Re: Re: Obsession question -

[Guest guest]

Nope -- it's not a boy thing. My girl has trouble " letting things go " as well.

Her therapist noticed it just in the way she talks and said that was one of the

reasons he suspected OCD. His example was when he said something about " At

school, when you come in from recess and have reading time . . . " She

immediately corrected him but had to start at the very beginning of the day and

tell him her ENTIRE schedule. He tried interrupting her and she continued from

just before where she left off. He said that was a good thing . . . some kids

have to start completely over if they get interrupted!

But there are also topics and subjects she gets overly involved in and cannot

let go. Recently it is dogs. She sees a dog and has to tell you what breed it

is . . . if she doesn't recognize it right off (or it's a mutt) she'll say,

" That one is probably 10% pug, 50% yellow lab and 40% greyhound or weimeraner.

Probably greyhound, though. His mother is a greyhound and the dad is yellow lab

with a little pug. Or . . . " She'll go on and on but she will stop about half

the time if we say, " Kate. That's enough. You're stuck. "

Beth

Re: Obsession question -

Dawn, I wonder if some of it might just be a male thing. lol Okay,

no male bashing here, I promise. :oD

I've noticed that some of my son's friends (over the years) have also

been super focused on things. When our son was in preschool, his best

friend was obsessed with Batman, and our son was obsessed with frogs

(which was on obsession he wasn't scared of - it started with the

video game Frogger). They had some funny and interesting

conversations, which mostly consisted of them spouting facts about

their obsessions to each other. His Mom and I used to laugh when we

would listen to them talk to each other.

His current best friend (they are both teenagers) is obsessed with

cows. Don't ask, because I don't know. lol

Not having had any brothers, boys are a mystery to me at times. lol

BJ

> > >

> > > My son is 7 with Tourette's and OCD.

> > >

> > > Ever since he was very young he has had different obsessions

> that are

> > > intense and last several months.

> > >

> > > Currently it is Star Wars - almost all his time it spent

> watching the

> > > movie, playing the game on Wii, coloring Star Wars pictures or

> playing

> > > with his Star Wars toys. Most of his talk centers on Star Wars

> too.

> > > When he is in the midst of an obsession he seems to not notice

> cues

> > > that others are not as interested in the current subject as he

> is.

> > >

> > > He will also become obsessive with food - he will go for months

> only

> > > wanting to eat pancakes ... then suddenly he wants nothing to do

> with

> > > them and it is now ice cream he wants all day long - on and on!

> > >

> > > I wonder sometimes if this is a part of OCD - or something else?

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

But, man-oh-man, my daughter can sure tell a story! Between her super-creative

brain and the OCD she gets every detail put in there. Since she first learned

to speak, she has constantly surprised people with her command of language. I

love to read her stories . . . when I have time to sit down and enjoy them!

Beth

**********************************

My husband and son, both, will pick up where they left off though.

And they have to include every tiny detail. It can get mind numbing

to live in a house where they both do that. They both get annoyed

with me if I try to rush them to the point, because I'm tired of

listening.

[Guest guest]

She's 8 and has always had a very vivid imagination. The psychologist says

that's an asset (of course) but also a liability with OCD. She gets these crazy

ideas in her head and they are so real to her and they stick in her brain and

she can't let go of them (like a certain boy's germs will make her stuffed

animals dissolve).

So far her OCD is mild and she loves to write stories . . . I hope we don't

destroy her imagination as a side effect of controlling the OCD!

Beth

**************************

How old is your daughter? Does she like writing? I remember reading

many with OCD struggle with writing.

[Guest guest]

Oh, I DO hope so, too, BJ! She does have self-esteem issues but the

psychologist said they aren't too serious, nothing unusual for 8-year-old girls.

She says she doesn't have any friends but she actually has several good friends

at school. A lot is just her perception of things . . . and the OCD giving her

these false perceptions.

Beth

************************

But, having said all of that, he found that

working on the things to rid himself of OCD, didn't change a thing

about him. It just got rid of some of the annoying things OCD caused

that got in his way. I hope it is the same for your daughter.

[Guest guest]

That sounds just like Lacey. When she was younger she kept a notebook of

stories she was making up. She is homeschooled now and in the last year I

haven't been able to get her to write a thing for me. She did do a research

paper from a co-op last fall but it was an absolute nightmare. That was what

convinced me that I had to have help.....Bren

svdbyhislove wrote: That's cool, Beth. ) We

homeschool and our son's battles writing.

I've always thought it would come easy for him because he is so

" details " oriented too, but nope. When he was young he used to make

up stories that went on and on, with all the details too. But, at

some point, he stopped that. I think he struggles with writing

because there's no black or white area. Once he gets started he does

well, but it's trying to get started that is hard for him. He

agonizes over it being wrong somehow. There are those doubts again.

Give him math, science, or anything factual and he dives right in, but

it has absolutes to it.

How old is your daughter? Does she like writing? I remember reading

many with OCD struggle with writing.

BJ

>

> But, man-oh-man, my daughter can sure tell a story! Between her

super-creative brain and the OCD she gets every detail put in there.

Since she first learned to speak, she has constantly surprised people

with her command of language. I love to read her stories . . . when I

have time to sit down and enjoy them!

>

> Beth

>

> **********************************

>

> My husband and son, both, will pick up where they left off though.

> And they have to include every tiny detail. It can get mind numbing

> to live in a house where they both do that. They both get annoyed

> with me if I try to rush them to the point, because I'm tired of

> listening.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Writing has been a huge issue for her. She starts hyperventilating and becomes

extremely panicky when she thinks she has to actually write something down. I

sit with her and try to help but it is like pulling teeth. Her writing is

really good if she ever gets it done. Before these compulsions got so bad, she

was complimented frequently on how good it was. Her papers never came back with

a single mark. But now it is one of the things that she has the absolute most

anxiety about. She thinks people will reject her if she can't live up to their

expectations.........(They're not mine - other people like teachers.).....Bren

svdbyhislove wrote: Hi, Bren. I've noticed the

more Josh writes, the easier it gets for

him. We've been concentrating on writing a lot this last half of the

year. Sometimes it's just a matter of some sentences or a paragraph.

He will sometimes sit in front of the computer and just stare at the

screen still, so at those times, I go over to see if I can help him

get started with an opening topic sentence. Once he gets that, he can

seem to move along. Then, when he finishes, surprisingly his writing

is really good. I'm convinced it's the doubts (from OCD) that holds

him back.

BJ

> >

> > But, man-oh-man, my daughter can sure tell a story! Between her

> super-creative brain and the OCD she gets every detail put in there.

> Since she first learned to speak, she has constantly surprised people

> with her command of language. I love to read her stories . . . when I

> have time to sit down and enjoy them!

> >

> > Beth

> >

> > **********************************

> >

> > My husband and son, both, will pick up where they left off though.

> > And they have to include every tiny detail. It can get mind numbing

> > to live in a house where they both do that. They both get annoyed

> > with me if I try to rush them to the point, because I'm tired of

> > listening.

> >

> >

> >