[robfosters]

Either you or family members.

How do you cope?

We are having an awful time with my 15 year old brother lately. It has got to a level where he cannot go to school, it takes him at least half an hour to get into bed, he struggles to eat his dinner because he feels he's not eating it right, and it is seriously depressing him.

We took him to the Maudsley hospital for an assessment and they confirmed he did indeed have it bad, but luckily there are no other mental problems there.

Anyone else got any experiences?

[steviedog]

I always joke with my girlfriend about her 'OCD'.

She can't walk through the kitchen without doing the dishes.

I never knew it could be this serious though, sorry to hear this. Have you tried looking for a specialist in this field?

[KhalJimbo]

Its not really a medical problem but more of a phsycological one, my sister did her degree in phsycology, best thing to do is go see a therapist.

[hopeless]

hi,

i reckon most people have OCD one way or the other, its just some have trouble letting things go

my take on it is, OCD is brought on by anxiety/stress and a feeling of lack of control in our lives, and performing little rituals brings back a little order

OCD can be managed in many different ways through medication, counselling or a change in diet - less sugar, coffee and other stimulants.

my advice is to introduce valerian tea to your brother as it has sedating properties to it and can reduce anxiety, and exercise regularly

OCD can manifest at any point in our lives but its generally during teenage years and the twenties, and symptoms can disappear just as quickly as they arrive

im not a doctor, but you should definitely see your GP first

goodluck

[F1Boy]

I had it quite badly at university - although not as badly as your brother.

It used to take me 10 or so minutes to leave the house - making sure everything was swtiched off, the doors were in the correct position, nothing was parallel on coffee tables etc (I know ). I used to think that if I didn't do these things then something bad would happen. OCD did help me stop smoking though - I was at a stage where I would have to think of a certain thing while taking the last two pulls on a cigarette. I got SO fed up with it I gave up so I wouldn't have to do it anymore, lol.

I took it upon myself to go and see a therapist (is that a really American term?) and, while a little patronising it helped a bit. To be honest though, she couldn't really tell me anything I didn't know - I knew it was in my head and I knew I just had to stop doing the things I was doing because, really, they had no consequence. She did suggest stopping doing one thing at a time, or checking things one time less, each time, if that makes sense - gradually working up to stopping things completely.

It sounds as though you've taken the first step though in getting help and it can only get better from here.

[FZR400RRSP]

We've got a girl in here with severe OCD.
It can be amusing or annoying, depending on your mood.
She'll lock her car, walk away, stop, turn around and check it's locked.
Then she'll unlock it and go through the whole rigmarole again.
Same with switching off her PC at night.
She also constantly looks up at the roof, to check for spiders.

[24fanboy]

Yes, I have severe OCD. And its nothing like what the morons in the media tell you. They tell you about the strange behaviours people engage in, but don't explain at all WHY people feel the need to do that they do. Its an incredibly severe and debilitating condition and it took me years of therapy to get it under control.

The only way anyone can really understand OCD is to experience it. And in my experience, a large number of people who claim to have OCD most certainly do not.

[Iccz]

Many people think that their compulsion to do something regularly or as a routine is OCD, I used to know a guy who had severe OCD with cleanliness, he would never eat out because he was too obsessive with how clean the plate and cutlery were, he would wash his hands 'til they were red raw and brushed his teeth so much he caused his gums to start recessing, he'd never touch any animals, plants, mud etc, he'd never drink out of a bottle or a can, the list goes on.

As said it's a psychological problem which can be helped, even if it's just reducing the impacts on daily life, often caused by anxiety issues or even underlying depression - apparently it was his parents break up and grandparents death which was said to be the cause of his anxiety, depression and as a result OCD.

It looked like a very very hard thing to live with and although he was used to it and pretty much took it in his stride it was a real eye opener to see someone having to deal with so many problems relating to things we just take for granted.

I'd suggest therapy for him and sessions where the family go along to help understand and deal with it, it would probably be of use for you all to go along to a couple of sessions with him. I hope it all works out for you.

[hopeless]

Originally Posted by Iccz

Many people think that their compulsion to do something regularly or as a routine is OCD,

thats pretty much my line of thinking. ive had bad OCD all my life, and ive had to manage things around my OCD, which i think is brought on by my insecurites

i personally think OCD can go from very mild to severe

imo, drinking, smoking compulsive shoppers etc have varying degrees of OCD

its not just the people who wash their hands 100 times a day, obsessed with numbers or who need to keep everything around them symetrical