Don’t Be That Parent

If you have a loved one struggling with OCD, you know how challenging it can be to support them.

This blog post will provide you with essential tips for supporting your loved ones with OCD & empower both you & them on their journey to recovery.

Understanding OCD:

OCD comes in various forms, but one common subtype is Relationship OCD. Imagine having intrusive thoughts and fears about your partner or loved one constantly playing in your mind, no matter how hard you try to make them go away. This can put a strain on relationships and cause significant distress for the person experiencing it. It is crucial to recognize that OCD is not a reflection of reality but a result of a mental health condition that requires effective treatment.

Seeking Effective Treatment:

The first step in supporting your loved ones with OCD is to encourage them to seek treatment. Breaking the cycle of OCD requires evidence-based treatment methods. Finding an OCD specialist who is trained in Exposure Response Prevention Therapy, the gold standard treatment for OCD, can make all the difference. The specialist will work with your loved one to develop strategies to manage their intrusive thoughts and fears, leading to improved mental well-being.

Breaking the Stigma:

As a loved one, it is crucial to approach OCD with empathy and understanding. Avoid stigmatizing language or dismissing their concerns as irrational. Remember that your loved one already knows their thoughts and fears are unrealistic but cannot control them. Validation and empathy go a long way in helping them feel supported and understood.

The Power of Confidence and Validation:

When interacting with your loved one, provide validation by acknowledging the challenges they face due to their OCD. Let them know that you understand and empathize with what they are going through. Avoid minimizing their concerns or telling them not to worry. Instead, offer confidence and be their cheerleader. Remind them that they can overcome their OCD and reassure them that they are more than their thoughts. Your unwavering support can make a significant difference in their journey towards recovery.

Avoiding Reassurance-Seeking and Enabling:

One key aspect to be mindful of is not giving in to their compulsions or providing reassurance-seeking behaviors. While it may be tempting to provide answers or comfort, doing so can inadvertently reinforce their OCD. Encourage your loved one to recognize when their OCD is speaking and gently guide them towards therapy techniques instead. This may involve redirecting their attention, practicing exposure exercises, or self-soothing techniques.

Helping Your Loved One Not Give In To Avoidance:

OCD often leads to avoidance behaviors, such as avoiding certain situations or objects due to fears or triggers. It is important to support your loved one in confronting these fears rather than enabling avoidance. Encourage them to face their fears gradually and remind them of their capability to overcome them. Remind them that their fears are not based on reality and that by confronting them, they are taking a vital step towards recovery.

Educating Yourself:

To better understand OCD and effectively support your loved ones, education plays a crucial role. Research, read books, and consult reputable sources to deepen your knowledge about OCD. This will enable you to have informed conversations, offer helpful advice, and provide appropriate guidance to your loved ones.

Conclusion:

Supporting a loved one with OCD may feel challenging at times, but by implementing these tips, you can make a significant difference in their recovery journey. Remember the power of validation, empathy, and encouragement. By guiding them towards effective treatment options like NoCD and fostering a supportive environment, you can help your loved one overcome the challenges of OCD and find freedom from its grip. Together, we can break the stigma surrounding OCD and create a world of understanding and compassion for those living with this mental health condition.

Episode Transcript:

Tips for Supporting Your Loved Ones with OCD

 [00:00:00] We're partnering with NoCD to raise awareness about OCD. OCD is more than what you see on TV and in the movies. Imagine having unwanted thoughts about your relationship stuck in your head all day, no matter how hard you try to make them go away. That's Relationship OCD. It comes with unrelenting intrusive images, thoughts, and urges about your partner or loved one.

Breaking the OCD cycle takes effective treatment. Go to N O C D dot com to get evidence based treatment.

 have you ever felt like a bad parent, or done something that just gave you those cringe worthy moments as a parent? I get it, parenting is tough, and when you have a kid with OCD, that can make parenting even more challenging. OCD affects 1 in 200 kids. The intrusive thoughts range from anything about worrying [00:01:00] about vomiting, scared they're going to hurt themselves with a knife, or they'll disobey God.

Or it could be about germs.

