- Date posted
- 6y ago
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Just be there for him. Guide him away from reassurance seeking. Don’t engage with his OCD with him. Help him to understand that his OCD is a bully and is not something to be scared of, OCD loves fear. Teach him the importance of self care and stress reduction. Stress increases OCD symptoms because of the anxiety element. I wish someone had taught me about self-care and self-awareness of my own needs. Most of all just give him a lot of love and time to get better! He will get there in time!! Don’t put pressure on him though because we all move at our own pace and we all have our setbacks. He will be okay?
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Do you have OCD?
- Date posted
- 6y ago
No Laurie. I meant @mom4. Thanks.
- Date posted
- 6y ago
But the whole point of ERP is to stop compulsions. Yes it really does cause more anxiety and make things worse for a while but it does pass the more you habituate. That’s why you do ERP in manageable steps and take away the compulsions when you feel ready. I try my best to no longer give into compulsions and it completely helps the obsessions stay away. Compulsions only keep OCD alive.
- Date posted
- 6y ago
It used to for me too but the more you work at it the easier it becomes. One of my worst compulsions was googling, my boyfriend helped me out by taking my phone away. I was depressed and distraught I couldn’t handle it at all so I tackled it in small chunks instead. I scheduled in compulsion time, I started to get very bored of doing my compulsions and realised how toxic they were
- Date posted
- 6y ago
A strong support system along with stability is important in recovery. If your son asks you to help him, gently but firmly remind him that you love him and want to see him get better, therefore I will not enable you. It will tough but if he doesn’t do this now he will be in his twenties and struggling much more. You can do this! Also definitely talk to his therapist so that you two are on the same boat in helping your son’s recovery. If his compulsions happen at school, you might have to talk to his teachers.
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Who? Me or the poster? If me then yes I do
- Date posted
- 6y ago
I’m just thinking about how mu partner is someone with anxiety, with married 10 years. We are st now figuring out some of the ways that my OCD has been part of her anxieties and ways she had accommodated or reassured patterns For both loving and conflictual reasons. this created an interesting culture that just figuring it out that’s all.
- Date posted
- 6y ago
I myself am only 14. I always ask for reassurance from my parents, which isn't good so remember not to provide it. The best support I think you can give is to tell him it's all going to be ok. OCD isn't something bad at all, it's just thoughts that are repeated over and over that are not true.
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Just be there for him. Make sure to cook healthy for him and try getting him some b vitamins, fish oil, and calcium, vitamin D, and magnesium which will help him be himself more often than not.
- Date posted
- 6y ago
If your child has ocd I think it best to help him with it. The first person wrote not to engage in his ocd. I have to disagree because ocd causes immense stress. Help him with it. For example if he wants things clean and needs to shower three times a day let him! Not letting him do the compulsions (as long as they don’t hurt him or others) does nothing but cause more anxiety. Help him get to the root of why he has ocd and the compulsions will start to subside. My parents never helped me never did anything but try to get me to stop with compulsions and that only made my compulsions worse and worse.
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Not for me. When I stop them it makes my OCD obsessions a thousand times worse than they were before and just leaves me curled up in bed crying for days. Unable to talk to anyone
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Ask him how you can support him without reassuring him or doing things for him. Personally I don’t like to talk to my mum about OCD, i prefer to talk to a stranger, but I’m 37 not 13 and had OCD a long time.
Related posts
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 13w ago
Looking back, I realize I’ve had OCD since I was 7. though I wasn’t diagnosed until I was 30. As a kid, I was consumed by fears I couldn’t explain: "What if God isn’t real? What happens when we die? How do I know I’m real?" These existential thoughts terrified me, and while everyone has them from time to time, I felt like they were consuming my life. By 12, I was having daily panic attacks about death and war, feeling untethered from reality as depersonalization and derealization set in. At 15, I turned to drinking, spending the next 15 years drunk, trying to escape my mind. I hated myself, struggled with my body, and my intrusive thoughts. Sobriety forced me to face it all head-on. In May 2022, I finally learned I had OCD. I remember the exact date: May 10th. Reading about it, I thought, "Oh my God, this is it. This explains everything." My main themes were existential OCD and self-harm intrusive thoughts. The self-harm fears were the hardest: "What if I kill myself? What if I lose control?" These thoughts terrified me because I didn’t want to die. ERP changed everything. At first, I thought, "You want me to confront my worst fears? Are you kidding me?" But ERP is gradual and done at your pace. My therapist taught me to lean into uncertainty instead of fighting it. She’d say, "Maybe you’ll kill yourself—who knows?" At first, it felt scary, but for OCD, it was freeing. Slowly, I realized my thoughts were just thoughts. ERP gave me my life back. I’m working again, I’m sober, and for the first time, I can imagine a future. If you’re scared to try ERP, I get it. But if you’re already living in fear, why not try a set of tools that can give you hope?
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 11w ago
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.
- Date posted
- 10w ago
Hi guys! I’m new to the community and I’ve recently received my OCD diagnosis (tho I’ve known about it since childhood). I’ve been somewhat spiraling lately as I wait for my first ERP session (hooray!) I was just wondering if any of you guys have received ERP for existential OCD and if it was successful? My existential OCD compulsions are more so mental and have been affecting me in the sense of dream/memory flashbacks and giving me a sort of “uncanny” feeling about everything around me. Any advice is appreciated! Thank you❤️
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