Re: getting stuck in the shower

[Guest guest]

Raye Ann,

Interesting,to hear this subject come up. My 9 year old has always fought

with us about getting in the shower. He told us a few years ago that

monsters come up through the drain to get him, he doesn't like getting his

face wet but yet at the swimming pool shower he has no problem. We talked to

his therapist about this and he suggested fighting his imagination with his

imagination and he had him come up with a imaginary super hero to help him

in the shower. That worked maybe two times and then back to the fight. This

has exhausted me because you have to take showers and every time it would be

a huge battle with crying and screaming, ugg!! He is a little better now,

but I have to stay in the bathroom with him which I think he is getting old

for that. I look forward to the day when I can just ask him to go take a

shower and he will. The other thing is once he gets in the shower and gets

his head wet he wants to stay forever. That part I don't mind as much. Never

thought of this as OCD until you brought it up. I also wondered if it was a

sensory thing.

_____

From:

[mailto: ] On Behalf Of Lee Absher

Sent: Saturday, September 02, 2006 12:35 AM

Subject: getting " stuck " in the shower

I am new to the group and have learned much from reading posts from

everyone. I accidently deleted an email that mentioned a sibling helping the

OCD sister get through being " stuck " in the shower. I wondered if others see

the shower as a major OCD issue-- and have any insight into what to do to

help-- and whether anyone's teen avoids the shower--maybe because they get

" stuck " there. Thanks for any insight. Raye Anne

---------------------------------

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[Guest guest]

In a message dated 9/2/2006 12:40:36 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,

radljwa@... writes:

.. I accidently deleted an email that mentioned a sibling helping the OCD

sister get through being " stuck " in the shower.

Raye Anne

Hi - that post was mine. Our dd was diagnosed last January, she was

14yrs... she's 15 now. Her issues are contamination (giving germs to

others.... not

necessarily getting them herself). She had HORRIBLE times with showers -

her longest time was over 3.5 hours at the worst point with OCD. It was

exhausting for everyone - especially me, since there were no other females in

the

family to help out. You had to be in there with her.

At the height of her OCD, I was actually washing her. She couldn't do

anything herself. She would stand in the shower, crying because she couldn't

stop

washing. It was awful. The bathroom was referred to as " that place. " She

would beg & plead with me " Please mom - don't make me go in that place

alone... please help me mommy. " It broke my heart. The frustration was

horrible.

What is your child's situation? Daughter/son? Age? I'd be happy to email

any information I can.... we have company for the weekend & will not be on

email quite so much for the next day or two, but let me know what's going on

and

I'll offer up anything I can. My dd also had issues with laundry -

clothing, no matter what, could only be worn once then had to be washed. Her

clothing was literally falling apart from over-washing. We also had the

excessive

hand washing and she had some rituals (which she still does) related to hand

washing. There are other things too -- but no time to go into them right now.

Is your child in therapy? On meds?

LT

[Guest guest]

As for the deleted post, you can go to the group site and find old posts there.

My OCDer prefers the shower and avoids the bath. She worries that her toys will

go down the drain and wants to put them all away and stay in the tub until all

the water is gone, to be sure they wont go down the drain. She is 5 and her

younger sister is 3. If she chooses a shower, she wants to watch her sister in

the tub when she gets out, to make sure of the toys.

Sharon

getting " stuck " in the shower

I am new to the group and have learned much from reading posts from everyone.

I accidently deleted an email that mentioned a sibling helping the OCD sister

get through being " stuck " in the shower. I wondered if others see the shower as

a major OCD issue-- and have any insight into what to do to help-- and whether

anyone's teen avoids the shower--maybe because they get " stuck " there. Thanks

for any insight. Raye Anne

---------------------------------

Get your email and more, right on the new .com

[Guest guest]

Could you put a bath matt over the drain? Then he cant see the drain and no

monsters can come through it?

I think it is sensory, both my girls LOVE standing in the shower with hot water

pounding on their backs.