Hi, I'm Erin, licensed clinical mental health counselor and OCD specialist. I'm also a Christian, wife, mom to three, and small business owner, helping those who are overwhelmed by stress to climb out of that valley and enjoy the view. Reheat your coffee and pop in your AirPods to learn how to boss up to OCD.

And today's episode. is going to be focused on what to do if you're that partner or parent who loves someone that has OCD.

All right, in closing out the month of February, all of the episodes have really talked about the relationship OCD aspect. And what to do if you are that person who has relationship OCD. So today we're going to shift and focus on those loved [00:02:00] ones. If you're that bystander, that family member or significant other to someone who has OCD, it can be challenging and frustrating and just unclear about what to do.

And I get it. It's such a helpless feeling when you see someone you love suffering or you can recognize there are problems and they bypass it or act like it's no big deal. So how many times have you seen like your niece or nephew wash their hands over and over and over and you're thinking like pretty sure they were clean the first time, everything's okay. This is not a germ infested place.

Germs exist, but they're not. Catastrophic, like they're not going to kill you. Nothing bad's going to happen. And let's say you are that loved one who has taking it a step further and said something okay. To the loved one. How did that go? Yeah, probably not. And what [00:03:00] really inspired me.

With today's episode was recently I witnessed a bad parenting moment and who it really made me want to jump out of my skin like, and I'm sure, and we've all been there, right? We've all been there where parenting is not easy. We get frustrated. We're human,

but when we see it happen in other people, it's hard to intervene, but at least, we can use our voice and communication to try to make things right. So

when thinking about getting help,

it can be confusing. And, that's understandable too, because you're probably thinking, I don't even know where to start or why do I need an OCD specialist and would a regular therapist help me? If you've listened to my show all along, you've heard me mention over and over again that you need an OCD specialist to help you with your OCD [00:04:00] and recently I heard a podcast from the O-C-D-C-E-O, and he was sharing his backstory and getting his OCD treatment.

And his story is fascinating. And so his story really gives the case in point about the importance of seeing an OCD specialist, because whenever he was first experiencing symptoms, he had no idea what was going on. And he went to a therapist who gave him a strategy of Having a rubber band on his wrist and popping it every time he had the thoughts that disturbed him That's not a helpful approach for OCD and so Naturally, the guy got worse, and until he found an OCD specialist, was he then able to come out of that episode and go into the OCD remission.

And whenever you see someone who's not trained in OCD, it may delay your progress [00:05:00] or it may cause more harm. I've also heard this question, too, of if I have this, eating disorder, or if I have ADHD, do I need to see a specialist for that?

And here's my advice, go see an OCD specialist, go to a therapist, ask them, tell them, this is what I have going on, this is what I think, can you help me with this? And you can ask these questions in your therapy consultation, or you can Peruse the person's website and see if they do offer those specialties.

And here's what I'll say about some of these other diagnoses. A lot of times they go hand in hand. The OCD, whenever we're feeling really bad about ourselves or we can't get out because of the fears that OCD is creating, it can lead to depression. That's very common for that to happen. And as your OCD gets addressed and [00:06:00] better

the depression can potentially lift. In getting to this idea of finding a specialist, whenever you're looking for a therapist, I know it can be confusing with all of the letters that come behind a person's name. And most of you all are probably like, I don't really care what the letters are.

I just want to know if you can help me just to break it down a little bit. And I call it like an acronym salad because There are just so many letters of the alphabet that can come behind a person's name. So let me just give you a little bit of a brief overview of what those credentials mean because more or less what I hope you guys can do.

is feel empowered and informed to go and tell your loved one, Hey, here's a therapist. Here's an OCD specialist. Here's a resource for you to go get some help. Like I see these things that are happening and I'm concerned about you. And I really feel [00:07:00] like this person may be very helpful. Or here's a list of three that can be really helpful for, These things going on for you, and I really want to see you get some help.

Okay, so first of all, you're going to see master's level credentials first after the person's name, and typically that looks like an M. A. for Master of Arts. MS, Master of Science, or MSW, Master of Social Work. Now, if they're not a master's level clinician, then you'll see doctorate level credentials.

Okay, so that's going to look like PhD, which is a, Doctorate Doctorate of Philosophy, the PhD, okay, and then there is a PsyD, that's P S Y D, and that's a Doctorate in Psychology, the other Doctorate is an M. D., Medical Doctor, alright, so with these other And so that's just the education part.

