Guest guest Posted April 13, 2012 Report Share Posted April 13, 2012 Hi , Good question, re are the rituals ever gone. Wish I could give you a resounding yes !!! I'm going to start with the first part though, about how it morphs and switches. I've heard others refer to it as the " whack a mole syndrome " , and it does feel never ending. I think this is quite common, we see it, and others describe the same. So can certainly validate that part of it. Re the rituals ever being completely gone, I guess it depends. for one, on how severe the OCD is. I could see if it is on the milder side that it might be either less visible, or easier to quiet down with the ERP. On the moderate to severe side of the spectrum, it seems to me it is dependent somewhat on the capacity of the person to work the ERP consistently, and even then may be limited, just because of the volume of O/C, and also intensity of anxiety and how well that is managed with medication or not. I think the bigger question might be how does one move despite whatever amount of O/C they have to drag along with them. I know some can be immobilized by one obsession, where others seems to morph their rituals or obsessions into something constructive or directed. Others are able to manage to dial it back so that things are more in the background, the best case scenario I notice your son is 17, ours is 20. Our son was doing better before, and is more or less " coasting " right now. He seems content to avoid life so as not to trigger the OCD, so things remain relatively quiet but he doesn't have much of a life, so it not better off. When they are more active and therefore more " exposed " to stuff, it may look like it's worse, and I'm sure to them it is, but it's better in the sense that they are more functional. We hear about it all too, so I know exactly how things are or are not. One thing I know, is that the OCD becomes more sophisticated the older they get. It will target core issues of self esteem, ego stuff. This can really up the intensity of the OCD. From what I understand of it, until any core issues are really addressed they can get stuck in this. So, this might be more cognitive work. Ages and stages, teens, ownership, willingness to look at that kind of stuff - think this takes quite a lot of maturity. I find this is a big part of it. So, they kind of grow up alongside the OCD, and the OCD needs to grow up with them, if that makes any sense. We are in a hands off approach right now. Age 20, time to take it on himself, it's forever. Also, I'm worn out, don't have the energy to drive that bus anymore. Our son has come a very long way, and really does accept responsibility and is doing quite well. But there is still much room for what I will can ownership again. Not sure if that applies for your son, but if it does, then time and maturity is mainly the answer I think. If you find another one please let me know Warmly, Barb Co-Moderator Canada > > Is it common to lose one ritual and then soon have it be replaced by another one (or two or three). This has been going on for three years. This seems to be his maintenance level. Does it ever get to the point that the rituals are gone? > in WI > Roy-17. OCD/Anxiety/Depression, ADD. Prozac 50 mg.,Busbar 30 mg., Adderall XR 30 mg. Omega 3, Calcium. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 13, 2012 Report Share Posted April 13, 2012 Hi , Good question, re are the rituals ever gone. Wish I could give you a resounding yes !!! I'm going to start with the first part though, about how it morphs and switches. I've heard others refer to it as the " whack a mole syndrome " , and it does feel never ending. I think this is quite common, we see it, and others describe the same. So can certainly validate that part of it. Re the rituals ever being completely gone, I guess it depends. for one, on how severe the OCD is. I could see if it is on the milder side that it might be either less visible, or easier to quiet down with the ERP. On the moderate to severe side of the spectrum, it seems to me it is dependent somewhat on the capacity of the person to work the ERP consistently, and even then may be limited, just because of the volume of O/C, and also intensity of anxiety and how well that is managed with medication or not. I think the bigger question might be how does one move despite whatever amount of O/C they have to drag along with them. I know some can be immobilized by one obsession, where others seems to morph their rituals or obsessions into something constructive or directed. Others are able to manage to dial it back so that things are more in the background, the best case scenario I notice your son is 17, ours is 20. Our son was doing better before, and is more or less " coasting " right now. He seems content to avoid life so as not to trigger the OCD, so things remain relatively quiet but he doesn't have much of a life, so it not better off. When they are more active and therefore more " exposed " to stuff, it may look like it's worse, and I'm sure to them it is, but it's better in the sense that they are more functional. We hear about it all too, so I know exactly how things are or are not. One thing I know, is that the OCD becomes more sophisticated the older they get. It will target core issues of self esteem, ego stuff. This can really up the intensity of the OCD. From what I understand of it, until any core issues are really addressed they can get stuck in this. So, this might be more cognitive work. Ages and stages, teens, ownership, willingness to look at that kind of stuff - think this takes quite a lot of maturity. I find this is a big part of it. So, they kind of grow up alongside the OCD, and the OCD needs to grow up with them, if that makes any sense. We are in a hands off approach right now. Age 20, time to take it on himself, it's forever. Also, I'm worn out, don't have the energy to drive that bus anymore. Our son has come a very long way, and really does accept responsibility and is doing quite well. But there is still much room for what I will can ownership again. Not sure if that applies for your son, but if it does, then time and maturity is mainly the answer I think. If you find another one please let me know Warmly, Barb Co-Moderator Canada > > Is it common to lose one ritual and then soon have it be replaced by another one (or two or three). This has been going on for three years. This seems to be his maintenance level. Does it ever get to the point that the rituals are gone? > in WI > Roy-17. OCD/Anxiety/Depression, ADD. Prozac 50 mg.,Busbar 30 mg., Adderall XR 30 mg. Omega 3, Calcium. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 14, 2012 Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 In our case, once the initial OCD settled down, some things hung around for the long-term and others would pop up, go away, another one.... That whack-a-mole game we talk about. But once the medication began helping (we used inositol powder and then later Celexa), over time it all pretty much disappeared. said OCD was still " there " and not gone but I didn't see a sign of it on a daily basis as I had before, and for long periods none at all. Presently he is on no meds and just manages without them, so I do " see " OCD but he gets through life with it, was really bad at one time but again seems to have eased up over time and is manageable. But that is just " him " because it's not the same for all. > > Is it common to lose one ritual and then soon have it be replaced by another one (or two or three). This has been going on for three years. This seems to be his maintenance level. Does it ever get to the point that the rituals are gone? > in WI > Roy-17. OCD/Anxiety/Depression, ADD. Prozac 50 mg.,Busbar 30 mg., Adderall XR 30 mg. Omega 3, Calcium. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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