Sharon

getting " stuck " in the shower

I am new to the group and have learned much from reading posts from

everyone. I accidently deleted an email that mentioned a sibling helping the

OCD sister get through being " stuck " in the shower. I wondered if others see

the shower as a major OCD issue-- and have any insight into what to do to

help-- and whether anyone's teen avoids the shower--maybe because they get

" stuck " there. Thanks for any insight. Raye Anne

---------------------------------

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[Guest guest]

(17) takes long showers but not overly long (not hours). It

hasn't been major for us. But it is OCD affecting his stay in there,

as I'll tell him to hurry up and he'll answer he's not sure if he can,

in that way that tell me it's OCD involved some way. He has said he

likes to stand there, it relaxes him, but that " look " on his face when

I tell him to hurry tells " me " there's some OCD.

did avoid a lot of things due to OCD and getting stuck. At

one time I couldn't blame him, as he could be stuck an hour or hours.

But luckily this never included the shower! What he had to actively

work on was just trying to shorten his " stuck " times, to get un-stuck

sooner; a mental type " push " to himself I guess.

>

> I am new to the group and have learned much from reading posts from

everyone. I accidently deleted an email that mentioned a sibling

helping the OCD sister get through being " stuck " in the shower. I

wondered if others see the shower as a major OCD issue-- and have any

insight into what to do to help-- and whether anyone's teen avoids

the shower--maybe because they get " stuck " there. Thanks for any

insight. Raye Anne

>

>

> ---------------------------------

> Get your email and more, right on the new .com

>

>

[Guest guest]

LT,

My 12 year old son gets stuck in the shower. He also thinks he contaminates

other and other things. He takes long HOT showers. He comes out faint with red

skin. We also have tons of hand washing. In fact, his hands are cracked as of

yesterday and I have a hard time getting him to use lotion. His clothes can

only be worn once and sometimes he has to change two or three times per day. He

can load the washer but cannot move the clean clothes to the dryer or take them

from the dryer and fold them because he will contaminate them before they're

even worn. If he has a bad thought while he's getting dressed, those clothes

are contaminated before they're even worn and but be washed again. I could go

on and on..........sorry. My point is, I definitely can relate to you although

I don't have to be in the bathroom with him. His current meds aren't working

and we're meeting with a new doc on Tuesday to hopefully transition to something

different. We're also exploring the

idea of trying some natural supplements to see if that does any good. Is your

daughter on meds at all? Any luck?

Best of luck to you,

Glenda

jtlt@... wrote:

In a message dated 9/2/2006 12:40:36 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,

radljwa@... writes:

.. I accidently deleted an email that mentioned a sibling helping the OCD

sister get through being " stuck " in the shower.

Raye Anne

Hi - that post was mine. Our dd was diagnosed last January, she was

14yrs... she's 15 now. Her issues are contamination (giving germs to others....

not

necessarily getting them herself). She had HORRIBLE times with showers -

her longest time was over 3.5 hours at the worst point with OCD. It was

exhausting for everyone - especially me, since there were no other females in

the

family to help out. You had to be in there with her.

At the height of her OCD, I was actually washing her. She couldn't do

anything herself. She would stand in the shower, crying because she couldn't

stop

washing. It was awful. The bathroom was referred to as " that place. " She

would beg & plead with me " Please mom - don't make me go in that place

alone... please help me mommy. " It broke my heart. The frustration was horrible.

What is your child's situation? Daughter/son? Age? I'd be happy to email

any information I can.... we have company for the weekend & will not be on

email quite so much for the next day or two, but let me know what's going on and

I'll offer up anything I can. My dd also had issues with laundry -

clothing, no matter what, could only be worn once then had to be washed. Her

clothing was literally falling apart from over-washing. We also had the

excessive

hand washing and she had some rituals (which she still does) related to hand

washing. There are other things too -- but no time to go into them right now.