[00:08:00] So that, those first set of credentials will let you know what type of education the person received. Okay. The credentials after that first set, those are going to demonstrate what type of license the person has. And each license is going to look different depending upon number one, the specialty, and then number two, the state.

Yeah. And, it would be nice if our states could collaborate and there is a lot of movement happening in that area where it could be more of a universal situation for licenses because if any of you have moved or traveled you've probably ran into that problem where your therapist cannot treat you.

Say you're living in North Carolina and then you move to Georgia, which is sad, right? Because you probably enjoyed working with your therapist and it's nobody's fault that you're moving to a new location. It's not like your problems any [00:09:00] different, but because of state. bureaucracy, we have to change the therapeutic relationship and refer you to someone else who's licensed in Georgia, but I will say the great thing about NoCD is that they have therapist license in all 50 states and they have their own training and regimen that they do and platform that they use for patients.

So at least there's going to be Some kind of streamlined situation with no CD. All right. So with that licensure, you're gonna see an, more sets of letters there and in North Carolina for a counselor such as myself, it's LCMHC and that stands for licensed clinical mental health counselor. In other states, the counseling discipline, it may be representative with a licensure of like LPC, which is licensed professional [00:10:00] counselor.

The other discipline of social workers, you're going to see that listed as something along the lines of CSW, licensed clinical social worker. There's also licensed clinical psychologists, so that could be LCP. And let's also keep in mind that not everyone is fully licensed, and so sometimes when you see those licensing credentials.

Let's go with the LCMHC, right? That's the licensed clinical mental health counselor, which is what you'll see in North Carolina, which is what I am all right with. People who are new from graduate school, like they're new into the clinical mental health field in whatever capacity, almost all of these disciplines ask you all of these licensing boards, they ask you to do your residency.

And so this is when you're [00:11:00] again, you're out of that grad school situation, whether that was master's or doctorate level, you will do Certain, things in order to continue your work and getting fully licensed. And so when you're in that process, and that process can take years. And so there's a lot of dedication that goes into being a mental health professional of any kind.

All right. So when you're doing that process, you may be considered an associate. or a resident. And so when you're looking at someone's license, you're going to see all those acronyms. Then you'll see a dash A, or maybe you'll just see an A on the end, or maybe it's a dash R or the R on the end. Again, it just depends on the state and the licensing board and all those things.

But just so you know, those letters do mean something and they do represent something. And Even if they are an associate or a resident level clinician, they are still very [00:12:00] qualified and they are good at their craft. And the good news is that they are under supervision by someone who has many years of experience and expertise.

So you're still in great hands when you're working with an associate level clinician or a resident level clinician. So the other thing that brings up some confusion is if you're feeling like you need medicine and you're not sure where to turn. Now my philosophy, and again, it depends on the situation and we can talk about this more in a consult or in your actual therapy session.

What I recommend is that giving. Therapy a try first, unless you've already tried therapy, then that's a different story. But, get therapy a try first before you jump to medication. Now, you are always more than welcome to talk with your medical doctor about medication at any time and get their opinion.

Because the medical doctor ultimately [00:13:00] is the one who determines the appropriateness of the medication. Now when it comes to medication, there are only a few type of doctors and providers that give medication. All right, so first you're going to be looking for that MD and that's the medical doctor. So that could be your primary care doctor.

They can prescribe medication if they're not comfortable prescribing mental health medication or if you're not real sure that They have a lot of experience in that area, which most of them do at this point. And I love how the mental health field is really progressing forward. With medical expertise as well.

So you can go to your primary care doctor. Another alternative is to see a psychiatrist and a psychiatrist is someone who specializes in mental health medications. And so that is what they do. They [00:14:00] day in, day out mental health medications. So, another option is a nurse practitioner. And their credentials will be represented as an NP.

So there are master's level nurse practitioners, and there are also doctorate level nurse practitioners, all of which are very good. And all of these options are great options in helping getting you to a place of medication. And I just wanted to emphasize, therapists do not give medications.

Unless for some anomaly or some weird reason they have MD or medical credentials. Those are probably very rare and just unicorns. So yeah, a therapist does not give you medications. And what I will also say too is some people, and I get this part too, like some people will feel like, Oh, I really don't want to do the therapy part.

