mosquitoes

[Guest guest]

Hi :

Sorry you are noticing some waxing of OCD symptoms. It is amazing how OCD

can morph all over the place.

It is always hard to design E & RP for symptoms when our beloved OCDers are

too frightened or embarrassed to share what they fear will happen. Is this

the only symptom on Cameron's hierarchy that you can notice?

Rationalizing with our OCDers when they are really worried unfortunately

does not work too well. We find that a combination of cognitive and

paradoxical approaches works best followed up by a strong dose of

encouragement to boss back the OCD/brain tricking Steve. It is hard to set

this up when you are not really sure why Cameron is so frightened of

mosquitoes. Does he have contamination OCD? Do you think he might be

worried they are carrying a disease? Do you think he is worried just when

he sees a mosquito?

IF this happened to Steve I would start to joke about it and say I always

wanted to brighten things up with polka dots and the mosquitoes are being

so helpful in making that happen. I might even hunt for some stagnant

water outside and bring it into the house to entice more mosquitoes inside.

I would tell him I understand that polka dots are the new rage among

teens, replacing skin piercings and tatoos (this would be double exposure

for Steve as he thinks this means people wearing these are hippies and

might cause him to die). I would also tell him this is a bit of Minnesota

we brought back home with us as mosquitoes are the state bird (thanks, Jule

for explaining this to me). BY this time Steve would have the idea that

this is an OCD thing for him to boss back. He would be so busy telling me

how dreadful my sense of " humor " is that he would have forgotten a lot of

his fears about mosquitoes.

If I thought he worried that the mosquitoes were carrying AIDS, I would

joke about how since cancer didn't manage to kill me yet, the mosquitoes

were helping me out by introducing another potentially lethal disease into

my body. I would also say that they were trying to help because they knew

his violent obsessions about killing me would never work and that a fresh

approach to ensure my death was needed!

For a younger child you may want to let Cameron know that this new worry

about mosquitoes is error messages that OCD is sending him from his brain.

Ask him who's the boss here, him or OCD. Tell him he has been a wonderful

boss with other things and he can boss this one back too. As you can see I

am willing to say much tougher things to Steve than that mosquitoes fly

well in the dark.

I suggest you discuss this with Cameron's CBT therapist so they can assist

you all with a suitable intervention. Take care, aloha, Kathy (H)

kathyh@...

At 09:16 PM 08/25/2000 +0000, you wrote:

>Hi All!

>My son Cameron (age 6)has been relatively symptom-free for a while

>now. Lately, he has been turning off all the lights at bedtime and

>shutting all the doors and covering himself from head to toe with a

>sheet. This is a kid that has always had a light on in his room as

>well as down the hall and all the bedroom doors are at least

>partially

>open. I thought 'how odd' and then last night he told me that he is

>afraid of mosquitoes. At first he wouldn't tell me why he wanted the

>changes. I probably could have responded better but I said that

>mosquitoes could pretty much see at night without the light on. Oops.

>I did try to find out what he was afraid of and explained that they

>couldn't really hurt him but he didn't want to discuss it. It

>occurred

>to me later that this may be OCD-related. What do you think? How

>would

>you respond? Thanks for your help. I appreciate the support (what is

>the new cath-phrase? - 24/7)

>

[Guest guest]

Kathy, Steve may make cracks about your sense of humor, but I'm sitting at my

desk laughing out loud as I read your comments about bossing back mosquitos.

Lynn

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Over time I've come to trust my " how odd " gut reactions to Kellen's

behavior, in re: whether something is OCD-related or not. Anything that was

a non-issue--then is suddenly a big thing--or a sudden new way of doing

something--usually means OCD. If Kel doesn't want to talk about it, that's

the clincher.

Usually I don't even bother evaluating new fears or worries anymore, to

determine whether they are OCD or not. A " normal " fear is often soon

carried away by the OCD anyway, so I just assume.

Kel has OCD around mosquitoes, ants and other insects as well. I don't

think she has an idea of them as carrying disease germs, it's more their

potential to bite or sting and that they're creepy. We've done lots of

exposure to insects this summer--nature programming (insects up close and

personal!), catching lightning bugs, IDing insects swarming under a

floodlight. I bought Kellen a T-shirt with realistic bees on the front--she

could only wear it for a few minutes to begin with, it made her skin crawl.

