Re: Interesting discovery....

[Guest guest]

One more note - I do realize that people can do a great job covering up

their OCD when in public - but you need to understand that to put on a

sweaty/dirty/smelly t-shirt would be enough to turn my daughter into a

quivering,

sobbing mess. I've seen it happen.

I just don't get it.

LT

[Guest guest]

Hi LT -

I'm still laughing over this one - Are you sure she is changing for gym?

This is a problem I have with my son - He won't change for gym. This is

related to the fact he thinks he is " fat " though and not germs, etc. His gym

clothes too are always conveniently " at school. " Then, he fails gym - the

reason?

He's not changing (mandatory).

On the other hand - My son doesn't have handwashing issues. He does have

contamination issues though. He only will eat off of paper products, utensils,

etc. He can't touch a garbage can. Now, look in his room and you'd nearly

die with all the junk. His explanation - Regular dishes, forks, spoons, etc

have spots and " ick " (as in speck of leftover food or something from

dishwasher?) on them. As for the garbage - same thing - the possibility of

touching

something wet is there.

So.... her touching the dirty clothes in the hamper could be related to

other contaminants in the pile whereas gym clothes are just hers and the only

things in the gym locker?? Or, is she simply not changing and that's why there

is no issue with that??

In a message dated 3/9/2006 7:37:49 PM Central Standard Time, jtlt@...

writes:

I asked if she had her gym

clothes together to take (their PE class is two weeks on, two weeks off -

so gym

clothes come home on & off and she has to remember to take them back in) -

anyway, when I asked if she had them ready to take, she said, " oh, no,

they're

still at school - we have gym all week this

week " ......................................... and I'm thinking to myself,

" ...and you're WEARING those dirty

gym clothes EVERY DAY??? "

[Guest guest]

I should mention also - He is in no way fat. This has been a problem for

years - the dysmorphic situation.

In a message dated 3/9/2006 7:51:59 PM Central Standard Time,

Nchaotic@... writes:

This is related to the fact he thinks he is " fat " though and not germs,

etc.

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 3/9/2006 8:52:17 PM Eastern Standard Time,

Nchaotic@... writes:

I'm still laughing over this one - Are you sure she is changing for gym?

-

Hey - humor is always good - that's my motto. It gets us through an awful

lot. I'm sure my daughter is changing for gym because she loves sports & has

gotten an 'A' in gym all year so far (progress report just brought home last

week - 'A' in gym) Go figure!

As far as the " ickiness " being only hers - I just don't know - she won't

even pick things out of her own hamper (she has her own exclusive hamper in her

room). Given the fact that she'll throw jeans in the hamper after only one

wearing, I can't imagine they're anywhere near as nasty as sweaty gym clothes.

Do you think she could be hiding this THAT well at school?

We just had a bad night. Poor baby - she just cried & cried when I put her

to bed. She said she was scared, she wants " it " to go away, she's trying to

remember how she used to take 20 minute showers & can't remember how to do

it. She said she just wants to be like she was before. It was

heart-wrenching. It was horrible. She kept saying over & over " it's not fair

mommy - it's

not fair "

I felt like a complete failure - there is nothing I can do for her, and to

make it worse, I can't even truly understand what she's going through. I felt

horrible. I'm sure a lot of these feelings I'm having are because we still

haven't had any real therapy yet. We don't know what to do or how to handle

any of this. We read a book - but it didn't go into great detail about WHAT

we should be doing. " Get therapy " ya, ok, that happens on April 25th. What

do we do until then? Just watch it get worse? Maybe what we're doing is

actually making it worse. I don't know.

Sorry for going on......

LT

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 3/9/2006 10:00:29 PM Eastern Standard Time,

lynnovale@... writes:

mine hates to take stuff out of dirty clothes basket

too but hasn't brought his gym clothes home all year.

HAHAHA... sorry - but THAT is just FUNNY stuff there! No surprise to see

the word " him " in that statement!!! I mean, that HAS to be a boy.

Non-OCD related story, but when my son went to his first (and last) boyscout

camp - this was 4th grade - I carefully packed extras of everything he could

possibly need, including LOTS of socks (as suggested by the boyscout leader

- he said socks get wet & dirty & sometimes they have to change more than

once a day). NOT MY BOY! That child came home with every, single pair of

socks

still clean & folded in his trunk -- he wore the SAME SOCKS ALL WEEK. I was

horrified, however it explained a lot about the smell in the car on the way

home from the camp ground. I threw them out in the trash, I wouldn't even

put them in my washer.