 I just want to get to feeling better and medicine feels like the easy [00:15:00] way out. All right. So if you're that family member who is thinking about, encouraging a loved one to go to the doctor or taking them to the doctor, that kind of thing. I want you to just really reflect on what are they going to learn by?

I'm not minimizing medication at all. In fact, medication can be super helpful and effective in reducing symptoms. And yes, it will help you feel better because maybe you won't experience, or they won't experience the intrusive thoughts as often. But are they really learning how to? overcome and boss up to the OCD?

No, not really. They're learning what it's like to live without it or at a reduced intensity, but that's where therapy can create those long lasting results and potentially you no longer need medication. So many times I've worked with clients [00:16:00] where mom, dad brings in the kid and they're like, Oh, my kid, they're on medication already, so they've already done this route of getting on medicine before therapy.

And so they're coming in, they're like, we've got our kid on medicine. It helps some, but they're still struggling and we don't know what else to do. Can you help us? And I'm like, of course I can help you. And what is lovely. And here's the other fun fact, just for your own awareness. Okay.

And I. Again, this is going to depend on the therapist style, but typically with therapy and OCD, you're looking at 12 to 15 sessions is the standard for treating OCD and for completing treatment and in the 12 to 15 sessions, they should be about an hour long and what I find a lot of times with people who are on medication is we get to a point where we're like, hey, let's go [00:17:00] back to the doctor and see if we can get your medicine reduced because a lot of times what my patients and clients want to accomplish, they want to decrease and come off their medicine. And it's wonderful, right? Because they don't want to rely on medication forever. They really just want to feel better. And if they can feel better without medicine, that's Golden.

That's amazing. And often times that's part of our treatment goals. Can we maintain this feeling of clarity and peace and feeling less stressed without medicine? And anyway Long story short here if you're looking for a therapist you can go to my website. If you're located in North Carolina you can go to NoCD, definitely recommend that.

And if you have other conditions going on, talk with your therapist and see what their expertise is on that [00:18:00] subject. And so if you're the mom and you're like, Hey, my kid has OCD and ADHD, how can you help us with this?

Hopefully that therapist will say, Oh, I can absolutely treat the OCD and for the ADHD, let's Find someone else to loop in or let's address the OCD first and then I'll refer you to an ADHD specialist It just all depends on the severity of the problems and what we're dealing with and what we're working with but more or less just go to your therapist and see what they can accomplish for you and that's how you can go about finding A specialist and OCD specialist.

We're partnering with NoCD to raise awareness about OCD. OCD is more than what you see on TV and in the movies. Imagine having unwanted thoughts about your relationship stuck in your head all day, no matter how hard you try to make them go away. That's Relationship [00:19:00] OCD. It comes with unrelenting, intrusive images, thoughts, and urges about your partner or loved one.

If you think you may be struggling with Relationship OCD, there's hope. NoCD offers effective, affordable, and convenient OCD therapy. NoCD therapists are trained in Exposure Response Prevention Therapy, the gold standard treatment for OCD. With NoCD, you can do virtual, Live face to face video sessions with one of their licensed specialty trained therapists.

It's affordable and they accept most major insurance plans. Breaking the relationship OCD cycle takes effective treatment. To get started with NoCD, go to nocd. com slash savage.

Now, before I move on from all of the credential stuff there are people out there that are like pastoral level counselors. These are not necessarily master's level. Providers and they don't have the [00:20:00] same training as mental health providers.

So I just want you to be aware that some people do offer pastoral counseling and their focus is going to be more on the biblical side of things. And or you may come across like a peer counselor. And so that's someone who's just maybe trained to be like a motivational coach type of deal, but they're not.

Not at the same level of a mental health provider. So if you ever have any questions about someone's credentials, you can look it up. You can ask them to clarify about their education and license and years of experience. If that's something of concern to you. Now, in the meantime, if you're waiting to get into therapy, I have heard of statistics and information before where people were waiting to get into treatment for as long as two years. Now the CEO of NoCD, he [00:21:00] was saying that they have reduced wait time from that seven months to two years timeframe all the way down to less than seven days.