Last week all three of us spent two hours up a ladder watching a cicada

split out of its shell. We had a head lice scare last week (her first week

of school, she was already wound up) and she handled the idea calmly. She's

back to leaving the door open all the time, letting in all sorts of flies,

mosquitoes, and so on--something she was careful not to do earlier this

season, she would open the door only a few inches and squeeze in sideways.

Yesterday she sat still to watch a mosquito bite her arm.

Kathy R. in Indiana

Mosquitoes

> Hi All!

> My son Cameron (age 6)has been relatively symptom-free for a while

> now. Lately, he has been turning off all the lights at bedtime and

> shutting all the doors and covering himself from head to toe with a

> sheet. This is a kid that has always had a light on in his room as

> well as down the hall and all the bedroom doors are at least

> partially

> open. I thought 'how odd' and then last night he told me that he is

> afraid of mosquitoes. At first he wouldn't tell me why he wanted the

> changes. I probably could have responded better but I said that

> mosquitoes could pretty much see at night without the light on. Oops.

> I did try to find out what he was afraid of and explained that they

> couldn't really hurt him but he didn't want to discuss it. It

> occurred

> to me later that this may be OCD-related. What do you think? How

> would

> you respond? Thanks for your help. I appreciate the support (what is

> the new cath-phrase? - 24/7)

>

[Guest guest]

>Yesterday she sat still to watch a mosquito bite her arm.

>

>Kathy R. in Indiana

GO KELLEN GO!!

Around here we joke about the " OCD Flea " !

hugs - wendy

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[Guest guest]

Hi ,

OCD fears often appear for no reason at all and are sometimes " triggered " by

environmental " prompts " . For kids, items on the news and in the media are a

common prompt. Don't know where you live, but I'm in New York, and we've

been hearing many alarms about the rapidly spreading mosquito-borne West

nile virus, which can be fatal for young kids (danger, threat--prime fodder

for OCD). That jumped to my mind when I read about Cameron's sudden fear of

mosquitoes.

If this is even relevant to you, gently discussing such a news item may open

the flood gates of fear. Then you can lay to rest some of the grossly

exaggerated fears with the rational realities, which by the way, does often

help kids with OCD (not everyone, not all of the time).

Take care,

Aureen Pinto Wagner, Ph.D.

> Mosquitoes

>

>

> > Hi All!

> > My son Cameron (age 6)has been relatively symptom-free for a while

> > now. Lately, he has been turning off all the lights at bedtime and

> > shutting all the doors and covering himself from head to toe with a

> > sheet. This is a kid that has always had a light on in his room as

> > well as down the hall and all the bedroom doors are at least

> > partially

> > open. I thought 'how odd' and then last night he told me that he is

> > afraid of mosquitoes. At first he wouldn't tell me why he wanted the

> > changes. I probably could have responded better but I said that

> > mosquitoes could pretty much see at night without the light on. Oops.

> > I did try to find out what he was afraid of and explained that they

> > couldn't really hurt him but he didn't want to discuss it. It

> > occurred

> > to me later that this may be OCD-related. What do you think? How

> > would

> > you respond? Thanks for your help. I appreciate the support (what is

> > the new cath-phrase? - 24/7)

> >

>

>

>

>

> You may subscribe to the OCD-L by emailing listserv@... . In

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>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Wow, that's amazing.

My son , 9, has been terrified of bees and dogs since he was 2. We only recently got a diagnosis of OCD. I'm in the process of trying to find a behavioral therapist to help him with these problems. It 's exciting to hear about your success.

Terry

Mosquitoes> Hi All!> My son Cameron (age 6)has been relatively symptom-free for a while> now. Lately, he has been turning off all the lights at bedtime and> shutting all the doors and covering himself from head to toe with a> sheet. This is a kid that has always had a light on in his room as> well as down the hall and all the bedroom doors are at least> partially> open. I thought 'how odd' and then last night he told me that he is> afraid of mosquitoes. At first he wouldn't tell me why he wanted the> changes. I probably could have responded better but I said that> mosquitoes could pretty much see at night without the light on. Oops.> I did try to find out what he was afraid of and explained that they> couldn't really hurt him but he didn't want to discuss it. It> occurred> to me later that this may be OCD-related. What do you think? How> would> you respond? Thanks for your help. I appreciate the support (what is> the new cath-phrase? - 24/7)> You may subscribe to the OCD-L by emailing listserv@... . In the body of your message write: subscribe OCD-L your name. The Archives, Files, and Features List for the may be accessed by going to , enter your email address and password, then point and click. Subscription issues, problems, or suggestions may be addressed to Louis Harkins, list owner, at harkins@... .

