You may not know anyone else who suffers from repetitive &;stuck&; thoughts and compulsive rituals, but plenty of other teens experience symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): the need to repeatedly wash their hands, check to make sure everything&;s okay, count possessions, put things in order, or even repeat thoughts over and over. Rituals like these may calm you down when you&;re feeling stressed or anxious, but you know all too well that the relief is temporary and you&;ll have to repeat the ritual when you start feeling uneasy again. This cycle can make you feel trapped, but also may seem impossible or even frightening to break.
Free from OCD offers forty easy cognitive behavioral exercises to help you move past your symptoms and live freely and flexibly, without fear. You&;ll finally be able to stop compulsive thoughts in their tracks and keep them from coming back.
This book helps you learn to:
•Notice when thoughts are based in reality and when they&;re exaggerated
•Recognize and neutralize situations that trigger your symptoms
•Make friends and feel more confident in social situations
•Use relaxation techniques instead of falling back on your rituals
Most children with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are diagnosed between the ages of ten and twelve-right on the cusp of their adolescent years. Yet, until now, there have been no resources available for the substantial population of teens suffering with the unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and rituals (compulsions) characteristic of OCD. The activities in this book help teens and parents work together to assess the severity of the symptoms and offer teens cognitive behavioural skills to overcome them. Teen readers learn essential information about the biology and dynamics of OCD, then discover a multitude of skills for moving beyond the most common types of obsessions and compulsions: hand washing, checking, counting, ordering, repetition of mental acts, fear of harm to self or family, fear of germs or diseases, fearing of losing something valuable, and perfectionism. The last section explains exposure and response prevention and invites the reader to understand and prepare to undergo this process. Both imagined and real-life exposure and response prevention exercises are included to help teens with OCD make dramatic gains in symptom management and improve their confidence to move forward in treatment.