LT

[Guest guest]

mine hates to take stuff out of dirty clothes basket

too but hasn't brought his gym clothes home all year.

There is no logic.

--- jtlt@... wrote:

---------------------------------

I discovered something kind of weird today & am

wondering what other people

on the board think. As I've explained before, my

daughter will launch into a

hand washing frenzy just from picking up a dirty

clothing item from the

hamper (hers or not), and yet, just this morning while

she was getting ready for

school she said to me, " I have gym today. " I asked

if she had her gym

clothes together to take (their PE class is two weeks

on, two weeks off - so gym

clothes come home on & off and she has to remember to

take them back in) -

anyway, when I asked if she had them ready to take,

she said, " oh, no, they're

still at school - we have gym all week this

week " ......................................... and

I'm thinking to myself, " ...and you're WEARING those

dirty

gym clothes EVERY DAY??? "

I wanted to just blurt out, " Are you KIDDING me?? You

have to scrub your

hands from touching a pair of jeans in the hamper and

here you're wearing

smelly, dirty gym clothes for a week straight??!!! "

Now, someone PLEASE tell me there is some bizarre OCD

explanation for this -

because I'm at a loss on this one. I don't understand

how she can possibly

get herself to do this. It makes no sense whatsoever.

I'd like to ask her

psychiatrist about it tomorrow (med check) but I'd

have to ask her in private.

God knows, I don't want to start up anything about

it! That's all I need -

gym laundry every single day!!!

She puts everything she wears in the laundry every

day! I bought her a

really cute jeans jacket with fur collar. I asked why

I hadn't seen her in it in

forever - after shuffling her feet & not answering, it

finally came out

" because you didn't let me wash it yet. " Well, she's

only worn it a couple

times! I tried to explain how you don't wash jackets

like you would a shirt or

socks - no good. She won't put it on. BUT GYM CLOTHES

FOR A WHOLE WEEK??!!!

Thanks for any opinions on this one.

LT

[Guest guest]

LT,

Thanks for my laugh for the day! Logic!? Do we have logic!?

I've heard, " Cody can't have ocd, look at his room! " ,

and, " Cody can't have ocd, I saw him sit on a filthy step! "

His eigth grade class had a parent nice enough last year to make a

video compilation of the students . . . I got to see Cody sweeping

the lunchroom floor while someone shoved food in his mouth because

his hands were contaminated and he couldn't touch the food no matter

how hungry he was . . . and I got to watch him jump to the ceiling

when someone touched his shoulder from behind . . . his worst ocd

year is chronicled in his 8th grade video!!

Nope . . . no logic here!

And I totally agree that you shouldn't bring it up . . . once

something is 'contaminated' it's 'wash it twice a day' ocd hell.

>

>

> I discovered something kind of weird today & am wondering what

other people

> on the board think. As I've explained before, my daughter will

launch into a

> hand washing frenzy just from picking up a dirty clothing item

from the

> hamper (hers or not), and yet, just this morning while she was

getting ready for

> school she said to me, " I have gym today. " I asked if she had her

gym

> clothes together to take (their PE class is two weeks on, two

weeks off - so gym

> clothes come home on & off and she has to remember to take them

back in) -

> anyway, when I asked if she had them ready to take, she said, " oh,

no, they're

> still at school - we have gym all week this

> week " ......................................... and I'm thinking to

myself, " ...and you're WEARING those dirty

> gym clothes EVERY DAY??? "

>

> I wanted to just blurt out, " Are you KIDDING me?? You have to

scrub your

> hands from touching a pair of jeans in the hamper and here you're

wearing

> smelly, dirty gym clothes for a week straight??!!! "

>

> Now, someone PLEASE tell me there is some bizarre OCD explanation

for this -

> because I'm at a loss on this one. I don't understand how she can

possibly

> get herself to do this. It makes no sense whatsoever. I'd like

to ask her

> psychiatrist about it tomorrow (med check) but I'd have to ask her

in private.

> God knows, I don't want to start up anything about it! That's

all I need -

> gym laundry every single day!!!