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 8/26/00 5:39:40 AM, aureen@... writes:

<< Don't know where you live, but I'm in New York, and we've

been hearing many alarms about the rapidly spreading mosquito-borne West

nile virus, which can be fatal for young kids (danger, threat--prime fodder

for OCD). That jumped to my mind when I read about Cameron's sudden fear of

mosquitoes. >>

Just want to add that this also came to my mind immediately when I read about

Cameron's new fear of mosquitoes. Even in California we have been reading

the alarms from New York (and as far north as Boston) re mosquitoes and West

Nile Virus. And as of last spring was commenting on a new area of our

city that has a body of rather still water, he said " hmm, they are

developing a perfect mosquito-breeding area " . And he was only partly joking.

I am sure read about it (because I did) in Science or Nature or

Science News that I subscribe to and that were carrying the word of West Nile

Virus since last August/September. Since the discussion of mosquitos began

here, I have been wondering about the distinction between OCD exaggerated

fears and concerns that are more realistic, and how or where do you draw the

line. I have been wondering if my noting the issue of mosquitoes and WNV is

being OCDish myself. Today when said he couldn't help paint a room

because he feared that the fumes were carcinogenic, I later found myself

thinking that while I have no fear of fumes and maybe don't even worry enough

about various environmental hazards, I wouldn't suggest that someone

deliberately expose themselves to fumes, in order to conquer a fear about

them, nor if I were in New York at the moment, would I consider deliberately

hanging out with mosquitoes.

So how do we make the distinction between concern and caution that is

appropriate and Os that relate to real hazards in our children (and adult

children) lives. I feel that I was much too heavy on worry and warning with

my children, but I still find this specific issue confusing. For example I

was very adamant about the danger of HIV infection and the importance of

practicing safe sex when my sons were in their late teens. But 's OCD

really showed up (though I didnt know what it was) in the wake of a virus at

around 18 or 19, which immediately followed his having sex with a woman who

was an ex heroin addict. He became convinced that he might have contacted

HIV, and I was plenty scared for him and along with him. I certainly didn't

realize it was OCD, I thought he was depressed and had put himself at great

risk and had some reason to be fearful. I later realized that the degree he

took his hypochondria really was his OCD, but that was much later. And when

I understood that the very long episode was part of OCD, I wondered if my

earlier warnings to my sons about safe sex had contributed to the specifics

of some of the Os that struggles with.

I would really appreciate knowing what you all think about the distinction

I'm wondering about here, and how a parent (or for me now, a grandparent, my

other son, , has a son) can provide enough guidance (and warnings when

appropriate) without contributing to OCD when there is a genetic basis for it

to develop.

Lynn

[Guest guest]

HI Lynn:

We also know about the West Nile Virus here out west in the wilds of Hawai`i!

The question you are asking is an important one. I have to remind myself

to do the same as I would have done before I knew that OCD was in my life.

So teaching road safety is necessary, giving information about STDs is

necessary, encouraging them to wear seat belts, bike helmets, and other

reasonable safety measures are very appropriate.

Since anxiety is very contagious I am also careful to encourage reasonable

risk taking behavior as I have also wondered if my cautions have

contributed to Steve's OCD. Although he has mentioned certain possible

triggers, I feel he was programmed to be OCD after a number of anxiety

provoking experiences. So I think what they were is not as important as

recognizing life has anxious moments and we cannot really protect our kids

from them. What we can do is teach them how to live with anxiety and also

how to live with uncertainty.

We do not know that breathing paint fumes is or is not causing cancer in

us. We cannot know this. Quite possibly for some individuals who are

susceptible this is not recommended, however for most people their immune

systems can cope very well with such an exposure. Neither you nor Steve

can know if he is average or different, it is this uncertainty that he has

to learn to live with. The way he can do this is by facing the anxiety,

experiencing an anxiety spike, not perform any anxiety-reducing rituals,

and wait for habituation to occur. You can encourage him to do this and

compliment him for achieving this successfully. Anxiety is not lethal, it

just feels like it is.

