OCD, Anxiety in 7 yr old

Looking at the classic symptoms of OCD and anxiety in children, I see that one of my twins may be suffering from either OCD or anxiety or both.

To put it in a nutshell, her behavior is negatively affecting her life -- from relationships to how she feels about herself.

This is now affecting our daily lives as a family -- and it kills me to see my kid struggling with life at only 7 years old.

Any experiences, advice, I'm all ears.

Very interested in pursuing homeopathic treatment......

 

I would start by talking to professionals and getting their take on things. Make a list of specific behaviours that concern you. With each behaviour note the circumstances that triggered the behaviour. It can help identify any trigger or common factors. Write it all down with details. Talk to her teacher and see if she sees anything. The teacher would have a good idea of what "normal" looks like for the age and be able to give specific examples also from a different perspective.

Once you have all your info in an organized manner, I would talk to the school counselor and to her dr. I wouldn't offer them your suspicions about OCD/anxiety. They might think that you're fishing for a med if you walk in with "my daughter has this, what do we do". I would present it more as "we've noticed these specific things that she is doing. What can we do differently and what tools can we give her to help?" If they want to send her on to a child psychologist or something, it wouldn't hurt. It could just give you another perspective.

I personally haven't dealt with this specifically, but I know that my dealings with doctors, the logging approach has worked very well.

As for your daughter, is there anything you've found that calms her? Maybe yoga or running or just something soothing and repetitive. Maybe add to your log notes about what stops an episode or calms her down and you can find a pattern about how to help her.

I hope that someone else will have ideas and can help you more.

Marissa

 

My daughter had terrible anxiety for a period of time. I recognized it right away, and we took action. She would worry about school and would vomit in the morning (every morning) before school. I was the same exact way as a child so I wanted to help her so it wouldn't get worse. We ended up getting her this book and it worked wonders. We read it together the first few times and used the relaxation techniques from the book. Having her know that she wasn't alone in her worrying, really helped. The book worked wonders and she will still pull it out when she starts feeling anxious. Best of luck, I know it is very hard.

Edited to add - I would definitely have brought her to the dr if the book didn't work. We actually did bring her in about the vomiting and she was given a script for Prevacid to help reduce the acid in her belly in the morning. She only needed it for a month until she got her anxiety under control.

 

One of my 6 year old daughters was diagnosed with having anxiety. She also has some sensory issues and some very mild signs of OCD.

It started last year and we began to have trouble getting her out the door to-anywhere. She would delay, get distracted, find excuses not to leave (needed a certain stuffed animal, her sleeves were too long, her shoes were too loose). She would do these things even if we were going somewhere she wanted to go. Once we got somewhere, we couldn't get her to leave. She would hide, have tantrums, or sometimes just completely shutdown. I think most of the anxiety came from a lack of control. She wanted to control everything that happened and the time in which it happened. Her pediatrician referred us to a developmental pediatrician. The DP referred us to a psychologist. Unfortunately, the child psycholgists weren't covered under insurance and we couldn't afford it but we did seek family counseling. It has helped a great deal. My daughter also works with a social worker at school. The key for us was getting dd to talk to us about what she was feeling and why she was doing the things she was doing. DH and I also needed to learn how to parent a child like her. She is so much better this year then last year!

Last year was a very disruptive year for her. She started kindergarten, was separated from her twin for the first time and was in an afterschool program. I think that all of those changes at once were just too much for her. This year, we put her and her twin in the same class and I now work part time so there is no need for an afterschool program. She is doing so much better! She still has her issues- she can only wear "soft" pants, (she would wear pajamas daily if we let her)shoes are an issue-she only likes flip flops and crocs and she often wants to wear her clothes inside out because of tags and seams. She has some days when it is difficult to get her out the door but I get her up early in anticipation of some of the extra time it may take for her to be comfortable leaving the house.

Sleep is KEY. I try to keep her on a very strict schedule so that she gets enough sleep. When she is overly tired it makes for a very tough day for everyone. She also needs lots of physical touch. Lots of hugs and touching help her feel secure.

Good luck to you! I know this is not easy.

Lisa

 

Hello,

First off, I'm sorry to hear about your daughter. I know it must be tough watching her suffer, but before you start looking into homeopathic remedies there are a few things I'd suggest. First get a doctor's opinion. Just because she has certain symptoms doesn't necessarily mean she's suffering from a specific disorder. OCD and Anxiety disorders are often misdiagnosed so, in my opinion, it's very important that you take your daughter to a specialist if you really feel that she might have one of those disorders, rather than just your family doctor.

Second, don't get worked up over it. Your daughter will be able to know if you're worrying about her and all that will do is get her to worry more. Third, make sure she's getting enough sleep and sleeping well, you'd be surprised how many kids start to suffer from hyperactivity and anxiety because they're not getting enough rest. And number four, talk to your daughter and see if there's anything going on in her life that might be causing her stress or anxiety. Remember even children without OCD can start to obsess about something if they're trying to distract themselves from something that's causing them stress in their life.

Well, again I hope that everything works out, remember, take your daughter to a doctor before you try any homeopathic remedies.

Aaron

 

I would not hesitate to get a referral to a child psychiatrist to professionally evaluate your daughter. My son with brain cancer also has some issues in this area. Some of the issues are 'organic' meaning they stem from damage to certain parts of his brain, and others, like his anxiety and OCD are just part of who he is. We do have him on medication - and I have always had some pretty strong feelings against medicating children, especially with anti-depressants and such. When the psychiatrist explained that Matt's 'mood disorder' was stemming from a part of his brain that was damaged during his last brain surgery (he's had 3), I was better able to accept the idea of medicating him. He has also been going to therapy and that has helped tremendously with the OCD and anxiety. His psychiatrist helps him learn strategies for dealing with his overwhelming feelings and we have seen an improvement in Matt's overall well-being. I found it heartbreaking when I learned what he was going through in his mind! For instance, Matt has a problem with perfectionism and if he did anything wrong his mind would work like this:

Getting a wrong answer in school=
Not getting a good grade on a test=
Not getting a good grade in that subject=
Not learning what I need to learn in school=
Not getting into a good college=
Not getting a good job=
Not being able to provide for my family!

So, my boy, when he answered a question incorrectly at school would go through this process in his mind of all these terrible things that would be linked to that moment in time! I am SO GLAD that he is receiving treatment because an 11 year old child should not have these types of pressures - real or imagined! It is really worth getting some professional help, and find a doctor that won't just jump to the meds. I know it took awhile for both myself and Matt's psychiatrist to agree that medication was in his best interest. Those medications do work wonders in instances where they are needed!

 

I suffer mild OCD, my mother and sister stuffer is strongly. I would consult your/her doctor and try and get it under control now when it may be easier to deal with, and I also wanted to wish you luck and :hug: as I know how hard it is! Allison I am like your son, that's how my mind works also, which is a bad thing!!

 

I have/still am to an extent suffer from Anxiety because of terrible troubles at high school i went through. I am like Codie in that way as well. and I would seek professional help as its the only way to get through it. Trust me ive been there. Lots of hugs to u :hug: