Re: OCD Outbursts

[Guest guest]

Hi - I have been a part of this group for a few years but have not

participated a whole lot in the last six

Months or so. I still read the posts and when I read yours I just had to

respond. Your son sounds exactly like mine, you are not alone. Yes - OCD can

present with outbursts and even be turned inward. I have an almost 10 year old

who has had many outbursts in response to his OCD. He had become physically

aggressive, tried to hurt me and has tried to hurt himself. It is so sad to

watch this happen and feel so helpless. I empathize with what you are going

through. We utilized therapy for these types of things and it really seemed to

help. At one point we also had him on medication to manage things. I am happy to

say that he is no longer on any meds, but I will say that most recently he has

been having a few outbursts. It's especially sad when you think you have moved

passed something and it comes back. I feel like I have so much more to share

with you - we have been dealing with this since he was diagnosed at age 5. But

it is very late right now (1am here) and although I have more to share, I think

it's best to wait until I'm a little more rested!! You can reply to the group to

discuss it or directly to me - I'd love to chat more and give you any support I

can. Just remember that you are not alone - there are many parents on here that

can attest to that. Take care.

Sent from my iPhone

[Guest guest]

My daughter has these outbursts. We call them " meltdowns. " They go on for a long

time and are very intense. She does not attempt to harm herself, however. We do

CBT weekly and reducing the meltdowns has been one of the primary focuses. We

have several techniques we attempt when she starts to unravel that have been

moderately successful.

Ultimately, however, medication (Zoloft) has worked best at significantly

reducing the frequency and intensity of the meltdowns, as well as greatly

diminishing intrusive thoughts and compulsive behavior.

>

> Hi everyone:

>

> I am new to this group (as of today). I have a ten year old son who was

diagnosed with OCD a year and a half ago. He has been in CBT therapy since that

time. During the summer he goes about once a month and during the school year

we increase the sessions to every other week.

>

> His OCD manifests itself in tactile ways and intrusive thoughts. He has to

touch his hands a certain way a specific number of times, or tap his elbows on a

car door, or click his teeth or blink his eyes (the list goes on) until he " gets

it right, " otherwise he feels something awful will happen.

>

> While the CBT has done a wonderful job helping him with many of compulsions

(we seldom see these anymore), we still find that when he gets frustrated he has

outbursts that can last for hours . Last night he had one such outburst. He

cried for two hours, kicked a hole in the ceiling above his bed (he has a bunk

bed) and tried to hurt himself by smacking his head against the kitchen door. I

was able to stop him from doing this before he hurt himself, but it was terribly

upsetting to see him so unhappy and feel powerless to do anything about it.

>

> When he finished the outburst, he felt horrible about his behavior and wanted

to " start over, " and " turn back time " . He wanted me to pretend it had not

happened, but I certainly cannot do that -- especially since he tried to hurt

himself.

>

> He was fine today -- his happy self -- but I plan to talk to his therapist

anyway to see what we can do to help him to keep him from hurting himself.

>

> My question is, has anyone deal with these kinds of outbursts before? Does

your OCD child also turn his/her frustration on himself or herself?

>

> I love him sand worry so much for him. I just want him to have a happy life.

>

> Thank you for listening.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

My 8 yr old daughter experiences these outbursts frequently also. Her doc calls

them rages. It seems very much like she doesn't even realize what she is doing

or saying because the anger is so strong. She has mentioned killing herself once

and wishing she wasn't alive many times. Many times, her thoughts are no one

likes me, I am so mean, everyone hates me, and very negative comments about

herself.

She has OCD and tourettes and sensory processing disorder. Her obsessions are

worrying about what others thing of her, perfectionistic tendencies, and a

constant need for reassurance regarding everything.

We have recently started Prozac, the only med we have tried. It has greatly

reduced her rages, but not made them disappear. She is also attending CBT

weekly. Fortunately she has made a connection with therapist and that is

helping.

I understand how overwhelming and sad it can be to go through this and watch

without being able to fix it. I don't have any good answers but wanted you to

know that you are not alone. I wish the best for your family.