>

> She puts everything she wears in the laundry every day! I bought

her a

> really cute jeans jacket with fur collar. I asked why I hadn't

seen her in it in

> forever - after shuffling her feet & not answering, it finally

came out

> " because you didn't let me wash it yet. " Well, she's only worn it

a couple

> times! I tried to explain how you don't wash jackets like you

would a shirt or

> socks - no good. She won't put it on. BUT GYM CLOTHES FOR A WHOLE

WEEK??!!!

>

> Thanks for any opinions on this one.

> LT

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Could be. My son has become quite adept at suppressing certain features

while in school, social settings, etc. Of course, we get the brunt of it

through increased anxiety once he's back home in his " safe " place..

Nanch

In a message dated 3/9/2006 10:51:19 PM Central Standard Time, jtlt@...

writes:

Do you think she could be hiding this THAT well at school?

[Guest guest]

LT

My daughter is 20 and has been receiving treatment for severe ocd for 2

years. She has been been suffering silently since she was 5. There is NO

logic

to this disease. To the sufferer there is. They do what they do until it

feels better. Just let it go. Meds, behovioral therapy, time and luck seems

to be all that's available. It's impossible trying to help as a

parent...nothing we can do or say helps

JC

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 3/10/2006 6:47:09 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,

westport2@... writes:

It's impossible trying to help as a

parent...nothing we can do or say helps

UGH... this has never been in my parenting vocabulary.

Let me ask people this, for those who are already in therapy & getting

professional advice:

I hear other parents talk about helping with daily things like bathing,

teeth brushing, etc ( physically helping their child with these tasks), then I

hear others saying they DON'T.

Which is acceptable during therapy? Does physically assisting them

(literally, washing your child in the shower, etc) help or hurt the therapy? I

know

the ending result we hope for is for the child to do these things on their

own, but does that mean leaving them to sink or swim on their own from the

start? Do you impose time limits for different tasks? What is your response

if

they just say " I'm not done yet " or " WAIT WAIT, 1 more minute " ??? Do you

pull them away from the sink? Do you walk out & say nothing? Do you demand

they " STOP NOW " ????

At this point, I'm stuck somewhere between ripping her out of the bathroom

and just walking out (which almost always makes her cry because she doesn't

want to be alone in there - fearing she won't be able to stop anything

herself.) All I know, and I've explained this to her many times, is that I

will not

sit & watch her go through all her motions because to me, that's like just

condoning what she's doing. She wants me in there so she DOESN'T take a long

time. The only thing she responds to is either my yelling at her, or my

physically pulling her away - while both seem to upset her, she would rather go

through that than be on her own in there. I'm so afraid that I'm just making

it worse by not responding in the correct way.

Which response/action is going help & which is going to hurt? I need some

information on what to do until the end of April when her therapy starts.

thanks

LT

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 3/10/2006 8:33:09 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,

birkhanw@... writes:

Ask them what happens that they are able

to wear the other clothing? What makes them different? Can they apply that

same thinking to the clothes they like to wear?? How about picking a

favourite item of clothing and practice wearing it multiple times, then add to

the

collection.

Treatment of O's and C's means breaking up huge mountains and making them

ant hills.

-

Thanks for your words of experience. This was my first " gut " feeling, to

kind of throw out there the fact that she can wear those clothes repeatedly

after sweating in them. Like I said, I had to really bite my tongue to NOT say

it. I truly am afraid of making things worse than they already are though.

I don't want to be the " idea source " behind yet another issue for her during

the school day. And, when I say " I'm afraid " - I only mean it in the way

that, she is suffering SO much already that I don't want to heap yet another

issue onto her daily pile of things to stress about. And, again - without

having any kind of guidance on our responses & actions regarding all this - I

scared to death of making it worse for her through my own ignorance.

That's why I asked for people's input who are already in therapy. I will

try this today with her. I will be brave -- but, just so you know... if she

starts bring her gym clothes home every day to be washed... I'm sending them to

YOUR house!! ;-) HA!

LT

[Guest guest]

JC,

I disagree with your heartfelt comment that " ...nothing we can do or say helps "

Living with multiples with ocd has taught us that when you dont have time to

enable,

you don't do it. If a child can wear dirty clothes to gym, then I would be using

that

example to prove how OCD is manipulating them. OCD is a bully - deal with it in

that

way. When a person realizes that they CAN overcome a compulsion or obsession,

they are

empowered to move on to the next 'fear'.