And I'm like, wow, good for them. That's amazing. Because why wait to get treatment? And as a buffer and as a, as an aid and as a help, I've created a pre therapy workbook. So if you're that loved one who's Hey I totally see these OCD symptoms in my kid, in my niece, my nephew, my, Spouse, whatever the case, you can go and buy my workbook for OCD.

In the workbook, which I'm giving the first 10 people a discount on the workbook. So grab a copy while you can, while the sale is still going on. With the workbook, it's designed to be a pre therapy. So it's got practical exercises and evidence based strategies to help you get a [00:22:00] jumpstart or a clear path on to what you need to do for your OCD.

And so this could be a great gift for someone because, with OCD, the person likes to be. Proactive and preemptive, right? They're already doing things to stave off this fear, whereas with this workbook, it's hey, let's like, not make therapy such a scary experience, or maybe you're on a wait list and you're ready to get started.

OCD can make you feel embarrassed, ashamed, alone. And so having this workbook can empower your loved one to feel more relaxed, less anxious, because they're going to see Oh, okay. So these are some of the things that I'll do in therapy. And remember how I said that the average. Length of therapy is 12 to 15 sessions.

With this workbook, what if you could shave off like 3 to [00:23:00] 5 sessions? Maybe even more. Of course, individual results will vary and this workbook is not a substitute for professional counseling and it's not all inclusive A to Z. OCD treatment. That was a lot of letters and alphabet there, but I hope you understand what I'm saying.

This is to help get your loved one started. It has easy to follow instructions. I also created not only the workbook, but an audio guide to go along with it to help provide additional instructions. So if your loved one is that auditory learner, like that's another way for to help them get a clear picture of how they can boss up to their OCD.

And so the goal with the workbook is that they can complete the workbook. And once they're in therapy, they're going to feel just at ease. And like they just have a clear mindset [00:24:00] of like, all right, here's where I'm at. And it's going to save you time. It's going to save you energy, and it's going to save you some money because you're not having to go to as many therapy sessions.

Also in the workbook, I don't want to forget this part. There's a bonus promo code on page four, just an FYI. About the workbook and I've got a link to the workbook in the show notes for you. All right now when it comes to Your loved one having OCD I bet and can almost guarantee You are on the receiving end of being asked for a lot of reassurance man, I've come across parents who are like, I am just exhausted by all of these what if questions and I can't seem to come up with the right answer.

And I'm like, yeah, and you never will that's that doesn't feel good. Does it? But that's how OCD is. With OCD, you can never give it enough reassurance. It [00:25:00] just, that's not how OCD operates. It wants more and it takes and takes and it will eventually build up. And that's the other thing about OCD I want you to be aware of and why my workbook can be very helpful because while it may not be a big problem now, I have also seen where people come in And like I've mentioned in my workbook people put off going to treatment 14 to 17 years because they wait until it gets bad.

They wait until they're in desperation mode, and it's wow you don't have to do this. You don't have to live this way. And thankfully, when getting OCD treatment, you can get better very quickly. But what is saddening in a way is that you waited 14 to 17 years.

And I get it if it's hard to see what's going on at first, but with my workbook, you don't have to wait. At all, like you can have this [00:26:00] workbook today and get a jumpstart on that therapy work on that help that you need. So as the parent, you're probably on the receiving end of being asked a lot of reassurance.

And so here's some tips and strategies if you're that parent. Okay, first of all, I was telling you about that bad parenting moment I witnessed don't make your kid more scared. I know that parents have good intentions, but trying to put fear in your kid to teach a lesson. Not the most effective way to go about things and you're, and you may be thinking, Oh, but I was just no, I don't even want to do that.

I don't even want to say that. But so let me give you an example of what I've heard before, or so let me give you an example of how that can show up in OCD. So let's say you have a kid who is afraid of throwing up. Do you think that forcing them to eat food or to drink milk [00:27:00] until they're at full capacity that they eventually throw up is going to be helpful?

No. No. Please don't do that. No. And that's the other thing in therapy, like your OCD specialist is going to take your kid on a journey or your loved one on a journey that is Accomplishable and realistic, measurable, like all the things that helps Your kid feels successful and they do these exposures in stages that is reasonable.

