compulsions without obsessions

[Guest guest]

Although I don't post too often, I read the board everyday and appreciate

everyone's candor and wisdom.

I know this topic has been covered in the past but it didn't really apply here

until now so I don't remember what's been written. Is it possible to have

compulsive behavior without obsessive thoughts? My daughter seems to. She's

only 4 3/4 so I don't know for sure what she's thinking but as far as I can

tell, her thoughts are not related to her actions. From the time she was 1

until about 4 1/2 she would rock up and down on her foot. The behavior wasn't

related to anything discernible i.e. stress or fear. She is not on the autistic

spectrum so it wasn't related to any spectrum disorder. It was just something

she compulsively did and finally about 3 or 4 months ago, she stopped. But now

her compulsion is constantly saying " I love Mama " over and over again. Without

exaggeration, she says it at least 250 times a day. When she's anxious or when

I do something that makes her very happy, she says it even more, but she pretty

much says it all day randomly throughout the

day. When she's busy and distracted or when she's not with me- like at school,

she doesn't say it.

I'm not sure if she's feeling insecure about something with me and there's

something unconscious at play or if this is just the way her compulsion is

manifesting at the current time. I'm grateful that she's not saying " I hate

Mama " but it's so extreme that when we're in public and she says it 20 times in

a row, it's not sweet. Any thoughts?

Happy New Year to everyone.

Jill

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