Anonymous
- Date posted
- 5y
zomboneyzomboney
- Date posted
- 5y
Hi! I have OCD with Dermatillomania and Trichotillomania, and was diagnosed around the same time as your son. Medication can be scary, and your concerns and fears are warranted. If anything, they show what a caring mother you are. Often, though, medication is necessary for normal functioning in moderate to severe cases. After I was finally put on medication as a teen, I went from being a complete shut-in and dropout who spent all my time doing compulsions, to a well-adjusted college student with a 4.0 GPA. I can't speak for your son, but medication will likely also seriously help his OCD, and allow him to live his best life. Speak with your doctor about the different kinds of medications they're thinking about, and let them know about your concerns. Any good doctor will be transparent and explain to you in detail how each medication works, and discuss the possible risks and benefits, so you can find the best option for your son. I know it seems so hard right now, and it hurts to see him suffering, but recovery and healing is possible. Take it from me, no one expected me to ever recover, but I did it. Medication was the key for me. And sometimes, medications are not permanent. Your son may reach a point in his recovery that he no longer needs to be medicated. It's case by case. But no matter what, this is not a life sentence. Its the start on a path to healing. Things will get better, maybe not immediately, and maybe some days they'll feel worse, but one day you'll be able to look back and see how much progress has been made.
AnonymousAnonymous
- Date posted
- 5y
Thank you so much for commenting, gives me hope for my boy. May I ask what started it, if you don't mind? If not I completely understand.
zomboneyzomboney
- Date posted
- 5y
@Mama281 Of course! My mother would tell me that she noticed a pretty sudden shift in my behavior when I was 2 or 3. I went from being a pretty easy-going and happy toddler to screaming and crying when the furniture was slightly rearranged. I started constantly asking for reassurance that bad things wouldn't happen to me or our family, and by the time I was 5 or 6 I was very focused on illness. I'd scrub my hands raw and constantly research illnesses. My mother wouldn't let me watch the news because every time there was an outbreak of illness or contaminated food, it would trigger me tenfold. I even got to the point where I wouldn't eat until she had reassured me over and over that the food I was eating wasn't infected. That's where the picking at my skin and hair started too. When I saw blemishes, I wanted to "get the bad stuff out", in case it was some kind of illness or disease that was going to spread to the rest of me (which isn't how it works, I know. It was comforting to the OCD though). The hair picking for me was usually entirely mindless, it was a stress reliever and I'd do it while I was ruminating. This all got even worse when I hit puberty, I started picking at body and facial hairs and would not stop clawing at my skin. The content of my obsessions changed a lot, too. They became disabling in severity and were focused on more existential and personal matters. I still picked at my skin and hair, more than ever. They were still compulsions, in a way. It brought me so much relief to focus on that instead, even though it hurt me. I'd say that was the point that the Trichotillomania and Dermatillomania really started for me, even though I'm sure I've had OCD since I was very little.
AnonymousAnonymous
- Date posted
- 5y
@zomboney I thank you so much for letting me in on your life. I am glad medication has helped you and you are doing the best you can. I am still waiting on the medication for him but I have a better perspective on it. Good luck and keep it up!
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