Guest guest Posted April 8, 2004 Report Share Posted April 8, 2004 Hi Jeanne, A couple things come to mind. Is he getting enough rest? (I know we've had some pretty late nights due to OCD ourselves.) Is he on medication, anything new, increase....? I ask because either of the above could give someone a " fuzzy " headed or dreamlike feeling, a " not quite all there " or " not quite reality " type feeling. I know I have read about similar feelings that meds have caused others (thinking of things I've read in other groups like the adult OCD group I lurk in, etc.). > > > My son has started something new. I'm pretty sure it is an obsession, > but I've never heard of anything like this before. > > He keeps worrying that maybe he is dreaming! For example, he wants > someone to accompany him into his room because sometimes in his dreams > monsters jump out, and he might really be dreaming. Yesterday, he was > brushing his teeth, and he asked his dad if he was really brushing his > teeth, or if it was just a dream. And, now he is starting to come up > with dream " tests " . " This probably isn't a dream because I could taste > my soda and I don't think you can taste things in dreams. " > > Anyway, I told him that it sounded like OCD, and he's thinking about it > now. I feel like once we've identified it as OCD, he'll be better able > to face it; but, it still struck me as a really weird obsession. > > Anyone else ever heard of this? > > > Jeanne > jwestpha@a... > NBCT - Exceptional Needs (2000) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 8, 2004 Report Share Posted April 8, 2004 Jeanne wrote: My son has started something new. I'm pretty sure it is an obsession, but I've never heard of anything like this before. He keeps worrying that maybe he is dreaming! For example, he wants someone to accompany him into his room because sometimes in his dreams monsters jump out, and he might really be dreaming. Yesterday, he was brushing his teeth, and he asked his dad if he was really brushing his teeth, or if it was just a dream. And, now he is starting to come up with dream " tests " . " This probably isn't a dream because I could taste my soda and I don't think you can taste things in dreams. " Anyway, I told him that it sounded like OCD, and he's thinking about it now. I feel like once we've identified it as OCD, he'll be better able to face it; but, it still struck me as a really weird obsession. Anyone else ever heard of this? Jeanne jwestpha@... NBCT - Exceptional Needs (2000) Our list archives, bookmarks, files, and chat feature may be accessed at: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group// . Our list advisors are Gail B. , Ed.D., Tamar Chansky, Ph.D., Aureen Pinto Wagner, Ph.D., and Dan Geller, M.D. Our list moderators are Birkhan, Castle, Fowler, Kathy Hammes, Joye, Kathy Mac, Gail Pesses, Kathy , Vivian Stembridge, and Jackie Stout. Subscription issues or suggestions may be addressed to Louis Harkins, list owner, at louisharkins@... , louisharkins@... , louisharkins@... .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 8, 2004 Report Share Posted April 8, 2004 > Hi Jeanne, > A couple things come to mind. > > Is he getting enough rest? (I know we've had some pretty late nights > due to OCD ourselves.) > > Is he on medication, anything new, increase....? > > I ask because either of the above could give someone a " fuzzy " headed > or dreamlike feeling, a " not quite all there " or " not quite reality " > type feeling. I know I have read about similar feelings that meds > have caused others (thinking of things I've read in other groups like > the adult OCD group I lurk in, etc.). > > Other than the switch with daylight savings time, he is sleeping well. (Takes Benadryl nightly to ensure this). He's not on any meds either. Good ideas though! Jeanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 8, 2004 Report Share Posted April 8, 2004 Hi Jeannie, my daughter did this and I did relate it to her OCD and doubt. She would ask for reassurance that she was awake and not dreaming while doing mundane, everyday things, and be quite persistent in asking me how I could be sure. Even now at 10 she's still sort of fascinated with the idea of dreaming vs. awake and will sometimes say (more often than most people) that she did such and such a thing, or maybe she just dreamed it but it seemed real. My daughter was first medicated about a month and a half after her onset and has been continuously since. Since I have read that SSRIs can cause vivid dreaming I did wonder if that prompted the obsession. I wonder though if OCD itself causes vivid dreams, or dreams that seem more real or somehow different to the child. For about a year and a half my daughter tried different SSRIs at a fairly rapid pace until we found one that worked well for her without side effects. Each time she started on a new one, it seemed to prompt at least briefly a whole new " list " of obsessions and compulsions, and the dream one popped up during one of these trials. She also had the fear of growing up obsession that someone else posted about recently, which didn't seem to have anything to do with maturing but instead changes in routine and how we did things. (It triggered her when I didn't cut up her meat or tie her shoes because I always had before--it was " right " in the OCD sense for me to do the things.) I know when people write in about their child's offbeat symptoms I frequently post that my child did too, I think at least in part because this series of SSRI trials was almost like living through an OCD symptom sampler pack or something. My rule of thumb when I notice a new behavior is to look for anxiety. If I don't see anxiety or worry around the issue then it's probably not OCD-related. In the years following my daughter's onset, before her symptoms were stabilized and well-treated, almost everything was indeed OCD in one way or another. Take care, Kathy R. in Indiana ----- Original Message ----- > > > My son has started something new. I'm pretty sure it is an obsession, > but I've never heard of anything like this before. > > He keeps worrying that maybe he is dreaming! For example, he wants > someone to accompany him into his room because sometimes in his dreams > monsters jump out, and he might really be dreaming. Yesterday, he was > brushing his teeth, and he asked his dad if he was really brushing his > teeth, or if it was just a dream. And, now he is starting to come up > with dream " tests " . " This probably isn't a dream because I could taste > my soda and I don't think you can taste things in dreams. " > > Anyway, I told him that it sounded like OCD, and he's thinking about it > now. I feel like once we've identified it as OCD, he'll be better able > to face it; but, it still struck me as a really weird obsession. > > Anyone else ever heard of this? > > > Jeanne > jwestpha@... > NBCT - Exceptional Needs (2000) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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