Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in childhood: common symptoms

A review of the characteristics of this mental disorder when it appears in children.

Although movies and series sometimes present OCD in a humorous or comical way, the truth is that this 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. Why is that? Very few children who have an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ask for help.. They believe that they are like that, that they cannot do anything to solve it. In addition, they usually hide the symptoms because they feel confused or ashamed.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in boys and girls.

Children with OCD suffer from obsessions or compulsions that cause them enormous anxiety and discomfort, interfering with their development and daily life. Their behaviors are egodystonic, preventing the child from achieving his goals and objectives.

But let's define these concepts. Obsessions are disturbing thoughts or images (usually violent) that the person, in this case the child, cannot ignore, and that generate fear and anxiety. They are repetitive and involuntary, interrupting over and over again the child's mental activity.

Compulsions are repetitive acts, mental or motor, which are intended to alleviate the child's anxiety and anxiety.They are intended to alleviate the anxiety and discomfort caused by the obsessions. Children self-generate this "solution" that causes only a momentary relief, but in the long run what it does is to reinforce the obsession, increasing its intensity and frequency.

In some cases, the obsessions and compulsions are related, for example, feeling dirty and constantly washing hands. Other times, they only seem to be related in the child's mind, such as fearing that his family will be harmed if he does not snap all his fingers.

Examples of obsessions and compulsions

Some frequent 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; or feeling dirty and constantly washing the whole body.. Regarding this last obsession, a case that can help us understand the way in which OCD hinders the child's life can be the following.

Real case study of childhood OCD

Alfonso is an 11 year old boy who comes to the office brought by his mother, because she perceives a drop in his academic performance. his mother perceives a drop in his academic performance this past year. His parents are separated and Alfonso lives with his mother. Alfonso's mother states that he spends his afternoons loafing (she cannot verify this, as she works and does not get home until 8 o'clock); she also says that he goes to bed very late watching YouTube videos. So far so normal.

The truth is that, after many sessions, we found out that Alfonso was not "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 that every time he went to the bathroom to defecate, he was never completely clean, so he began to initiate a series of stereotypical stereotypes. started to initiate a stereotyped series of compulsive cleaning rituals that lasted between lasting between 2.5 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 with which he would stain as little as possible.

Can we imagine how physically and mentally exhausting it is for an 11-year-old to repeat a series of 3-hour-long behaviors every day, all surrounded by thoughts, which cause him strong anxiety and from which he cannot escape?

A disorder more difficult to detect

One of the differences between the obsessions of a child and those of an adult lies in their elaboration. An adult knows how to explain them in detail, has built a story around them. On the other hand, the child can only express "just because", "I can't stand it", "it appears just because".

Parents may not know their child's may not be aware of their child's symptoms to the full extent, because many of them occur in theThe parents 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 distractible, inattentive or irritable, repeatedly seeks approval or confesses minor transgressions, or cannot tolerate uncertainty. But it does not usually manifest itself clearly, the child often goes to great lengths to hide it.

Why do the symptoms appear?

It is a neurobiological disease caused by the imbalance of certain substances in the brain, among which serotonin stands out. There are several variables that make a child more vulnerable to suffer from this difficulty, although we do not yet have enough information to know what the symptoms are. we do not yet 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 at present are not conclusive.

In children it usually appears between 7 and 12 years of age, although in cases where there is a family history of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, it may appear as early as 3 years of age. On the other hand, in girls the problem usually originates in adolescence..

The normal child population can also have obsessive thoughts and doubts, the difference is that when there is a change in the maturational stage, these thoughts are conceived as bizarre and most children discard them, while a very small segment, gives them a relevant and central value in their lives.

I hope 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 on a daily basis.