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[Guest guest]

Hi Sil, I have a 19 yr old son with OCD. His OCD is now centered

around bad thoughts, scrupulosity (religion related) type. When it

first began, back close to age 12, it was more compulsions, rituals

type.

I wish I could offer some great advice. Do you think the OCD is

affecting his not being able to do schoolwork? (as opposed to just

being a teenager and less interested in doing it) I know with my son

when younger, he knew OCD affected his reading and his writing and so

knew it affected being able to do his schoolwork. Have his teachers

commented to you about him, are they aware he has OCD?

Now when my son was younger and his OCD began, he knew lots of things

were OCD but we had to work on things (no therapist) a little at a

time. So I would choose 1 or 2 things to work on and ignore the rest

of the OCD stuff. He would agree with what I chose, discussed it

with him. (let's say, he just couldn't choose so I did)

But now with the bad thoughts -- well, he did see a therapist for a

while but son's problem is he doesn't see his thoughts as being part

of OCD. He seems to think the thoughts are *his* but that OCD just

makes them worse, repetitive, etc. And he refuses to try

prescription medication again. So you see, I haven't had any luck in

getting him motivated to work on things either.

Luckily he still functions well at school so far as grades. He

manages to get things done but a lot of it is last minute and " up all

night " type stuff.

Did your son recognize those long showers as part of OCD? I would

think that if he sees some other of his behaviors as OCD, maybe he

would agree to work on 1 or 2.

As to his medication, I know he's a bit old, but if you just hand it

to him each day to take, will he take it? Once the medication is

really helping, maybe he will see the positive difference it makes.

Has he been on the medication long, and which is it?

>

> Hello,

> I am new to this group. My son is 17 years old and has OCD. He has

had

> bad severe symptoms. Last March he was taking 6-8 hour showers in

the

> middle of the night while everybody was sleeping.