To the parents that are afraid to rock the boat - what are you afraid of? Use

humour

and point out that you find it fasinating to learn that gym clothes, for

example, dont

have to be washed, but that other clothes do. Ask them what happens htat they

are able

to wear the othr clothing? What makes them different? Can they apply that same

thinking

to the clothes they like to wear?? How about picking a favourite item of

clothing and

practice wearing it multiple times, then add to the collection.

Treatment of O's and C's means breaking up huge mountains and making htem ant

hills.

Good luck to you all and dont forget to take care of yourselves!

wendy in canada

(Consider attending the mini-conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba: Living with

Obsessive

Compulsive Disorder: A conference for those affected by OCD, and their family,

and

friends. www.ocdmanitoba.ca info@... )

--- westport2@... wrote:---------------------------------

It's impossible trying to help as a parent... nothing we can do or say helps

JC

===========================

[Guest guest]

The first book recommended to me on our first appt

with CBT therapist was:

Freeing Your Child From Obsessive Compulsive

Disorder--

by Tamar E. Chansky, PH.D.

The second time thru I was ready to understand the

actual therapy part.

I think your question is answered in there in the

'Parents Role' section. You don't want to suddenly

withdraw support but you might want to start becoming

really aware of the things you do to accomodate that

most parents don't do. Maybe write them down for the

therapist. The more info they have the faster they

can design a plan for therapy.

If possible get your daughter to write down any of her

fears and inner thoughts also.

Lynn

--- jtlt@... wrote:

---------------------------------

In a message dated 3/10/2006 6:47:09 A.M. Eastern

Standard Time,

westport2@... writes:

It's impossible trying to help as a

parent...nothing we can do or say helps

UGH... this has never been in my parenting vocabulary.

Let me ask people this, for those who are already in

therapy & getting

professional advice:

I hear other parents talk about helping with daily

things like bathing,

teeth brushing, etc ( physically helping their child

with these tasks), then I

hear others saying they DON'T.

Which is acceptable during therapy? Does physically

assisting them

(literally, washing your child in the shower, etc)

help or hurt the therapy? I know

the ending result we hope for is for the child to do

these things on their

own, but does that mean leaving them to sink or swim

on their own from the

start? Do you impose time limits for different tasks?

What is your response if

they just say " I'm not done yet " or " WAIT WAIT, 1 more

minute " ??? Do you

pull them away from the sink? Do you walk out & say

nothing? Do you demand

they " STOP NOW " ????

At this point, I'm stuck somewhere between ripping her

out of the bathroom

and just walking out (which almost always makes her

cry because she doesn't

want to be alone in there - fearing she won't be able

to stop anything

herself.) All I know, and I've explained this to her

many times, is that I will not

sit & watch her go through all her motions because to

me, that's like just

condoning what she's doing. She wants me in there so

she DOESN'T take a long

time. The only thing she responds to is either my

yelling at her, or my

physically pulling her away - while both seem to upset

her, she would rather go

through that than be on her own in there. I'm so

afraid that I'm just making

it worse by not responding in the correct way.

Which response/action is going help & which is going

to hurt? I need some

information on what to do until the end of April when

her therapy starts.

thanks

LT

[Guest guest]

Hi-I have a 17yo dd who is what I call a " phobic

slob " !! lol-Her room is a disaster-I have to take out

her garbage periodically.She has bathroom

rituals-changes under clothes alot-washes her hands

and lets them drip dry,because to dry them on a towel

would get them dirty again.She has sensory issues and

fixates on certain clothes. Yet-she has no problem

taking something dirty and wrinkled and gross off the

floor-spraying it with deodorant and perfume-and

wearing it.Half the time she looks like a bag lady-our

p-doc says to let her deal with the consequences when

she goes out! Best-Sue12771

--- jtlt@... wrote:

>

> I discovered something kind of weird today & am

> wondering what other people

> on the board think. As I've explained before, my

> daughter will launch into a

> hand washing frenzy just from picking up a dirty

> clothing item from the

> hamper (hers or not), and yet, just this morning

> while she was getting ready for

> school she said to me, " I have gym today. " I asked

> if she had her gym

> clothes together to take (their PE class is two

> weeks on, two weeks off - so gym

> clothes come home on & off and she has to remember

> to take them back in) -

> anyway, when I asked if she had them ready to take,

> she said, " oh, no, they're

> still at school - we have gym all week this

> week " ......................................... and

> I'm thinking to myself, " ...and you're WEARING

> those dirty

> gym clothes EVERY DAY??? "

>

> I wanted to just blurt out, " Are you KIDDING me??

