overly self-conscious

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I have been watching the posts lately and have seen many that make me think

of our situation. My son (age 11), officially diagnosed with GAD,

ODD and currently not on any medications, has settled into school fairly

well after Christmas. However any disruption to the normal routine (like a

substute teacher one day), sets him back. He is still far from keeping up

with the class or catching up after being sick all of last year, but he is

remaining relatively calm (major achievement). His teacher feels she needs

more to work with in terms of strategies but we're working on that and it

sure seems like OCD is alo involved in the scenario here. One unusual thing

I have noticed of late though is that although has been quite calm

the last week or so, he has become increasingly hyper sensitive and

concerned about everything he is feeling. He has started reporting mood

fluctuations and worrying about being hungry or thirsty as if these were

suddenly abnormal occurances. He does not seem to be eating more and

whereas before he would simply whine and complain, he is now overly self

conscious of everything he feels and keeps asking for reassurance. We are

treating it casually, not wanting it to become something he is anxious or

obssessive about but this is oddly different behaviour. Especially since he

seems concerned that things like normal hunger are symptomatic of something

" wrong " with him. Sound familiar to anyone?

Just curious,

ph

[Guest guest]

Yes, sounds very familiar,

Check out a book called " Shadow Syndromes " written by J. Ratey, M.D.

and , Ph.D. and published by Pantheon Books in New York.

Please be sure to read page 314 about the " PANDAS " . The PANDA children

were affectionately dubbed the " PANDAS " for " pediatric autoimmune

neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections " who have

developed obsessive-compulsive disorder as a direct result of having become

infected with strep throat. (page 314 of Shadow Syndromes).

Also, please go to " Type Search words or Keywords " on your computer and try

typing in " E. Van Winkle " and " Toxic Mind " . Dr. Edora Van Winkle is a

retired neuroscientist whose web site is extremely helpful!!

Good luck

[Guest guest]

Hi ph, I'm glad to hear has settled back into school

well. Your post after the holiday break, describing his distress

that first morning back, tugged at my heart.

Many kids, and certainly kids with OCD, are thrown a curve by

unexpected changes such as the substitute teacher you mention.

The " cure " for this as I'm sure you know, is to continue to provide

surprising situations for our kids to acclimate to. Over time with

support, you can expect that will cope well with surprise

changes to his routine, which is a very useful skill as life is full

of this sort of thing.

Thirst, hunger, and other bodily sensations seem to be common things

for our kids to over-focus and obsess on. My daughter also does this

from time to time, also she notices every time her belly gurgles, her

nose itches, etc., etc. I've always thought of this as related to

her sensory issues, which are also common in OCD kids. I've read of

OCD as being thought of as the opposite of ADD, where there is an

overabundance of focus and attention rather than a lack. I don't

know how valid this may be, but it's stuck with me since it's an apt

description of my daughter's behavior.

Tell that hunger sensations certainly *are* a sign something

is wrong--it means dinner is late! :-)

Kathy R in Indiana

> Hi,

> I have been watching the posts lately and have seen many that make

me think

> of our situation. My son (age 11), officially diagnosed

with GAD,

> ODD and currently not on any medications, has settled into school

fairly

> well after Christmas. However any disruption to the normal routine

(like a

> substute teacher one day), sets him back. He is still far from

keeping up

> with the class or catching up after being sick all of last year,

but he is

> remaining relatively calm (major achievement). His teacher feels

she needs

> more to work with in terms of strategies but we're working on that

and it

> sure seems like OCD is alo involved in the scenario here. One

unusual thing

> I have noticed of late though is that although has been

quite calm

> the last week or so, he has become increasingly hyper sensitive and

> concerned about everything he is feeling. He has started reporting

mood

> fluctuations and worrying about being hungry or thirsty as if these

were

> suddenly abnormal occurances. He does not seem to be eating more

and

> whereas before he would simply whine and complain, he is now overly

self

> conscious of everything he feels and keeps asking for reassurance.

We are

> treating it casually, not wanting it to become something he is

anxious or

> obssessive about but this is oddly different behaviour. Especially

since he

> seems concerned that things like normal hunger are symptomatic of

something

> " wrong " with him. Sound familiar to anyone?

