teen with ocd?

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I am new to this site and I am hoping for some support and

experienced opinions.

My son has always had quirks, chanting, having trouble letting go of

ideas. He has never been good with socializing and seems unaware of

personal body space.

This summer ( his 14th yr) He started some weird " rituals " . He won't

use his hands to shut of light switches in the house, can't open

doors, if they are ajar but not wide open, he uses his foot to open;

them. He uses his feet to open the fridge, can't walk past a chair if

there isn't enough space (by his judgement) changes his clothes many

times a day, repeated hand washing.etc etc.

I took him to psychiatrist who feels he is OCD and has him doing CBT

and taking Prozac.

All of my son's OCD symptoms seem to only involve his younger

brother. It is only things that he believes his brother has

contaminated. Has anyone ever heard of this? Where the contamination

involves a specific person?

The therapy my son is in is through the Ministry of Families and is

free but is also in my opinion, inadequate and I am searching for

private help also. I can't seem to find any support for myself. Which

is another reason I am on here. I am a single mother ( father is

bipolar and completely out of our lives ) I have been alone 10yrs. I

am pretty worn out and I cry everyday. Being a single mom is hard,

being a parent of a teen is hard, being a parent of an OCD child is

hard. Add it all together and I feel so very overwhelmed. I can't

seem to get a straight answer on how I am supposed to be reacting to

his symptoms. Am I supposed to enable him by moving the chairs and

opening the doors? Am I supposed to not involve myself and force him

to face the consequences of his behaviours? I fluctuate back and

forth with both methods.

I would really appreciate any advice on how to deal with his

behaviours as well as any thoughts on the connection with his

brother. It would really help just to know that I am not the only one

dealing with all this.