> You have to scrub your

> hands from touching a pair of jeans in the hamper

> and here you're wearing

> smelly, dirty gym clothes for a week straight??!!! "

>

> Now, someone PLEASE tell me there is some bizarre

> OCD explanation for this -

> because I'm at a loss on this one. I don't

> understand how she can possibly

> get herself to do this. It makes no sense

> whatsoever. I'd like to ask her

> psychiatrist about it tomorrow (med check) but I'd

> have to ask her in private.

> God knows, I don't want to start up anything about

> it! That's all I need -

> gym laundry every single day!!!

>

> She puts everything she wears in the laundry every

> day! I bought her a

> really cute jeans jacket with fur collar. I asked

> why I hadn't seen her in it in

> forever - after shuffling her feet & not answering,

> it finally came out

> " because you didn't let me wash it yet. " Well,

> she's only worn it a couple

> times! I tried to explain how you don't wash

> jackets like you would a shirt or

> socks - no good. She won't put it on. BUT GYM

> CLOTHES FOR A WHOLE WEEK??!!!

>

> Thanks for any opinions on this one.

> LT

>

>

>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been

> removed]

>

>

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Part of OCD parenting, is dealing with the lies.

In order to cover up the ritual, or keep us from hearing what they

know will expose and episode; we get lies - distortions of the event.

Breaking through that defensive mechanism takes time. Once we got

through the shield, the therapy seemed to take on new meaning and a

new tac.

Hopefully, it's a sign of improvement.

dla

[Guest guest]

For help until you have the therapy session, I would recommend (in

addition to Tamar Chansky's book) a book called Brain Lock by

Schwartz, M.D. This book has really helped me a lot lately with my

14-year-old son with OCD. The " 15-minute rule " in the book is

especially helpful for me. I try to get my son to delay performing a

compulsion for 15 minutes and longer if possible. Hope this helps

you also. Good luck. Pat

>

>

> In a message dated 3/9/2006 8:52:17 PM Eastern Standard Time,

> Nchaotic@... writes:

>

> I'm still laughing over this one - Are you sure she is changing

for gym?

>

>

> -

>

> Hey - humor is always good - that's my motto. It gets us through

an awful

> lot. I'm sure my daughter is changing for gym because she loves

sports & has

> gotten an 'A' in gym all year so far (progress report just brought

home last

> week - 'A' in gym) Go figure!

>

> As far as the " ickiness " being only hers - I just don't know - she

won't

> even pick things out of her own hamper (she has her own exclusive

hamper in her

> room). Given the fact that she'll throw jeans in the hamper after

only one

> wearing, I can't imagine they're anywhere near as nasty as sweaty

gym clothes.

>

>

> Do you think she could be hiding this THAT well at school?

>

> We just had a bad night. Poor baby - she just cried & cried when

I put her

> to bed. She said she was scared, she wants " it " to go away, she's

trying to

> remember how she used to take 20 minute showers & can't remember

how to do

> it. She said she just wants to be like she was before. It was

> heart-wrenching. It was horrible. She kept saying over &

over " it's not fair mommy - it's

> not fair "

>

> I felt like a complete failure - there is nothing I can do for

her, and to

> make it worse, I can't even truly understand what she's going

through. I felt

> horrible. I'm sure a lot of these feelings I'm having are because

we still

> haven't had any real therapy yet. We don't know what to do or how

to handle

> any of this. We read a book - but it didn't go into great detail

about WHAT

> we should be doing. " Get therapy " ya, ok, that happens on April

25th. What

> do we do until then? Just watch it get worse? Maybe what we're

doing is

> actually making it worse. I don't know.

>

> Sorry for going on......

> LT

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi

my OCD daughter changes clothes all time, creates loads of washing etc BUT

my other daughter also wouldnt want to touch anything once its been in the

hamper. if i ask either of them to pass me something out of it- well youd think

i'd asked them to pick up muck with their bare hands( & the faces they pull!)

holding something at arms length, using the tips of 2 fingers & trying to

quickly throw it towards me. I think kids view dirty laundry as dirty.

