![]() ![]() Repeating: Rereading, rewriting and repeating actions like going in and out of a doorway.Checking: This includes checking locks, checking to make sure a mistake wasn’t made and checking to make sure things are safe.Cleaning: Excessive or ritualized washing and cleaning.A compulsion could also be an avoidance of something, like a child who avoids touching knives, even flimsy plastic ones, because she’s afraid of hurting someone. So, they might think: “I’ll line these things up until it just kind of feels right, and then I’ll stop.” And then over time-in the 9-12 range-it evolves into magical thinking and becomes more superstitious in nature.Ĭompulsions can be things that kids actively do - like line up objects or wash hands - or things done mentally, like counting in their head. The “just right” feeling: Some kids feel they need to keep doing something until they get the “right feeling,” though they may not know why it feels right.For example, if her parents are five minutes late to picking her up, a girl who is catastrophizing might tell herself that they’ve decided to abandon her. Catastrophizing: Some kids easily jump to the conclusion that something terrible has happened.“What if I hurt someone? What if I stab someone? What if I kill someone?” Aggression: Kids may be plagued by a lot of different kinds of thoughts about bad things they could do.Scrupulosity: This is when kids have obsessive worries about offending God or breaking religious rules.A child might think, “Unless my things are lined up in a certain way, mom will get in a car accident.” ![]() Magical thinking: This is a kind of superstition, like “step on a crack, break your mother’s back.” For example, kids might worry that their thoughts can cause someone to get hurt or get sick.Contamination: Kids with this obsession are sometimes called “germophobes.” These are the kids who worry about other people sneezing and coughing, touching things that might be dirty, checking expiration dates or getting sick.Some of the most common things kids with OCD worry about are: Children sometimes hide their symptoms while they are in school and then explode when they get home, from the stress of suppressing them all day. OCD usually gets worse until a child is performing so many rituals it makes it very difficult for them to function. Rituals make the anxiety go away temporarily, but it comes back. Or a child may be tortured by worries that a parent will be hurt in a car accident and feel driven to touch something a certain number of times to prevent that from happening. Unwanted thoughts are called obsessions, and the rituals they perform are called compulsions.įor instance, a child might be plagued by worries that things around them are dirty and will make them sick, so they feel driven to wash their hands repeatedly, sometimes until their skin is raw and bleeding. OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) is an anxiety disorder that kids can develop as early as 6 to 9 years old.Ĭhildren who have OCD have upsetting fears or thoughts that they are overwhelmed by, and they feel driven to repeat certain actions or rituals to make them stop. They often count things or line things up a specific way, or ask repeatedly for reassurance from parents. The kinds of actions or rituals kids use to control their fears also include extreme cleaning, checking things like locks to make sure they are secure, or homework to make sure it’s correct. These fears tend to get worse over time, and a child may be so overwhelmed by them that they are unable to do things like go to school or eat around other people. Other worries children with OCD may have include the fear of offending God or breaking a religious rule, or the fear that they will do something violent or bad. Another common worry is that something bad will happen to a parent, and the child touches something a certain number of times or in a certain order to prevent that from happening. They wash their hands repeatedly to make the worry go away, but it returns, forcing them to wash their hands again. The most common kind of obsession among kids is worries that things around them are dirty and will make them sick. The fears or worries are called called obsessions, and the actions they perform are called compulsions. Children who have OCD have unwanted fears or thoughts that are upsetting, and they use certain actions or rituals to make them stop. ![]()
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