Answered questions(9)
Trying to regain control
Do extreme stressful events ever trigger obsessive compulsive disorder? My house was broken into a few months back and after that I got a lot more careful about checking to make sure all the doors and windows were secured and locked at all times. After a while it became like I couldn’t stop checking them even when I knew for sure that I had just checked them and everything was all right. Now I will check everything 3 times and get into bed and this voice will start nagging in my brain and I will have to get out of bed to check them again. Sometimes I do this 4 or 5 times before I can fall asleep. This crazy, I know, but I can’t control myself. What can I do?
Read answer →Habit Reversal Therapy
Is habit reversal therapy the best approach to take for skin picking? Is there any need for me to work with a professional on this or should I just read up on the habit reversal and try it on my own?
Read answer →Compulsions and OCD
Do I have OCD if I have compulsions to do certain things but I don't really have any excessive anxiety. I don't know how to explain really, but for example, one thing I have to do all the time is whenever I am traveling by car I have to click my teeth whenever I pass a streetlight or electric pole. Or whenever I walk on a side walk I have to tap the side of my leg whenever I walk over a crack. It gets embarrassing and hard to explain to others so I'd like to stop but I can't and I don't understand why I do this? Is this some form of compulsive disorder?
Read answer →Nail Biting
I have an addictive personality. I am in cocaine recovery. I have had a problem with chewing my fingernails since I was a kid. Are these things related in the brain somehow? Seems weird that I can stop smoking crack but I can’t stop biting my nails.
Read answer →Technique to decrease oral fixation
My son is constantly chewing or sucking on things. He is 12. His shirt, pens or pencils, his fingers, bottle caps – whatever he can get his hands on. I tell him to stop and he stops for 5 seconds and then his hands just go back to his mouth. You can see that he trying to fight the impulse but it just keeps coming every few seconds and then he forgets and does it. We got some spray on deodorant and sprayed it on his hands so he would taste it and remember so he would be more conscious of the problem and that helped a bit but it has not solved the problem. I am worried that people will make fun of him for sucking on his fingers in class. What can we try?
Read answer →Managing Anxiety
When I was little my parents said I always used to have a problem pulling my hair out and eating it (gross). I can barely even remember doing it but now I am 21 and all of a sudden I can’t stop picking at my scalp and pulling my hair out. I am getting little bald patches. Help! What do I do to stop?
Read answer →Trichotillomania treatment recommendations
My daughter has Trichotillomania (she is a hair puller). My daughter is 15 and she was able to hide it from me for a long time. I would see her pulling her hair while watching TV but I never knew it was a serious problem, I just thought it was a bad habit and I would scold her to stop. I have only known about it that it was a serious problem for a few weeks. I took her to our family doctor and he said if she couldn’t stop doing it on her own he might prescribe antidepressants to her. I do not want her to start off on drugs so young. I have a solution but my husband thinks it is wrong. I would like to ask you about it. What if we just shaved her head completely and kept it shaved for long enough for her to break her bad habit? I know this sounds extreme but I think she could pull it off looks wise and she could think of a reason to tell her friends and it would be better than starting her off on a lifetime of needing drugs.
Read answer →Impulse Control Side Effects
My husband has early onset parkinsons and is taking pramipexole. We were warned that one of the possible side effects of the treatment was a risk of impulse control disorders and we were told that we were to be on the lookout for certain types of behaviors. Well, my husband is now showing real differences in eating and sexual behaviors (his appetites are insatiable) and this is a difference from before. I told him that he should tell his doctor about it but he says that he feels good now and he doesn’t want to change his medication around. He says that if these side effects are the price he has to pay he is glad to do it. I am not sure. Should we be worried that he is having these ICD symptoms? Are things going to get worse or is he right to decide whether or not he finds the side effects acceptable?
Read answer →Children Learning OCD Behavior
My ex wife has custody of our children. She had OCD when she was younger but it was pretty under control when we were together but it seems to be quite severe again now. Our children are 4 and 6. How worried should I be that they will pick up on her obsessive and compulsive behaviors and start imitating them as their own behaviors? I have already seen worrying signs that they are very overly concerned with germs and getting dirty, which is not something a 4 year old should be very concerned about in my opinion.
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