Re: Lowe/sexual compulsions

[Guest guest]

Hi L.,

I'm always amazed at how cruel OCD can be and this is certainly the case for a 5

year old who has to deal with these thoughts at an age when he's least ready.

You wrote:

Am I

enabling if I take him to Blockbuster as a reward when he tells me he

had strong " bad thoughts " but didn't ask anyone to put something in

their pants?

I think rewards for not acting on compulsions are completely appropriate. You

are supporting your child in feeling the anxiety of the obsessive thoughts but

not relieving them with the compulsions. My only suggestion would be to start

smaller with your rewards,as (though CBT) you'd like to be having him practice

and succeed at resisting the compulsion every day so you can stomp it out!

We used M & Ms when Kelsey was having erasing compulsions. Homework was a huge

chore with her feeling physically sick by the end of a worksheet. I'd dole out

the M & Ms one by one for immediate gratification.

Take care,

in San Diego