mess of anxiety 💔 I’m so tired of fighting my mental health it’s been years from anxiety attacks to sh to survived suicide attempts (I got help dw❤️‍🩹) and recovery there. Just to be thrown into a storm of awful scary sickening thoughts day and night-when can I just be a normal teenager and possibly a happy adult? How do I conquer this so I can love myself to the fullest and live my life free and happy? :( ❤️❤️‍🩹 I’m so scared to talk to my parents about it I’m ashamed of my thoughts and every time I bring it up they just say I shouldn’t be diagnosing myself or it’s just ADHD. It really really hurts me they have no idea how awful this feels and it makes me feel so alone sometimes 💔

mysticalmads

Date posted: 12w

Advice on getting help

Hi I’m currently undiagnosed but am so sick of the way I’m living that I’ve decided I seriously need to get help. I need advice on 1. How to tell my parents that I need help and 2. The process. The first part is hard because a couple years ago I talked to my mom about having OCD but she brushed it off and said “everyone has anxiety” so I just never brought it up again. I’m also a bit ashamed for some reason, I don’t know why, to bring it up to them and I feel scared. For the second part what’s the process of getting diagnosed and getting medication and therapy. Where do I get diagnosed and do I have to start therapy before getting medicated? Thanks so much for the help.

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