Re: Intrusive thoughts/Hypnosis/Pandas

[Guest guest]

Joni and , hi!  

 

I too am fairly new to this group as well.    My daughter, 13, was diagnosed

with OCD this September has recently got stuck on the thought that she may

have been abused.  She has no actual memory of being abused.   My

daughter tells me she has to know or she cannot even attempt to do any exposure

therapy.  The physch says shes too depressed to begin Exposure therapy. ( Her

OCD symptoms came on accutely and are debilitating. Mostly contamination/some

just right issues. She cannot get dressed without extreme difficutly.  She

has trouble concentraring- cant handle school or even attempt to do school

work.  Anything bathroom related is extremely stress provoking.  I am

pursuring the Pandas aspect of OCD and are waiting on blood test

results.)  Shes been on meds Zoloft/Lorazapam for just over a month and going

to therapy twice a week but her symptoms are getting worse. The OCD/depression

and meltdowns are increasing. She is

overcome with such horrible overall fear its keeping her from trying to fight

this at all.  The physchologist wants to try hypnosis to help relieve some of

the worst symptoms and secondly, to see if anything comes out in terms of

abuse.   Couldnt this thought just be part of the OCD?  If it is,

shouldnt she/we learn how to overcome the intrusive thought?   The therapist

will show me a list of questions she will ask her before they begin. I cant be

in the room with her.  Is hypnosis often used to help with OCD?    My

daughter is in such vunerable state at this point I just want some relief for

her but I dont know what to think.  Could focusing on this one thing

exasperate her OCD?  It seems to be.   We've been in therapy and on

meds for 5+ weeks and everything is just getting worse.   I'm tryng to show

my daughter we have to fight this and not give into it but we have very little

positive results. Her emotions are

constantly raw.  She is barely hanging on.  Can children with OCD control

any of their emotions/fears or does the OCD make that impossible?  Even small

things set her off.  

 

Also, Ive been encouraging my daughter to journal every day for some relief.  I

would be very interested in finding if writing helped your son and if he would

want to share any of it with someone who is struggling.   Any suggestions

would be most appreciated. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

________________________________

To:

Sent: Thursday, October 27, 2011 8:54 PM

Subject: Re: Intrusive thoughts

 

Joni,

I just found your posts regarding your son, his intrusive thoughts, and the book

he wrote. I am new to this group. My almost 13 year old daughter was diagnosed

in June with OCD. She has had numerous different intrusive thoughts. In

counseling, she has overcome all of these thoughts except the sexual ones. I am

feeling so discouraged and scared. Your posts here make me feel cautiously

hopeful. What is the book your son wrote? I would love to read it and possibly

share it with my daughter.

Also, did your son ever resist doing ERPs? My daughter is currently avoiding her

homework, saying she gives up, and doesn't care. I know that this is not true,

but she is so tired of dealing with OCD. She has an appt. next Friday to see a

psychiatrist about possible meds. Is this something that helped your son for a

time? Does he share in his book about what kind of ERP's worked for him?

I'm sorry for all the questions! I'm very interested in your story and your

son's story b/c so often I feel alone in facing this. Thank you for any input!

>

>

> Hello,

>

> My son (now 17) has had intrusive thoughts of a sexual nature. Why his OCD

centered on this subject, we have never figured out. His thoughts on this

subject took on many forms (including molestation)and seemed to change with

time. At one point, he couldn't go anywhere, watch any movie or TV program, or

even be around me (his mother) without having some difficulties. In fact, any

female, anywhere, would trigger his obsessions. His success in overcoming his

OCD really began when we decided to use ERP. I knew that if we were to be

successful that I would have to directly take on his sexual obsessions and not

back down even when it became uncomfortable for us. Many times, I wondered if we

were doing the right thing. But then, he got better. After each session with

ERP, he was better - could do more, go more places without anxiety. Now, his

symptoms are negligible and he is looking forward to college. How we

accomplished all this is too long to explain in

this post, but I would be happy to discuss it more. Also, my son has written a

book describing many of his experiences with OCD and ERP. He did this because he

knew that what we had been through might just help others who are dealing with

OCD and sexual obsessions.

>

> Best regards,

>

> Joni

>

[Guest guest]

Hello,

So sorry to hear about your daughter's struggles. I remember all too well being

in your position with my son, Ray. There were days when I thought that he would

never get better.

From what I have read, it seems like any thought can morph into an obsession in

those who have OCD. With that in mind, I do think it's very possible that your

daughter's obsessions on having been abused are just that - obsessions. What

has prompted your psychologist to think otherwise? From what you describe, it

seems like she has many clear cut symptoms of OCD that I would think the

thoughts about abuse fit into the symptom complex of OCD.

I personally haven't read anything about hypnosis helping those who have OCD.

The main treatment that I have come across (and personally believe in) is

exposure response prevention therapy (ERP). My son wouldn't have done nearly as

well as he has without undergoing ERP.

There is no denying that ERP is hard and that those who are asked to do often

don't want to (and refuse to). I understand that your daughter is not in a

position to start ERP because she is struggling so hard. For Ray, we had to

start medication (or in your case, perhaps your daughter needs more time on

Zoloft, for some a month is not long enough) to get little relief from the

constant agony before we even approached ERP. Also, when we did try ERP we had

to start simply (ie with one of the easiest exposures) and work our way from

there.

You asked about writing about OCD - When Ray was at his worst he didn't write

much. I think it was just too hard for him. But, he did say that when he was

writing his book, it felt like a mild form of exposure therapy and that it

helped him keep any remaining OCD thoughts at bay. I would definitely encourage

your daughter to write about her thoughts. I do think it can help.

I hope this helps some. I wish so much that our kids didn't have to deal with

this monster, but what are we to do but forge ahead and keep trying.

Best,

Joni