Now me personally, when I'm working with someone who does have a fear of throwing up, I don't make them throw up. That's not my style. We will do other things and I'll talk about that in later episodes. About that phobia and it's called emetophobia. If you have the fear of throwing up. Alright so don't put more fear in your kid.

Don't shame them, okay? Don't tell them that they're, and I'll [00:28:00] just be flat out honest, don't tell them that they're being dumb or stupid or none of that. Just not helpful. And don't tell them that they can't amount to anything. Like, How hurtful is that? Ugh. Anyway. All right. So the things to do as a parent, give your kid validation.

And validation is a form of empathy, not sympathy. All right. That's the other thing we don't want to do. We don't want to give sympathy, but Validation is a form of empathy where you understand that what they're going through feels challenging, that it feels tough, that it's hard, and

OCD can feel confusing. And you know what, you're Your kid probably already knows that their OCD fears are unrealistic or [00:29:00] are irrational. So you don't need to emphasize that point with them. Oh, and the other thing, don't tell them not to worry about it. Yeah, because telling them not to worry about it is very invalidating.

Because They can't help it. They can't help it. All right. With the things to do, I want you to first provide validation where you're gonna acknowledge and empathize and say I understand. I understand that when you I understand That X, Y, Z is a scary thought.

All right. Like I understand that driving in a car and worrying about running someone over is scary. Yeah, man, that, that would feel awful to be worried about that. Okay. So you're going to give the validation. All right. Second part is you're going to give them confidence, be their cheerleader, be their motivational coach, be in their corner.

[00:30:00] All right. And in giving them confidence, What that sounds like is you're saying, you've got this, you can overcome this. I know you are more than your thoughts. You are so valuable to me. I will do anything to help you through this. Do you see how those parts of the communication feel so much more comforting?

And helpful versus all that other stuff that's going on with those bad parenting moments. And please don't judge yourself. Please don't be down on yourself if you've been in that boat before or like you've seen your spouse do that to your kid. I mean we all sometimes have Just, those breaking moments or those moments that we regret and wish we could take back.

You're not alone in that. So yeah, there's a lot of what not to do, but zooming out from that and breaking it all down, there's really

[00:31:00] three simple steps of what to do. First is that validation. Second is give confidence. Third, go to therapy. Get in with an OCD specialist, get the help you need, don't put it off, and you can always get my workbook as that preemptive measure to jumpstart your treatment.

Some other tips about what not to do, okay, when your kid is asking for reassurance and you know you're dealing with OCD, go ahead and tell them, son, that's your OCD talking. And walk away. Don't feed it. Now your kid may feel frustrated by that or feel confused by that, but work with your OCD specialists on helping your kid understand that you are no longer going to feed their OCD monster.

You are not going to give it reassurance. And the thing I'll say about that is there is a big difference between [00:32:00] information seeking and reassurance seeking. All right. So next month, Of March, which I can't believe Easter is in March all these years, like I've just been conditioned to the idea that Easter is in April, but anyway, so in March, I'm going to talk about the scrupulosity OCD, which is the religious subtype of OCD.

So let's say your kid has a fear of going to hell, and if they come to you and ask Mommy, what if I go to hell? All right, now, normally, As a parent, you're gonna say, Oh, honey, you're not going to go to hell. You're sweet. You love God. You do good things, that type of conversation. But now if it is OCD.

And your kid is asking that question multiple times a day. They are doing all sorts of compulsions and you know that they have OCD, then your response is going to be, honey, this is your OCD [00:33:00] talking. And that's it. Like we're not going to entertain this. All right.

But if they're saying, Hey mom, how do I go to heaven? All right, that's more of an information seeking question. And what you can do is well, you need to believe in Jesus And you've answered their question. Or you could depending upon their belief system.

Now, I am a Christian based therapist and my belief system is you believe in Jesus and do your best to be like Jesus and that's how you go to heaven. Anyway, if your child asks you, Mommy, how do I go to heaven? And then your response is you believe in Jesus and Try to be more like him and that's all.

 Or whatever your belief system is. That's the other thing about therapy. It's not intended to change or influence Like the therapist is not supposed to influence your belief system. We operate and work with the belief system you have.