>

> Hi everyone:

>

> I am new to this group (as of today). I have a ten year old son who was

diagnosed with OCD a year and a half ago. He has been in CBT therapy since that

time. During the summer he goes about once a month and during the school year

we increase the sessions to every other week.

>

> His OCD manifests itself in tactile ways and intrusive thoughts. He has to

touch his hands a certain way a specific number of times, or tap his elbows on a

car door, or click his teeth or blink his eyes (the list goes on) until he " gets

it right, " otherwise he feels something awful will happen.

>

> While the CBT has done a wonderful job helping him with many of compulsions

(we seldom see these anymore), we still find that when he gets frustrated he has

outbursts that can last for hours . Last night he had one such outburst. He

cried for two hours, kicked a hole in the ceiling above his bed (he has a bunk

bed) and tried to hurt himself by smacking his head against the kitchen door. I

was able to stop him from doing this before he hurt himself, but it was terribly

upsetting to see him so unhappy and feel powerless to do anything about it.

>

> When he finished the outburst, he felt horrible about his behavior and wanted

to " start over, " and " turn back time " . He wanted me to pretend it had not

happened, but I certainly cannot do that -- especially since he tried to hurt

himself.

>

> He was fine today -- his happy self -- but I plan to talk to his therapist

anyway to see what we can do to help him to keep him from hurting himself.

>

> My question is, has anyone deal with these kinds of outbursts before? Does

your OCD child also turn his/her frustration on himself or herself?

>

> I love him sand worry so much for him. I just want him to have a happy life.

>

> Thank you for listening.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

,

My 7 yr old son also has these outbursts or 'meltdowns'. When he gets to

total meltdown mode, there is nothing we can really do to calm him down. His

OCD is mostly based on schedules & routines. His very own sense of order. With

2 older sisters who know how to push his buttons & a 2.5 yr old brother, there

are plenty of things that have set him off over the years. He also has a speech

disorder & when he is in complete meltdown mode, we can't even understand 1/2 of

what he's saying to try to correct the problem or know what it was. It's like

dealing with a 2 yr old's temper tantrum, but worse because he's older & bigger.

And if it happens in public, the looks & comments of the rude self-righteous who

always know best even when they don't know what's going on make it even more fun

to deal with.

For the most part, I try to manage things so we don't get to meltdown mode. And

when necessary, I will first try to distract & ignore to get through the

meltdown. There have been a few times, though, when I've had to 'fix' the

problem. One time a couple years ago, I even made everyone get back in the car

because he needed to get out 1st, but 1 of his sisters (who's only 16mo older)

beat him out. After 20 minutes of a complete, screaming, crying meltdown at

Mc's I finally made all 3 kids get back in the car so he could get out

1st. The only way we had any shot of actually eating lunch was to 'redo' the

situation the 'right' way. I always feel like this is giving in to the OCD, but

I think sometimes it just can't be helped.

Anyway, you are definitely not alone. Good luck.

Dani

[Guest guest]

My daughter is 11 and has ocd and panic disorder. She is having a lot of

depression lately too. We are seeing more and more outbursts lately like

you describe. She doesn't hurt herself when she is like this, but does talk

about killing herself. It's like her frustration tolerance is very low, and

it doesn't take much to set her off. She never used to be like that. Last

night, she couldn't find the wii remote. We all tried helping her, but

couldn't find it. After about 20 minutes of looking, i suggested that she

move on and find something else to do for now. She just couldn't disconnect

from wanting to play on the wii. It was hard to see this, she became

obsessed about it and screamed and cried, etc. for another 30 minutes at

least. Luckily we finally found the remote.

I'm sorry that your son is having such a hard time. I wish I had some

advice, but I don't. We do have bipolar disorder and schizoaffective

disorder in my family, and I am concerned about her emotions for these

reasons.

Take care,

> **

>

>

> Hi everyone:

>

> I am new to this group (as of today). I have a ten year old son who was

> diagnosed with OCD a year and a half ago. He has been in CBT therapy since

> that time. During the summer he goes about once a month and during the

> school year we increase the sessions to every other week.

