Re: Re: Question about OCD

[Guest guest]

Well said, Barb!

Dorelle,

I have two kids that have been diagnosed with OCD and Bipolar. My son needs

extensive treatment for his aggression. His psychiatrist stated that he needs to

have behavior therapy before we even start with the CBT/ERP. He feels that my

son needs to somewhat deal with the anger and rages, than go forth with the

treatment of the OCD.

Hugs

judy

________________________________

To:

Sent: Friday, November 21, 2008 12:48:19 AM

Subject: Re: Question about OCD

Hello Dorelle,

I just picked up your strand asking about OCD and aggression. This

was our experience for almost two years. In the beginning it was

connected with OCD " just right " stuff, where a conversation could not

end until it felt right, or an activity could not stop until it felt

right etc. Or if we would not comply with what was wanted at a given

moment, so the need was frustrated. The frustration created resulted

in anger and sometimes aggressive behavior.

When medication was at too high a dose, or wrong medication was used

all this was amped up. We dealt with bipolar induced by medication,

and psychosis at one point, we have the underlying genetics, but not

this diagnosis. Sometimes for some people this is a factor, the

ssri's at higher doses can induce states, and aggression. For some a

mood stabilizer is added or other med to assist this, for us in the

end it was a lower dose that was best.

At times our son, 15-16 at the time, could be very scary. We watched

him change before our eyes, it was very upsetting. Things escalated

to a very difficult place, and we actually had to remove our son from

our home for three months.

For us it was a combination of wrong dose/wrong medication, the

severity of the disorder, lack of coping skills(LD), and teenage

instability. I thank God we did not have drugs or alcohol in the mix.

When the medication dose was lowered and stability reached with this,

coupled with a level of maturity, our son was able to start fighting

the OCD rather than feeling a victim to it. He will say now that he

is ashamed and embarrassed by his behavior then. He truly was not

able to moderate his reactions and was locked in to obsessive

thoughts that compelled him to " act " a certain way, he even took on

multiple identities at times.

In short this disorder can masquerade and look like other disorders.

We received labels of ODD, possible personality disorder, possible

bipolar. In the end it was all " just " OCD and a child struggling to

escape it's clutches.

On the one hand it makes sense to address the aggression before CBT

can be done, as it will increase anxiety and probably

anger/aggression if coping strategies are not in place. On the other

hand learning to manage the obsessions/compulsi ons is a strategy and

will reduce everything that leads to the aggressive behavior. We had

the same dilema.

We tried working with psychologists to work on coping skills and

anger, but it actually made the obsessions worse. However, any kind

of support whether from a professional or other may well be helpful.

Ultimately it is the CBT/ERP that will teach them how to combat the

OCD, so whatever will help to enable this.

I would be happy to connect offline if you want to talk further on

this. There was a time when I felt very isolated with what was going

on under my own roof. I felt so defeated and at a loss to know what

to do, and no one seemed able to help. You are not alone in this,

know that.

I send you hugs!

Barb

Canada

Son, 17, doing better now - we survived and got past this!

I will pose another question. Am I correct in my understanding

> that aggression is not associated with OCD? And, if that is true,

are

> other people in this group dealing with a comorbid condition that

> involves aggression? If so, am I correct in thinking I need to

first

> address the aggression? Or, should I be doing OCD work concurrently

> with CBT for aggression? Thanks in advance for sharing your hard

> earned knowledge with this newbie.

> >

> > Dorelle

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

Hi Barb and Dorelle,

We just went through a terrible episode at home, where we even had to

have the police called.

As a result my son had to go to court and has to do community service 40

hours and comply with counseling.

He is better now, but yes it was scary. For a while his brother 15 was

scared of him.

He was very violent and defiant. His doctor says he is going through

ODD, so his therapist treats both ODD and OCD.

Now in his case he was not taking a high dosage of meds. After the

incident his doctor moved it up. He's in Luvox 150 morning, 150 at

night. So....... I don't know, is this part of OCD or did he developed

ODD because of OCD??????

I'm so confused.....

Barb Nesrallah wrote:

>

> Hello Dorelle,

>

> I just picked up your strand asking about OCD and aggression. This

> was our experience for almost two years. In the beginning it was

> connected with OCD " just right " stuff, where a conversation could not

> end until it felt right, or an activity could not stop until it felt

> right etc. Or if we would not comply with what was wanted at a given

> moment, so the need was frustrated. The frustration created resulted

> in anger and sometimes aggressive behavior.

>

> When medication was at too high a dose, or wrong medication was used

> all this was amped up. We dealt with bipolar induced by medication,

> and psychosis at one point, we have the underlying genetics, but not

> this diagnosis. Sometimes for some people this is a factor, the

> ssri's at higher doses can induce states, and aggression. For some a

> mood stabilizer is added or other med to assist this, for us in the

> end it was a lower dose that was best.

>

> At times our son, 15-16 at the time, could be very scary. We watched

> him change before our eyes, it was very upsetting. Things escalated

> to a very difficult place, and we actually had to remove our son from

> our home for three months.

>

> For us it was a combination of wrong dose/wrong medication, the

> severity of the disorder, lack of coping skills(LD), and teenage

> instability. I thank God we did not have drugs or alcohol in the mix.

>

> When the medication dose was lowered and stability reached with this,

> coupled with a level of maturity, our son was able to start fighting

> the OCD rather than feeling a victim to it. He will say now that he

> is ashamed and embarrassed by his behavior then. He truly was not

> able to moderate his reactions and was locked in to obsessive

> thoughts that compelled him to " act " a certain way, he even took on

> multiple identities at times.

>

> In short this disorder can masquerade and look like other disorders.

> We received labels of ODD, possible personality disorder, possible

> bipolar. In the end it was all " just " OCD and a child struggling to

> escape it's clutches.

>

> On the one hand it makes sense to address the aggression before CBT

> can be done, as it will increase anxiety and probably

> anger/aggression if coping strategies are not in place. On the other

> hand learning to manage the obsessions/compulsions is a strategy and

> will reduce everything that leads to the aggressive behavior. We had

> the same dilema.

>

> We tried working with psychologists to work on coping skills and

> anger, but it actually made the obsessions worse. However, any kind

> of support whether from a professional or other may well be helpful.

> Ultimately it is the CBT/ERP that will teach them how to combat the

> OCD, so whatever will help to enable this.

>

> I would be happy to connect offline if you want to talk further on

> this. There was a time when I felt very isolated with what was going

> on under my own roof. I felt so defeated and at a loss to know what

> to do, and no one seemed able to help. You are not alone in this,

> know that.

>

> I send you hugs!

> Barb

> Canada

> Son, 17, doing better now - we survived and got past this!

>

>

> I will pose another question. Am I correct in my understanding

> > that aggression is not associated with OCD? And, if that is true,

> are

> > other people in this group dealing with a comorbid condition that

> > involves aggression? If so, am I correct in thinking I need to

> first

> > address the aggression? Or, should I be doing OCD work concurrently

> > with CBT for aggression? Thanks in advance for sharing your hard

> > earned knowledge with this newbie.

> > >

> > > Dorelle

> > >

> > >