Does this sound like OCD...8 year old

August 17, 2009

Hello everyone,

I'm so thankful this message group exists. I have a quirky son and lately my

husband has been recognizing ocd type behaviors and he is really worried. I am

worried to, but wonder if it's just generalized anxiety.

My son has been having a lot of trouble at bedtime lately. He can take over an

hour to settle down and go to sleep. I know this is normal for kids, but this

has seemed more than a normal situation. It's like he must get up to tell me

something. What he has to tell me is usually something that a classmate of his

did wrong, or something that he did wrong. Even if it was something he did

wrong over a year ago, if it gets in his mind, he feels he must tell me. He

says that he feels like if he doesn't, then something bad will happen. He will

repeatedly get out of bed to do this. He also will go to the restroom before

bed even if he went 10 minutes ago. He swears he has to go. Everynight we used

to say the same exact thing before going to bed. It really bothered my husband,

so I quit taking part in it. My son didn't put up too big of a fight, but did

try the next night to say the phrases. My son is supposed to go to bed at 9 and

he has ended up going to bed closer to 10:30 with all of this stuff.

That is the worst of it but there are other things too. He is overly worried

about me getting killed in a car wreck to the point that he doesn't want me to

go anywhere without him. I have run errands and kept him home with his brother

and dad and when I came home he was in tears because he was certain that I was

in a car accident. When we leave the house he always asks me if I locked the

back door, the garage door and the front door. He sleeps on top of his sheets

because he says he feels bugs in the sheets. He says that if he scratches

something with his nails (like a table surface), he must then smooth it out.

Right now I'm feeling like he definitely suffers from anxiety. My husband on

the other hand feels like this is ocd in the making. He recognizes it because

he has had some ocd tendencies in the past, mostly in the form of superstitions

and prayers.

I would really appreciate any opinions you might have on this.

Thanks,

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