teenage daughter with anxiety/ ocd

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-11-2006
teenage daughter with anxiety/ ocd
16
Sat, 11-11-2006 - 10:09am
My teenage daughter has recently been diagnosed with anxiety/ocd. We have some really tough times ahead of us I know, and I need support/ideas. She is very attached to me and between puberty, teenage attitude, etc., I was just wondering if there is another mom out there going thru the same thing. Thanks.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-11-2004
Sat, 11-11-2006 - 1:14pm

Hello! Nice to see you;) There are some of us on the board who have children with problems. I can't think of any off hand that have a child with anxiety. Though our co-cl, Sheri Ann's son has OCD. In spite of your dd's age, some of the treatment would be the same as a adults, but not always. Please seek help in learning all you can about her disorder & follow the advice of experts. Feel free to read through our back posts to see what some of us experience. NAMI has meetings all over the country & currently are holding seminars with the latest info on all mental illnesses. They are a great support for families. Here's the link: http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=By_Illness&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=22654


Here's some boards that may be able to help you:

 

 


 



iVillage Member
Registered: 03-22-2003
Sat, 11-11-2006 - 2:37pm

Hi & welcome!

Sheri Ann

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-11-2006
Sat, 11-11-2006 - 3:18pm
Hi-thanks for getting back to me so quickly. My daughter started getting unwanted sexual thoughts and we knew she was an anxious kid so we took her to a doctor who diagnosed her with general anxiety disorder and ocd. She went on clomipramine which is an older med but worked very well for her. Our biggest problem is that she wants to sleep with me still and she is 12 years old. My oldest daughter slept with mom and dad until she was 5 and it was no problem, but my youngest does not want to give up sleeping with her mom. Needless to say, dad sleeps elsewhere so it is hard on the marriage too. We had a housefire 5 years ago that wiped out everything so that hasn't helped matters. She needs to be in the same bed and have the same view out the window, etc. We have our fights almost every nite but we are slowly getting into her bed and enjoying her view. I hope it continues to work. But now there is depression and I know it's hard to be a girl in grade 7. Other girls are such cats! Sometimes it is just so overwhelming for me , which is why I found this site. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-28-2004
Sat, 11-11-2006 - 3:46pm

Hi,

I was recently diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety disorder, so I don't have a lot of treatment experience yet or ideas about OCD, but I just wanted to say that when I get really anxious, it comes out as irritability (like PMS only a lot worse!) It is like I feel such a terrible anxiety and feelings like lack of control and then guilt about acting snitty with my family; it comes out as sharp remarks, impatience, sometimes a deeply frustrated confusion or not able to make decisions. I don't know if your daughter is experiencing anything like that, but if so, just be patient and remember it is most likely part of her medical condition and not just teenage acting out.

I've tried to explain it to DH that occasionally I just feel so completely overwhelmed that it's like this tidal way of anxiety, negative associations and frustration that floods in and I just want peace and time to myself and not have to cope with anything and if I can't get that, I just end up taking swipes at innocent bystanders, so to speak.

This may not apply to your DD, but if it sounds familar, I hope this helps understand some of what she may be feeling.

My other thought was...can you just swap rooms with DD...she gets the familar one and you guys ease out to other room? That might make the break easier for her.

Hugs,
Dee

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-22-2003
Sat, 11-11-2006 - 8:03pm

My 5 y.o. sleeps with me & dh sleeps on the sofa.

Sheri Ann

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-22-2003
Sat, 11-11-2006 - 8:04pm
Dee, I like the idea of swapping rooms & it's actually something we have talked about, since Ian has always slept in our room, maybe he would feel more comfortable staying in there ;)
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Sheri Ann

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-11-2006
Mon, 11-13-2006 - 5:14pm
Thanks for the input. It's nice to know that when you are tired or stressed that the ocd gets worse. I will certainly allow for that now. I'll have to pick and choose the fights. Poor kid started her period yesterday too on top of being tired so needless to say we had a bad evening. I also have a bit of ocd but nothing that hinders me in any way. I am on an antidepressant for depression and anxiety though. I think she is going to have to try that route. It's so hard to know if it is teenage hormones or her anxiety. We moved her bedroom upstairs as she could not sleep downstairs. It's a smaller room but she is ok with that. I told her that I would sleep with her until she is attached to her room. She still fights it though. I don't think I would have done anything different when she was young. younger. She needed me and the reassurance and we think that we are doing the best thing as moms.
This is so good just talking to someone. Thanks.
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-11-2006
Mon, 11-13-2006 - 5:19pm
Thanks so much. This helps me understand her so much better. I have been stubborn about keeping my bedroom as it has the attached bathroom, but it may be the way to go. It's really all about helping her. I have visions of her being in my bed when she is 30 yrs. old. lol. But the anger thing was new to me. I never knew it was a part of ocd. Thanks again.
Community Leader
Registered: 10-22-2001
Mon, 11-13-2006 - 5:39pm
Hi, just wanted to let you know you are not ALONE.
I have a ds sixteen who was diagnosed with gad, actually sad. (social anxiety disorder)
We have been through h*ll and back, school system, court etc but now he is doing much better.
There are some great resources out there.
Just do what's best for your dd.
My ds is not on medication.
We did some cognitive behaviour therapy but bottom line this is very real for them.
Educated myself advocated for my ds and it is quite the uphill battle with the school system.
Finally after trying to get him home-schooled they did but he was in a program that was working for him but sometimes when you least expect it they decide it's now okay for him to stay at home. The program was great but then they changed it and unfortunately it's our kids that loose out.
Nami has been a great resource for me and coming here.
Feel free to contact me, I know how hard it is and how isolated and lonely it can be.
Most ppl do not understand and hopefully one day ppl will understand the impact this has on the entire family, and be more open-minded and less judgemental.
Hugs from one mom to another.
Nightangel
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-22-2003
Mon, 11-13-2006 - 9:14pm

I'm glad she's okay with her room being upstairs.

Sheri Ann

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