What Are the Symptoms of Childhood OCD?
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) affects millions of people, children included. Children who suffer from OCD experience recurring rituals and thoughts. These thoughts are unwanted, but the children suffering from this disease can't control them, according to the Child Development Institute. They feel an extreme urge to perform certain rituals in order to prevent these thoughts from happening. Completing their rituals will provide for a temporary relief from anxiety for them. For children suffering from OCD, this can devastating. Children often feel the need to fit in or be like other children around them. Therefore, they tend to hide their obsessions from their loved ones for fear of rejection and because of this it can be months or even years before a child is properly diagnosed, according to the OCD Resource Center of Florida.
Obsession with Symmetry
Children who suffer from OCD are often obsessed with symmetry. Things that are not in exact symmetry can cause kids with OCD extreme anxiety, according to KidsHealth from Nemours. Children who suffer from OCD will often feel a sense of panic if something is out of place. Some children may also do things like tying and retying shoes to make sure the shoestrings look even.
Obsession with Numbers
An obsession with numbers is common with OCD, and children may experience this in a couple of different ways, according to the OCD Resource Center of Florida. Some children may feel the need to count to the same number every time they count, others may feel the need to complete a task a certain number of times. For example, a child may turn a light on and off three times every time she does it. Children may have "safe" and "unsafe" numbers as well.
Checking Compulsions
Checking compulsions are a common symptom for kids with OCD. Checking rituals often stem from a need to protect their loved ones, according to the OCD Resource Center of Florida. The fear that something will happen to them is so overpowering that they may check things like doors or windows multiple times to make sure they are locked and secure. Some children will also check and recheck things like answers to tests because they have a need to make sure the answers are right or are all filled in properly. They will often do this to the point of not completing the task.
Fear of Dirt and Germs
The fear of contamination is one of the most common symptoms of OCD in children, according to the OCD Resource Center of Florida. The fear of dirt and germs can result in extremely excessive washing rituals. Some children may wash more frequently or for abnormal lengths of time, while others may wash in the same pattern. Children who have an extreme fear of dirt and germs will often avoid things normal children love to do, like going to the playground.
Hypersensitivities
With children who suffer from OCD, hypersensitivities may occur in a different ways, the OCD Resource Center of Florida says. Most of the children suffering from this disorder may not be able to wear certain clothes. Things like stitching could bother them. Some children may do abnormal things like not wear socks unless they are inside out. Other children may react to certain foods. Often, their sense of touch is over-sensitive, and they may like to touch or feel things that feel good to them repeatedly.
Hoarding Things
It's common for children with OCD to collect things or hoard objects. A lot of the time, they have a fear that something bad will happen if they get rid of something they own, and because of this they tend to keep everything, according to KidsHealth. The child will also tend to hide this symptom from his parents for fear that they will throw some of his belongings away.
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