Most of the things we tell our kids about safe sex, etc. are very common

societal messages that they pick up elsewhere even if we don't push it.

For example Steve was on a school trip overnight in Honolulu when the kids

started talking about a woman who was drugged by someone slipping something

in her glass. Well Steve could not drink out of the hotel water glass and

started to obsess big time about someone poisoning him. He could just as

easily have picked this up from watching a movie or news report about date

rape. We cannot avoid possible triggers and in fact have to look on these

as learning opportunities for our beloved OCDers. Provoking their anxiety

is the way to recovery, provided that it is done with a mind to where on

their hierarchy this is happening. Protecting them by watching out what we

say or wht they hear is just letting OCD boss us around and sends our

beloved OCDers a subtle message that we do not believe they can triumph

over anxiety.

Take care, aloha from a former worry-wart mom, Kathy (H)

kathyh@...

At 12:16 AM 08/27/2000 EDT, you wrote:

>

>In a message dated 8/26/00 5:39:40 AM, aureen@... writes:

>

><< Don't know where you live, but I'm in New York, and we've

>been hearing many alarms about the rapidly spreading mosquito-borne West

>nile virus, which can be fatal for young kids (danger, threat--prime fodder

>for OCD). That jumped to my mind when I read about Cameron's sudden fear of

>mosquitoes. >>

>

>Just want to add that this also came to my mind immediately when I read

about

>Cameron's new fear of mosquitoes. Even in California we have been reading

>the alarms from New York (and as far north as Boston) re mosquitoes and West

>Nile Virus. And as of last spring was commenting on a new area of

our

>city that has a body of rather still water, he said " hmm, they are

>developing a perfect mosquito-breeding area " . And he was only partly

joking.

>I am sure read about it (because I did) in Science or Nature or

>Science News that I subscribe to and that were carrying the word of West

Nile

>Virus since last August/September. Since the discussion of mosquitos began

>here, I have been wondering about the distinction between OCD exaggerated

>fears and concerns that are more realistic, and how or where do you draw the

>line. I have been wondering if my noting the issue of mosquitoes and WNV is

>being OCDish myself. Today when said he couldn't help paint a room

>because he feared that the fumes were carcinogenic, I later found myself

>thinking that while I have no fear of fumes and maybe don't even worry

enough

>about various environmental hazards, I wouldn't suggest that someone

>deliberately expose themselves to fumes, in order to conquer a fear about

>them, nor if I were in New York at the moment, would I consider deliberately

>hanging out with mosquitoes.

>

>So how do we make the distinction between concern and caution that is

>appropriate and Os that relate to real hazards in our children (and adult

>children) lives. I feel that I was much too heavy on worry and warning with

>my children, but I still find this specific issue confusing. For example I

>was very adamant about the danger of HIV infection and the importance of

>practicing safe sex when my sons were in their late teens. But 's OCD

>really showed up (though I didnt know what it was) in the wake of a virus at

>around 18 or 19, which immediately followed his having sex with a woman who

>was an ex heroin addict. He became convinced that he might have contacted

>HIV, and I was plenty scared for him and along with him. I certainly didn't

>realize it was OCD, I thought he was depressed and had put himself at great

>risk and had some reason to be fearful. I later realized that the degree he

>took his hypochondria really was his OCD, but that was much later. And when

>I understood that the very long episode was part of OCD, I wondered if my

>earlier warnings to my sons about safe sex had contributed to the specifics

>of some of the Os that struggles with.

>

>I would really appreciate knowing what you all think about the distinction

>I'm wondering about here, and how a parent (or for me now, a grandparent, my

>other son, , has a son) can provide enough guidance (and warnings when

>appropriate) without contributing to OCD when there is a genetic basis for

it

>to develop.

>

>Lynn

[Guest guest]

The more sugar you have in your blood stream the more you are attacked.

Hope this helps.

Mosquitoes

I noticed that Dr. Weil advised to stay away from black and white

materials that drive the mosquitoes crazy and use oils mixtures like

pennyroyal and eucalyptus. If you live in an area where mosquitoes swarm

like MN or Alaska, you should use an insect repellent with either

gernoil or neem oil.