Is your child in therapy? On meds?

LT

[Guest guest]

Mat on the drain, great idea I will have to give that a try!

_____

From:

[mailto: ] On Behalf Of kidsnpets

Sent: Saturday, September 02, 2006 8:49 AM

Subject: Re: getting " stuck " in the shower

Could you put a bath matt over the drain? Then he cant see the drain and no

monsters can come through it?

I think it is sensory, both my girls LOVE standing in the shower with hot

water pounding on their backs.

Sharon

getting " stuck " in the shower

I am new to the group and have learned much from reading posts from

everyone. I accidently deleted an email that mentioned a sibling helping the

OCD sister get through being " stuck " in the shower. I wondered if others see

the shower as a major OCD issue-- and have any insight into what to do to

help-- and whether anyone's teen avoids the shower--maybe because they get

" stuck " there. Thanks for any insight. Raye Anne

---------------------------------

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[Guest guest]

I have to admit, I have OCD as well. Never really realized it until dd was

diagnosed. But when we moved into this house, I had a HUGE deal about the old

owners germs left in the house. It was really hard for me. I put rubber mats

on the floors in the tubs/showers, so I wouldnt feel like I was standing where

they stood. Later, I was ok with them gone, after we lived here awhile. Then

we had a mouse problem and when I would shower, I would imagine mice coming up

the drain. Realistically I knew that wouldnt happen, but I had to put the mat

back to cover the drain. I dont have it there anymore, but I do think about

that almost every single day when I shower. So I can completely understand your

ds and the monsters. I hope the mat helps!

Sharon

getting " stuck " in the shower

I am new to the group and have learned much from reading posts from

everyone. I accidently deleted an email that mentioned a sibling helping the

OCD sister get through being " stuck " in the shower. I wondered if others see

the shower as a major OCD issue-- and have any insight into what to do to

help-- and whether anyone's teen avoids the shower--maybe because they get

" stuck " there. Thanks for any insight. Raye Anne

---------------------------------

Get your email and more, right on the new .com

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 9/2/2006 9:39:03 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,

g_mart1971@... writes:

Is your daughter on meds at all? Any luck?

Glenda

Yes, she was put on Prozac (generic though) in January - started at 10mg &

is now up to 50mg. It was the 50mg that was the 'magic' amount. She is

completely functional on her own now, back down to the 15-30 minute showers,

which

is pretty much a regular amount of time for her. It took us 3-4 months on

meds to achieve that.

Your son won't use lotion because it stings. That was my dd too.... she

would cry when she used it. Here's a tip for the hands: immediately remove

whatever hand soap you're using in your bathrooms & kitchen and replace it all

with Cetaphyl pump soap. Use it until his hands are better (not dry &

cracked), then only use non-antibacterial soap in the house. It's not easy to

find,

but it's out there (everyone is on the big antibacterial kick you know)...

anyways you can get it at Target if you have that store by you - the brand

name is Method. I also used baby bath liquid soap by & for

awhile. The family liked that better because it 'foamed' like regular soap

should - the Cetaphyl doesn't... kind of like trying to wash with lotion - ha.

As far as the laundry, to save his clothes & your money (on new clothes cuz

his will start falling apart soon), I do all the laundry for my daughter -

everything goes on cold/cold, knit delicate in the washer. I only actually

wash her stuff once a week and every other time during the week (anything other

than socks & underwear) just got tossed in the dryer on 'air fluff' with a

dryer sheet to freshen them up. She never knew.

Thankfully we're over that now too. The Prozac has been a life-saver for us.

LT

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 9/3/2006 9:04:44 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,

g_mart1971@... writes:

Thanks for all the tips!! Maybe we should try the Prozac??

Glenda

Well, what works for one person doesn't necessarily work for another -- but

as I said, we had GREAT luck with Prozac. Just be sure to increase in very

small doses.... again, we only did 10mg each month.

Good luck!!!

LT