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Mental Health (Expert Forum)
is this ocd?
Answered by
Roger Gould, M.D. - Mental Health, Wellness
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD) , bipolar disorder , dementia , electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) , learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) , panic , personality disorders, phobias , post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) , schizophrenia , stress , transitions, and work problems.
is this ocd?
by Louise, Jun 19, 2001 12:00AM
Hi:
My sixteen year old son has always been stressed and hard on himself. He gets good grades, very smart kid and works part time. He was extremely stressed before school got out (about grades, etc). Thought it would get better this summer. It hasn't. He has said the last couple nights he has the thought of sleepwalking and hurting or killing himself while he is sleepwalking. He worries about this before he goes to bed. He has done some stuff in his sleep before (like taking a shower, getting dressed for school, etc., but nothing other than that). Last summer something similar happened (the thoughts) and he also had lump in throat at bedtime. His peditrician is wonderful and had him checked out for gastro problems for the lump. Then had him keep a journal where he wrote his fears. He got much better and has been fine until this summer. This is a great kid other than the worrying. I talked to him this morning about seeing someone to talk about his stress, and he said not to worry that he could handle it and he would forget about the thoughts by the end of the week. He said they don't last long.
What should I do to help him?
I need to tell you that I am a worrier also and have had some OCD tendencies that I pretty much control myself. Also his 18 year old brother had a few compulsive tendencies for a short while in grade school, but is doing wonderfully now.
Thanks for your help.
Louise
My sixteen year old son has always been stressed and hard on himself. He gets good grades, very smart kid and works part time. He was extremely stressed before school got out (about grades, etc). Thought it would get better this summer. It hasn't. He has said the last couple nights he has the thought of sleepwalking and hurting or killing himself while he is sleepwalking. He worries about this before he goes to bed. He has done some stuff in his sleep before (like taking a shower, getting dressed for school, etc., but nothing other than that). Last summer something similar happened (the thoughts) and he also had lump in throat at bedtime. His peditrician is wonderful and had him checked out for gastro problems for the lump. Then had him keep a journal where he wrote his fears. He got much better and has been fine until this summer. This is a great kid other than the worrying. I talked to him this morning about seeing someone to talk about his stress, and he said not to worry that he could handle it and he would forget about the thoughts by the end of the week. He said they don't last long.
What should I do to help him?
I need to tell you that I am a worrier also and have had some OCD tendencies that I pretty much control myself. Also his 18 year old brother had a few compulsive tendencies for a short while in grade school, but is doing wonderfully now.
Thanks for your help.
Louise
Doctor's Answer
by Roger Gould, M.D., Jun 19, 2001 12:00AM
, Jun 19, 2001 12:00AM
I would trust your son, don't make too much of it, and wait for two or three weeks before you even ask him again if you sense that it is getting better. If it seems to be getting worse next week, then have him see someone. This short spells are usually just spikes of anxiety that go away by themselves.
