Although movies and series sometimes present OCD to us in a funny or comical way, the truth is that it is a difficulty that thousands of adults and children have to deal with every day.
Most of the information we know about this disorder comes from adults, although the problem usually appears, in almost half of the cases, during childhood. Because? Very few children who have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ask for help They believe that they are like that, that they can’t do anything to solve it. Additionally, they often hide their symptoms because they feel confused or embarrassed.
Children who suffer from OCD suffer from obsessions or compulsions that cause enormous anxiety and discomfort, interfering with their development and daily life. Their behaviors are egodystonic, they prevent the child from achieving their goals and objectives.
But let’s define those concepts. Obsessions are disturbing thoughts or images (generally violent) that the person, in this case the boy or girl, cannot ignore, and that generate fear and anxiety in him or her. They are repetitive and involuntary, they interrupt the child’s mental activity again and again.
Compulsions are repetitive, mental or motor acts, which aim to relieve anxiety and discomfort caused by obsessions. Children self-generate this “solution” that causes only momentary relief, but in the long run what it does is reinforce the obsession, increasing its intensity and frequency.
In some cases, obsessions and compulsions are related, for example, feeling dirty and constantly washing your hands. Other times, it only seems to have a connection in the child’s mind, such as fearing that his family will be harmed if he doesn’t snap all his fingers.
Examples of obsessions and compulsions
Some common obsessions or compulsions in childhood are: praying a lot of times, to prevent something bad from happening; constantly asking family members if something has happened, for fear of having hurt someone; either the feeling of dirt and washing the whole body constantly Regarding this last obsession, a case that can help us understand the way in which OCD makes the child’s life difficult may be the following.
Real practical case of OCD in childhood
Alfonso is an 11-year-old boy who comes to the consultation brought by his mother, because she is perceive a decline in their academic performance this last year. His parents are separated and Alfonso lives with his mother. Alfonso’s mother states that he spends the afternoons lazing around (she can’t prove it, since he works and doesn’t get home until 8 o’clock); She also says that he goes to bed very late watching YouTube videos. So far everything is normal.
The truth is that delving deeply into the case, after many sessions, it was found out that Alfonso did not go “lazy” in the afternoons, nor did he watch YouTube videos, he did not take advantage of his study time because in reality Alfonso had the obsessive thought of that every time he went to the bathroom to defecate, it was never completely clean, so began to initiate a stereotypical series of compulsive cleansing rituals which lasted between 2 and a half and 3 hours. The videos he watched on the tablet were nothing more than a search for information to find ways to go to the bathroom that would get as little dirt as possible.
Can we imagine the physical and mental exhaustion that it means for an 11-year-old child to repeat a series of behaviors lasting 3 hours every day, all surrounded by thoughts that cause strong anxiety and from which he cannot escape? ?
A disorder that is more difficult to detect
One of the differences between a child’s obsessions and those of an adult lies in their elaboration. An adult knows how to explain them in detail, he has built a story around them. For his part, the child can only express “just because”, “I can’t stand it”, “he appears just because”.
Parents They may not know the full extent of their child’s symptoms, because many of them occur in the child’s mind and others are easily hidden or disguised. A mom or dad may notice that the child avoids certain things, seems distracted, inattentive or irritable, repeatedly seeks approval or confesses to minor transgressions, or cannot tolerate uncertainty. But it does not usually manifest itself clearly, the child usually makes an effort to hide it.
Why do symptoms appear?
It is a neurobiological disease caused by the imbalance of certain substances in the brain, among which serotonin stands out. There are various variables that make a child more vulnerable to suffering from this difficulty, although they still We do not have enough information to know the weight of each one in the genesis of the problem: genetic predisposition, a parenting style based on the constant demand for perfectionism, a stressful life event, such as the death of a family member… However, the data are currently inconclusive.
In children it usually appears around the ages of 7 and 12, although in cases where there is a family history of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, it can appear as early as 3 years of age. For its part, In girls the problem usually originates in adolescence
The normal child population can also have obsessive thoughts and doubts, the difference is that when a change occurs in the maturation stage, these thoughts are conceived as bizarre and the majority of children discard them, while a very small segment gives them a relevant and central value in their lives.
I hope that this article helps to understand a little better the characteristics of OCD in childhood, and to make visible this difficulty that thousands of children have to deal with in their daily lives.
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This article has been reviewed by our editorial team at PsychologyFor to ensure accuracy, clarity, and adherence to evidence-based research. The content is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice.