[00:34:00] So, that'll be a big difference if you're working with a mental health provider versus that pastoral counselor type that I was telling you about. With that information seeking and reassurance seeking is that once they have the information, they need to be done.

So if they have that religious OCD and they have a question, it's okay we can find the answer in the Bible. Let's read it and then close the book. That's it. But someone with OCD and is wanting that. reassurance, they're going to continue that research. And so that's the other tip I have for you as that loved one of seeing someone who has OCD.

Don't allow them to over research. And I don't really even need to define that, because I think you all probably have a good understanding of what that looks like, when it's just that excessive scrolling, researching, reading, I'm pretty sure that first article answered your question.

Oh, a couple weeks [00:35:00] ago I was diagnosed with Covid, and it's the first time I've had Covid since the, the whole time. And I was like, man, I was doing good. This is my first time I had Covid. I don't even know where I got it from , so like with Covid, once I knew it was Covid, I was googling my symptoms.

And when I Googled my symptoms, I kept in mind like, okay, I'm just going to get my questions answered and then be done. I'm not going to continue to go down the rabbit hole. Y'all know what I mean? By that, right? Like you're not going to go down the rabbit hole of researching article after article story after story because you know that really never works out.

It seems like everything leads to terrible news So that's what i'm saying about information seeking versus reassurance seeking so we're not going to be giving reassurance. You just give them a simple answer As long as they're just looking for information, then another [00:36:00] thing, try to help your kid or your loved one, not do any avoidance stuff.

Another example of avoidance.

 Germophobia. Alright, so don't allow your loved one to do any avoidance. So let's say they avoid shaking other people's hands because they don't want to touch things. Or they avoid touching doorknobs because they are afraid of the germs. I want you to encourage them, Hey, you can do this, right? So you're bringing in that confidence piece again.

So you're saying to them like, Hey, I know that feels uncomfortable to touch a doorknob, but you can do it. And I believe in you. That's how you can give them that confidence and validation to move forward and not have that avoidance stuff going on.

Moral of the story here is that as much as you love your kid or that loved one who's going through OCD, Do [00:37:00] not give in to their compulsions. Yeah. And I know it's hard because you don't want to see them suffering in any type of discomfort. But if you give in to their compulsions, you are like that by product of enabling the OCD monster.

And this is one of the hardest things for parents to overcome and You can get that help you need to in talking with a therapist who understands OCD. So again, let's say in going back to the example of germophobia your kid doesn't want to touch doorknobs. And so you open all the doors for them like that is only feeding the OCD monster. And so you're giving in to those compulsions and the avoidance and to those parenting moments, give the confidence, the validation, be their cheerleader, and coach them through [00:38:00] it.

And if you need that extra help, talk with the therapist. And, even too some parents will go as far as homeschooling their kids so that their kids don't have to be around a lot of germs, and that ultimately doesn't help your kid.

We're partnering with NoCD to raise awareness about OCD. OCD is more than what you see on TV and in the movies. Imagine having unwanted thoughts about your relationship stuck in your head all day, no matter how hard you try to make them go away. That's Relationship OCD. It comes with unrelenting intrusive images, thoughts, and urges about your partner or loved one.

Breaking the OCD cycle takes effective treatment. Go to N O C D dot com to get evidence based treatment.

Thank you all for listening to today's episode. OCD can be challenging not only on the person, but also on you as the loved one. And if you're in that situation, I [00:39:00] encourage you to buy my OCD workbook so that you can get a jumpstart on that therapy and on that treatment journey for your loved one. On top of that I hope you genuinely take into consideration all of these points so that you can help your loved one further get the help they need and feel like that they can come to you in times of distress.

And ultimately, we want your loved one to feel like they are safe and that you are going to be that unconditional support person for them and that you have the right tools and advice and help that you can give to your kid or to your loved one so that their OCD can go into remission.

All right. And come back next week. Next month, we're going to be talking about religious OCD, and I also want to do a dive into the celebrities that have OCD. I think that's going to be a lot of fun to talk about.[00:40:00]

All right, y'all. See ya.

Thank you for listening to today's episode. This information is intended to be helpful and not a substitute for professional counseling. Before you go, kindly leave me a five star review and check out the links in the show notes to see the products that can make your small business dreams happen. Take care and see you next time.