[Guest guest]

Thank you for your response Kathy R. This list and it's discussions and the

reading I have been doing have allowed me to observe during a

reasonably stable time. Jessie's comment about her daughter checking the

dates on food rings true with me too and this is also a new development for

coinciding with this sudden concern about his level of hunger or

thirst, etc. He comes running to me with things demanding that we use it

that very day if that's what the label says. It's been starting to get on

my nerves since I privately take it as an afront to my less than perfect

skills in a role as primary caregiver that I had never aspired too. I feel

I'm lucky if I can live by something my mother once said: You can't eat off

my floors but I've never poisoned anyone. :-) Curiously, his behaviour has

been remarkably calm and upbeat this weekend, but I have this " lull before

the storm " feeling. Do OCD kids sometimes experience a temporary relief

from their anxieties when they find a new obssessive channel? Despite

inpatient and outpatient assessments still lacks an adequate

diagnosis and I have tried to step back and observe and understand him

better before going back to the hospital. He is of course, well aware of

the fact that he has a disablitiy or a " condition " and I am struck by how

valiantly he struggles to mask it. But there is like a whirlwind of anxiety

always brewing at his very core, just waiting to burst forth and when it

does it takes forever to pick up the pieces. So that even when he *seems*

well (ie he is reasonably easy to live with), there is another storm brewing

inside. How does one record and impress this on his caregivers? I know his

teacher will agree with this observation, and probably his aide. I just

hate to have to pick up and start all over again when it has taken three

years to get this far and meanwhile my kid is just holding his own and

somehow that's supposed to be *good enough*? Well, it's not.

ph, in the Canadian wilderness (or so it feels)

Re: overly self-conscious

> Hi ph, I'm glad to hear has settled back into school

> well. Your post after the holiday break, describing his distress

> that first morning back, tugged at my heart.

>

> Many kids, and certainly kids with OCD, are thrown a curve by

> unexpected changes such as the substitute teacher you mention.

> The " cure " for this as I'm sure you know, is to continue to provide

> surprising situations for our kids to acclimate to. Over time with

> support, you can expect that will cope well with surprise

> changes to his routine, which is a very useful skill as life is full

> of this sort of thing.

>

> Thirst, hunger, and other bodily sensations seem to be common things

> for our kids to over-focus and obsess on. My daughter also does this

> from time to time, also she notices every time her belly gurgles, her

> nose itches, etc., etc. I've always thought of this as related to

> her sensory issues, which are also common in OCD kids. I've read of

> OCD as being thought of as the opposite of ADD, where there is an

> overabundance of focus and attention rather than a lack. I don't

> know how valid this may be, but it's stuck with me since it's an apt

> description of my daughter's behavior.

>

> Tell that hunger sensations certainly *are* a sign something

> is wrong--it means dinner is late! :-)

>

> Kathy R in Indiana

[Guest guest]

HI ph:

People with anxiety disorders are often sensitized to their physical

functioning. SOmetimes it can be an OC spectrum disorder, hypochondriasis,

or it can be part of OCD itself, how the disorder morphs into a new set of

symptoms.

Kids with NBDs suffer from chronic inflexibility, so when their environment

changes, their anxiety spikes. As they get effective treatment this

improves.

Reassurance seeking is a very, very common symptom in OCD. YOur best bet

is to only answer a question once, even it if is skillfully reworded to

seem like another question. This will cause an anxiety spike but it is

important to work on extracting the family from participating in OCD. It

helps to warn ahead of time that you will be doing this as it helps to make

the OCD less powerful, and to have a set of pat answers developed for these

times. Things that have helped us is saying " It seems like OCD wants to

know a lot " or " Whose the boss you or OCD " or " I have answered that already

and cannot participate and let OCD boss me around " . These responses

require that your child understand how to stand up to the OCD.

Good luck, take care, aloha, Kathy (h)

kathyh@...

At 10:14 PM 01/21/2001 -0700, you wrote:

>Hi,

>I have been watching the posts lately and have seen many that make me think

>of our situation. My son (age 11), officially diagnosed with GAD,

>ODD and currently not on any medications, has settled into school fairly

>well after Christmas. However any disruption to the normal routine (like a

>substute teacher one day), sets him back. He is still far from keeping up

>with the class or catching up after being sick all of last year, but he is

>remaining relatively calm (major achievement). His teacher feels she needs

>more to work with in terms of strategies but we're working on that and it

>sure seems like OCD is alo involved in the scenario here. One unusual thing

>I have noticed of late though is that although has been quite calm

>the last week or so, he has become increasingly hyper sensitive and

>concerned about everything he is feeling. He has started reporting mood

>fluctuations and worrying about being hungry or thirsty as if these were

>suddenly abnormal occurances. He does not seem to be eating more and

>whereas before he would simply whine and complain, he is now overly self

>conscious of everything he feels and keeps asking for reassurance. We are

>treating it casually, not wanting it to become something he is anxious or

>obssessive about but this is oddly different behaviour. Especially since he

>seems concerned that things like normal hunger are symptomatic of something

> " wrong " with him. Sound familiar to anyone?

>Just curious,

>ph