Ofcourse, when you then add your daughters OCD issues, well, lets be honest,

youve no

chance of making sense of it !!!!!!!!

Take Care

Lesley x

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 3/11/2006 12:27:21 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,

PpsLesley@... writes:

my OCD daughter changes clothes all time, creates loads of washing etc

(and anyone else with the same issue):

A little trick we've managed to pull of here, (I mean face it - you have to

cut corners on the work where you can), since my daughter will only wear jeans

etc, once - when she's climbing in bed for the night, I will grab several

pair of pants from her hamper & say " oh, I'll just throw in a quick load for

you, " and then I put them in the dryer on air-dry or low with a few fabric

sheets. It saves wear & tear on the clothes, saves my time AND sanity, and

makes her happy.

What more could you ask for?

LT

[Guest guest]

This sums it up so well, I think. Although I'm not the original poster with

the hamper/gym clothes issues, my son has FOREVER refused to eat with

anything other than paper utensils/dishware, etc. We've tried EVERYTHING

believe

me. If we're out of plastic spoons for instance, he will not eat period. He

will not throw garbage away if the can is partly full for fear of touching

something wet/icky, but if the garbage is empty he'll throw his plate in there.

Now, enter his room - It's a true health hazard - It's clean one day, right

back the next day. His explanation/rationale for this? It's just paper and

junk, not " ick or stuff. " He's a boy and like all boys, he'd probably

remain in the same underwear forever if allowed, but yet won't let a metal

utensil

cross his lips - go figure. Makes no sense, so I guess that's what

separate OCD from just plain " finnicky. " He'll only drink water from the

bathroom

sink also - Still haven't figured that out! Oh, and there was a time a

couple of years ago when he more than happily volunteered to clean the

bathroom.

Hum...

In a message dated 3/12/2006 4:04:20 PM Central Standard Time,

ocdhelp4kids@... writes:

It's not logical and you can't

reason with it, because it's really not about the dirt/germs;

otherwise it wouldn't be OCD! Your particular child has a problem

with the hamper because for whatever reason, she got that obsession

stuck in their head. Another child with contamination fears won't

have an issue with the hamper, but will have an issue with something

else which is senseless. That's OCD.

[Guest guest]

Dina - His rationale for the bathroom sink is there might be icky wet stuff

in the kitchen sink? He very rarely drinks the bathroom water in any event.

It was just a seldom thing he used to do (and then only drank it out of

cupped hands - kind of like a water fountain). Anythng he drinks now must come

out of an unopened individual can/bottle. Recently, I've started in the

morning giving him a paper cup with a little orange juice in it. I see the

look

in his eye (almost like a panic/anger), but I don't feed into it and he has

been drinking it. I just keep thinking God help his wife! LOL ...

In a message dated 3/12/2006 6:03:40 PM Central Standard Time,

dina.n.jones@... writes:

--I don't have OCD, but I like water better from the bathroom sink

too. :-) I grew up getting a drink using my " bathroom cup " when

thirsty and it never occurred to me to use the kitchen sink.

Dina

[Guest guest]

Is it possible that she really can only wear jeans once? Ever since I was a

teenager I have been able to wear pants, blouses and dresses only once or (not

to get too graphic) they get " smelly. " By once, I mean a whole day or at least

several hours.Skirts, sweaters, etc -- ie, anything not directly touching my

skin -- I can wear more often.

P.

jtlt@... wrote:

In a message dated 3/11/2006 12:27:21 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,

PpsLesley@... writes:

my OCD daughter changes clothes all time, creates loads of washing etc

(and anyone else with the same issue):

A little trick we've managed to pull of here, (I mean face it - you have to

cut corners on the work where you can), since my daughter will only wear jeans

etc, once - when she's climbing in bed for the night, I will grab several

pair of pants from her hamper & say " oh, I'll just throw in a quick load for

you, " and then I put them in the dryer on air-dry or low with a few fabric

sheets. It saves wear & tear on the clothes, saves my time AND sanity, and

makes her happy.

What more could you ask for?

LT

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 3/12/2006 2:34:07 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,

firecooklmp@... writes:

Is it possible that she really can only wear jeans once?

