Zardo
- Date posted
- 6y
apfitzapfitz
- Date posted
- 6y
It’s frustrating for sure, so try to figure out what you need to understand his/her OCD and have empathy and what your child needs to feel supported and get better. Frustration can cause poor decisions or words used that children process differently because they’re emotionally vulnerable as their brains are still developing. Even if the child is older, mental illness leads to emotional vulnerability. So take a step back and breathe to soothe your mind, like using mindfulness (which helps me and a lot of people a ton!), and then approach it. Detecting parental frustration is easy in mentally ill individuals, as I know well personally (I have heightened awareness), which can make it worse if their OCD soothes them to think they can control something. Understanding and empathy is first. Attend to your needs when possible so you can better support your child to be happy and get better knowing he/she has a supportive person and/or system. Growing up, my father had no empathy or understanding of me as a person or what I was going through being bullied at school everyday for 12 years. My depression was something I could grow out of to him and he never supported me or told me “we’ll get through this together”, which is all I wanted was someone who understood. With no friends, it led to the loneliness I still feel today. I could tell when I’d start talking about my depression that he would change in his listening, speech, and tone to show he just didn’t care. So please have empathy and understanding by doing what you need to get that solid foundation of OCD, such as articles about what OCD is and how to help someone get better.
pureApureA
- Date posted
- 6y
You may want to look inward and try to see what issues you are dealing personally that make you feel unable to help with your child’s needs. Good parenting starts with parenting the parent. Good luck.
horchataweekendhorchataweekend
- Date posted
- 6y
It’s very difficult, try maybe educating yourself a bit more. I know it’s hard dealing with someone whom has a mental illness. But since I don’t know very much of how your life has been with your child there’s only so much i can say.
horchataweekendhorchataweekend
- Date posted
- 6y
be patient. be loving. be understanding. i know it’s hard. but remember it’s also harder on your child as well.
MaiMai
- Date posted
- 6y
I understand that it must be difficult. It may help to read about the illness and learn about it, there are plenty of great websites out there with lots of information and support. I know that it must be frustrating as a parent but please remember that it will also be difficult for your son/daughter to cope with. From my experience, I found that having supportive parents really helped me to cope better as OCD can be a very isolating and lonely illness so to have my family understand my difficulties made a big difference. Your child will really appreciate you being there for them. We are all here to support you, if you would like help to understand OCD better, I am sure we can try our best to help you. I hope you don’t mind me asking, has your child got support from mental health services? If so, they may be able to help you to support your child.
Ocd Won’t beat MeOcd Won’t be...
- Date posted
- 6y
Your child needs to know that you support them. By getting upset or angry at them for having OCD, isn’t very therapeutic or helpful. This disorder isn’t something that we can help. It is just is a part of who we are. It might be helpful to get your child some form of therapy or learn about ways to help them deal with their anxiety.
Ocd Won’t beat MeOcd Won’t be...
- Date posted
- 6y
Therapy for yourself may be an idea too.
Related posts
UnknownPersonel
- Date posted
- 22w
Dad with pocd
Please read this. I’ve had ocd pretty much a lot of my life but never knew what it was until my senior year of highschool. I’m 21 with 2 kids and i believe i’ve had pocd a little bit before my daughter was born (which was 8 months ago). It made me start looking at all kids differently and i hate it. But it really started triggering me about 3 months ago. I’ve been thinking if i’d intentionally touched or harmed my kids the wrong way, or any kids for that matter. This started giving me false memories (or at least hope they are). I’ve been having panic attacks, yelling at myself, punching walls, praying, and even thoughts of ending my own life. I grew up in a severe toxic household throughout my childhood and teenage life. I’ve never wished that on my kids since i became a dad. I wanna give them the life i never got. I look back my photos of my children and i feel like i’m a complete fraud of a dad. I cannot look at my kids or be around them a lot of times. I can’t hold my daughter right. I can’t change their diaper when they need it. Even my son came and was hugging on me the other night while i was watching tv and i acted like a stranger to him. I can very little do this stuff sometimes because it’s either i get relief or i push my thoughts as far back as i can. I get scared if i did something to not just my kids, but any other kids in the past. I have such a a great life and such a beautiful family. It was hard and stressful at first being young with a family but i couldn’t be more thankful at all for them. I’m just so lost and stressed right now that i just don’t know what to do anymore
Cayla Davis
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 20w
AMA for Parents: Supporting a child with OCD while managing my own—Ask me anything!
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.
frannyb
- Date posted
- 19w
I can't do this anymore
I can't live with OCD anymore. It's ruining my life. I feel like I'm being constantly bullied in my own mind all day everyday. I don't know if what I think and feel is ever real or normal or okay, what is me and what is the OCD thoughts. I don't know if any of my experiences are normal. I'm exhausted from picking apart every single conversation I ever have with anyone until I'm strung out by a vague and ambiguous feeling of guilt. I'm tired of feeling like I'm a bad person and feeling scared all the time and not knowing why and having my brain spin me out on an endless spiralling train of thoughts that never goes anywhere and just makes me feel disconnected from everything and everyone around me. I don't know what I feel and if what I feel is normal or if anything I am doing is real and actually me or if I'm 'losing my mind.' I don't even know if this makes any sense. I get into these states of mind where every thought in my head and everything I feel and perceive makes me question my own sanity. I don't know if anyone likes me because I have absolutely no concept of what I am actually like. I feel completely lost and confused CONSTANTLY.
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