>

> His OCD manifests itself in tactile ways and intrusive thoughts. He has to

> touch his hands a certain way a specific number of times, or tap his elbows

> on a car door, or click his teeth or blink his eyes (the list goes on)

> until he " gets it right, " otherwise he feels something awful will happen.

>

> While the CBT has done a wonderful job helping him with many of

> compulsions (we seldom see these anymore), we still find that when he gets

> frustrated he has outbursts that can last for hours . Last night he had

> one such outburst. He cried for two hours, kicked a hole in the ceiling

> above his bed (he has a bunk bed) and tried to hurt himself by smacking his

> head against the kitchen door. I was able to stop him from doing this

> before he hurt himself, but it was terribly upsetting to see him so unhappy

> and feel powerless to do anything about it.

>

> When he finished the outburst, he felt horrible about his behavior and

> wanted to " start over, " and " turn back time " . He wanted me to pretend it

> had not happened, but I certainly cannot do that -- especially since he

> tried to hurt himself.

>

> He was fine today -- his happy self -- but I plan to talk to his therapist

> anyway to see what we can do to help him to keep him from hurting himself.

>

> My question is, has anyone deal with these kinds of outbursts before? Does

> your OCD child also turn his/her frustration on himself or herself?

>

> I love him sand worry so much for him. I just want him to have a happy

> life.

>

> Thank you for listening.

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Just butting in cause my son has been diagnosed with so many things including a

bipolar disorder.

It may be that your dd is moody or it may also well be that she just isn't

coping well. Honestly, it's hard to know if a child is acting outnin the only

way they can when they're so distressed (even animal like) versus what truly is

a mood disorder. I think you have to look at patterns in behavior. Do not

discount some of those hormones starting to increase either ....I also have an

11 yr old daughter who doesn't have challenges and she gets a little moody now

and then. Perhaps your daughter's hormones are kicking in while she's trying to

cope with her anxieties (poor kid). My son will be turning 13 in Jan and I have

seen a lot of maturation since last spring....today was the best Halloween he's

ever had....sad that he's growing up and won't trick or treat much more though

he will end with some good memories I hope.

Best wishes

Bonnie

>

> > **

> >

> >

> > Hi everyone:

> >

> > I am new to this group (as of today). I have a ten year old son who was

> > diagnosed with OCD a year and a half ago. He has been in CBT therapy since

> > that time. During the summer he goes about once a month and during the

> > school year we increase the sessions to every other week.

> >

> > His OCD manifests itself in tactile ways and intrusive thoughts. He has to

> > touch his hands a certain way a specific number of times, or tap his elbows

> > on a car door, or click his teeth or blink his eyes (the list goes on)

> > until he " gets it right, " otherwise he feels something awful will happen.

> >

> > While the CBT has done a wonderful job helping him with many of

> > compulsions (we seldom see these anymore), we still find that when he gets

> > frustrated he has outbursts that can last for hours . Last night he had

> > one such outburst. He cried for two hours, kicked a hole in the ceiling

> > above his bed (he has a bunk bed) and tried to hurt himself by smacking his

> > head against the kitchen door. I was able to stop him from doing this

> > before he hurt himself, but it was terribly upsetting to see him so unhappy

> > and feel powerless to do anything about it.

> >

> > When he finished the outburst, he felt horrible about his behavior and

> > wanted to " start over, " and " turn back time " . He wanted me to pretend it

> > had not happened, but I certainly cannot do that -- especially since he

> > tried to hurt himself.

> >

> > He was fine today -- his happy self -- but I plan to talk to his therapist

> > anyway to see what we can do to help him to keep him from hurting himself.

> >

> > My question is, has anyone deal with these kinds of outbursts before? Does

> > your OCD child also turn his/her frustration on himself or herself?

> >

> > I love him sand worry so much for him. I just want him to have a happy

> > life.

> >

> > Thank you for listening.

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

>

>

>