P -

No - you can sometimes still smell the fabric sheet scent on her clothes

when she throws them in the hamper - it's ridiculous!

LT

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 3/12/2006 5:17:53 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,

Nchaotic@... writes:

He's a boy and like all boys, he'd probably

remain in the same underwear forever if allowed, but yet won't let a metal

utensil

cross his lips - go figure.

-

EXACTLY - I just keep thinking there has to be a connection somewhere with

the difference things she does -- but apparently it's just wishful thinking on

my part. I suppose if it were that easy to figure out, it wouldn't be such

a problem.

LT

[Guest guest]

There is nothing weird or bizzare about your daughter's behavior.

Contamination fears in OCD are really not about the dirt and germs.

They are not unlike any other obsession and compulsion. A child may

think a hamper is contaminated/filthy but will turn around and pick

his nose without using a tissue. It's not logical and you can't

reason with it, because it's really not about the dirt/germs;

otherwise it wouldn't be OCD! Your particular child has a problem

with the hamper because for whatever reason, she got that obsession

stuck in their head. Another child with contamination fears won't

have an issue with the hamper, but will have an issue with something

else which is senseless. That's OCD.

>

>

> I discovered something kind of weird today & am wondering what

other people

> on the board think. As I've explained before, my daughter will

launch into a

> hand washing frenzy just from picking up a dirty clothing item

from the

> hamper (hers or not), and yet, just this morning while she was

getting ready for

> school she said to me, " I have gym today. " I asked if she had

her gym

> clothes together to take (their PE class is two weeks on, two

weeks off - so gym

> clothes come home on & off and she has to remember to take them

back in) -

> anyway, when I asked if she had them ready to take, she

said, " oh, no, they're

> still at school - we have gym all week this

> week " ......................................... and I'm thinking

to myself, " ...and you're WEARING those dirty

> gym clothes EVERY DAY??? "

>

> I wanted to just blurt out, " Are you KIDDING me?? You have to

scrub your

> hands from touching a pair of jeans in the hamper and here you're

wearing

> smelly, dirty gym clothes for a week straight??!!! "

>

> Now, someone PLEASE tell me there is some bizarre OCD explanation

for this -

> because I'm at a loss on this one. I don't understand how she

can possibly

> get herself to do this. It makes no sense whatsoever. I'd like

to ask her

> psychiatrist about it tomorrow (med check) but I'd have to ask

her in private.

> God knows, I don't want to start up anything about it! That's

all I need -

> gym laundry every single day!!!

>

> She puts everything she wears in the laundry every day! I bought

her a

> really cute jeans jacket with fur collar. I asked why I hadn't

seen her in it in

> forever - after shuffling her feet & not answering, it finally

came out

> " because you didn't let me wash it yet. " Well, she's only worn it

a couple

> times! I tried to explain how you don't wash jackets like you

would a shirt or

> socks - no good. She won't put it on. BUT GYM CLOTHES FOR A

WHOLE WEEK??!!!

>

> Thanks for any opinions on this one.

> LT

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Nchaotic@... wrote:

>

> This sums it up so well, I think. Although I'm not the original

> poster with

> the hamper/gym clothes issues, my son has FOREVER refused to eat with

> anything other than paper utensils/dishware, etc. We've tried

> EVERYTHING believe

> me. If we're out of plastic spoons for instance, he will not eat

> period. He

> will not throw garbage away if the can is partly full for fear of

> touching

> something wet/icky, but if the garbage is empty he'll throw his plate

> in there.

> Now, enter his room - It's a true health hazard - It's clean one day,

> right

> back the next day. His explanation/rationale for this? It's just

> paper and

> junk, not " ick or stuff. " He's a boy and like all boys, he'd probably

> remain in the same underwear forever if allowed, but yet won't let a

> metal utensil

> cross his lips - go figure. Makes no sense, so I guess that's what

> separate OCD from just plain " finnicky. " He'll only drink water

> from the bathroom

> sink also - Still haven't figured that out! Oh, and there was a time a

> couple of years ago when he more than happily volunteered to clean

> the bathroom.

> Hum...

>

>

--I don't have OCD, but I like water better from the bathroom sink

too. :-) I grew up getting a drink using my " bathroom cup " when

thirsty and it never occurred to me to use the kitchen sink.

Dina