Heidi said she uses citronella oil. Maybe one of these will help with

those of us who have a tendency to draw those mosquitoes.

Are these common products that you can buy at any place like Wal-Mart or

Target, or do you need to get them at a HFS?

[Guest guest]

,

That is interesting --- a very good reason to cut out sugar as I hear

the 'west nile' mosquito will be invading the west coast this year.

[Guest guest]

, I don't know if this works, but, a 'downy sheet " tucked into the

belt is supposed to deter the little critters.

[Guest guest]

I'll give it a try. I'm one of those people who usually gets bit when no one

else does.

Re: Mosquitoes

> , I don't know if this works, but, a 'downy sheet " tucked into the

> belt is supposed to deter the little critters.

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Betty, I have using the Bounce sheets for myself and karac; it does work

great. How is Evan doing? Are you looking forward to school starting? Karac

has

been doing well at my house, but not well at home. I think his home gives him

sensory overload; it is too caotic. Did you get the fence that you wanted?

Thanks for passing along the suggestions. LOL, Pat K

[Guest guest]

If Karac's home is anything like ours, it is a lot to handle.

Evan and start school in one week. For some reason I was thinking two

weeks. Don't know where I got that idea unless I was still thinking it was

the first of the month. I go to the Planning commission meeting this

Wednesday but I am not happy with their suggestion that we put in wrought

iron fence. We have chain link all ready and that is what I want to replace

it with since that is hundreds of dollars cheaper and we have to replace

another fence in the back also with cedar that will cost about a thousand.

These guys must think social security pays big time or it is their way to

pretend to let us go to the 5' without actually saying heck no. I vented

about it in another post already so guess I should not do it again here. lol

BETTY ANN-61 yo, possibly Bipolar but undx'd,

Effexor, Buspar, Lorazepam as needed, Serenity

grandma and guardian to

ANDREW - 12 yo-- Bipolar/ADHD, Homeschooled

Depakote 500 mg. 2 x daily, Adderall 30 mg daily, Abilify 7.5 mg 1 x daily

EVAN - 9 yo-- nonverbal autism

Risperdal 2.5 cc daily, Abilify 15 mg 1x daily

DAVID 7 yo Bipolar/ADHD/PTSD

Adderall 20 mg daily, .5 mg Risperdal 2 x daily

and mother to ANDREA -32 yo, their mom -

Bipolar/ADHD, Topamax, Trileptal, Wellbutrin, Singular, Serenity

wife to BOB - 72 yo, a very patient and tired grandpa

Re: Mosquitoes

> Betty, I have using the Bounce sheets for myself and karac; it does work

> great. How is Evan doing? Are you looking forward to school starting?

Karac has

> been doing well at my house, but not well at home. I think his home gives

him

> sensory overload; it is too caotic. Did you get the fence that you

wanted?

> Thanks for passing along the suggestions. LOL, Pat K

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Betty, are you going to continue to homeschool ? What grade will he be

in? Isn't that really hard?

We are trying to get Karac transferred to the school where his summer school

teacher teaches; but so far the district has denied the transfer request.

Karac goes back to school August 20.

How are you liking the Abilify? LOL, Pat K

[Guest guest]

Lemon-eucalyptus can beat mosquitoes

Los Angeles Daily News

As the weather heats up and mosquitoes threaten to ruin summer

outings, it's time to break out that mosquito repellent.

If you're among those who hate using repellent because of its greasy

feeling and, well, repellent odor, don't turn to dubious folk

remedies like vitamin B12 or garlic, said Joe Conlon, adviser to the

American Mosquito Control Association.

The U.S. government's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

aware that many continue to shun mosquito repellent (namely DEET)

despite the danger of West Nile infection, recommends repellents that

include Picaridin or oil of lemon eucalyptus as active ingredients.

Compared to DEET, the newly supported repellents are not greasy and

have little to no smell, yet are just as effective. And unlike other

remedies you may have heard about, there is evidence to prove their

effectiveness.

You can find Picaridin-based repellents under the Cutter Advanced

brand, and lemon-eucalyptus-oil-based repellents under the Repel

brand, among others.