OCD Action

aishah
Member

Hi All,

My eldest son recently asked me to make a docs appt about his throat. He has always suffered with sore throats since having his tonsills removed a few years ago so I made an appt and didnt think too much about it.

He came away from his appt and told me the doctor said it was anxiety. I was shocked and after speaking to him about it a lot in the past few days, it turns out that it wasnt the sore throat that was the problem it was tightness in his throat and the tell tale anxiety lump that you get. He also is convinced that he has cancer in his throat and that the doctor can't be sure that he hasn't got it and doesn't feel reassured by seeing his G.P.

He is feeling really low tonight and is asking me how long before it goes away, I just feel so sad that he is a young man and going through this, he has had to watch both parents go through this for years and I feel so guilty like it's our fault.

Just wanted to share this with friends.

Bridget

Sat Sep 10 2011 21:21:51 #
Ratwomble
Member

Bridget,

Sorry to read hat. It is awful to see OCD in your kids when you know what it is like. On the plus side, when I was very bad both my kids developed OCD like sy,tptoms, but they went away once I recovered. It isn't unusual for youngsters to have health anxieties.

Hope this helps

David

Sat Sep 10 2011 22:49:26 #
Cuthbert ffoliott
Moderator

Hiya Bridget -

sorry to hear that about your son. I think David's right. Health anxieties are common in young people, accompanied by fantasies about potential causes and suchlike. An assumption, grounded in scientific knowledge about such matters: suppose there's a genetic disposition at work, that absolutely does not imply that one is 'destined' to develop full-fledged OCD, that will last years and years. There is the 'environment-factor', which may have a huge impact on the future development of mental health. If the first signs of the disorder seem to have presented themselves, even then there's a home truth: an environment of unconditional love, and without stress, helps people to do away with these symptoms, believe me. And that can happen very soon, sooner than you may think at the moment.

The middle daughter of my brother nowadays is having lots of good friends, does very well at school, and doesn't show any symptoms. She's 16. Already with lots of plans for her future in mind. Yet when she was 3, she showed distinct symptoms of OCD, repetitive behaviour, and also an unnatural need for order and symmetry (she could get very upset and angry when she noticed that her socks weren't pulled up to exactly the same height, for instance, she really made it an arduous and time-consuming task to set that right, with intense staring at her ankles, for instance). I doubt if she even has any recollection of this trait any more; she's such a joyful and life-loving person now).

Hope this helps a bit, and all the best,

Cuthbert.

Sun Sep 11 2011 11:45:07 #
aishah
Member

Hi David and Cuthbert,

Thanks for your replies. I spoke to him at great length last night and have told him to keep as busy as possible and to disract himself as much as possible. He didn't sleep till 6.30 this morning as it was so bad.

He is back at Uni in a couple of weeks but said that he didn't think he could go back feeling like this but I hope that he will.

When he was 7 yrs old he went through a phase of lining everything up in his room and keeping everything spotless, that is not the case now. A couple of years ago he kept rinsing his hands under the tap constantly and this is no longer a problem also I am pleased to say.

He has spent a lot of time couped up in his room these last couple of months as he broke his foot so maybe he has had too much time on his hands. Also his baby cousin has recently been diagnosed with cancer and that has shook him up as it has all of us. Maybe all of these things have added up to make him over worry about himself. Also I have also just come out of a bad patch again and I know he was worried about me too.

Of course my anxiety has increased with worrying about him but I can't let on as it will make things worse for him. I have been more open with him about my OCD these last few weeks and maybe that has added to it. I regret now telling him as I have never wanted to worry my children.

Anyway thanks again

Bridget

Sun Sep 11 2011 20:21:10 #
Cuthbert ffoliott
Moderator

Hi Bridget -

I assumed that your son was younger, when I posted my message yesterday. But the main idea I came up with still stands. I think that keeping busy indeed is an important factor. Our brains are capable of change and adaptation throughout our whole life (that is a relatively new finding, by the way; I myself was told in secondary school that the brain is 'static', once it's fully developed, the only change would be deterioration at advanced age because of nerve cells gradually dying). Keeping occupied is essential: this prevents a certain system in the brain taking over for too long: the so-called 'default network'. When this happens, the ruminating and worrying begins, which is a core feature of OCD.

Best, Cuthbert.

Mon Sep 12 2011 7:17:06 #
aishah
Member

Hi,

Thanks Cuthbert. Hes been to doctors again today as the anxiety was so bad, he was reassured again that he hasn't got anything sinister wrong with his throat and the worry of it all has caused the anxiety. He was given Proprananol to help calm him down. He is starting to feel a little more at ease now.

Thanks again for your valued support.

Bridget

Mon Sep 12 2011 18:28:22 #
Cuthbert ffoliott
Moderator

Hi Bridget -

so glad that your son's doing better now. Indeed, the broken foot and the resulting 'retreat' may have been an important factor in his tendency to worry overmuch. Being alone for relatively long periods often leads to reminiscing and ruminating, and those mental activities sometimes may elicit a 'relapse' in people with a disposition for OCD.

Thanks for the hopeful message,

cheers, Cuthbert.

Tue Sep 13 2011 8:11:50 #