A leaflet about OCD for children

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "A leaflet about OCD for children"

Brittney Tate
3 years ago
Views:

1 A leaflet about OCD for children

2 Peter had a monster that followed him everywhere he went. Peter could never see the monster but he knew that he was there somewhere. Peter could remember when he first heard the monster. It was a Friday afternoon and he was at school in a Maths lesson. Peter hated Maths and was struggling to concentrate. Peter couldn t see the monster, but he could hear him. Something bad is going to happen soon, someone is going to get hurt whispered the monster. Peter pretended that he couldn t hear the monster, he didn t want to think about such horrible things. 2

3 really don t want to do. It may take a long time and you may feel like giving up. Just remember that lots of other children have OCD and lots of them have got better with the help of a therapist. You may be given challenges to do in between sessions. Sometimes this will be something your mum, dad or carer will be able to help you with. Something really bad is going to happen soon the monster said. Peter tried to pretend he couldn t hear again, but this only made the monster say it again louder. Something bad is going to happen With your therapist and your parents or carers hopefully you will beat your OCD monster! No it isn t, said Peter. All the children in the class looked at him and started laughing. Peter, no calling out in class, the teacher ordered, please control yourself! Oh yes it is! the monster exclaimed It will unless you touch all the corners of a room 5 times every time you go into a new room. But that is a silly thing to do, I don t want to do that whispered Peter. This booklet is part of a series of leaflets written and designed by Katie Miller, Assistant Psychologist. Input and advice was kindly provided by service users and staff within Northamptonshire Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service. 10 It s the only way to stop the bad thing from happening and to stop me saying all these horrible things, said the monster. Oh, Poor Peter, he really thought he had no choice; he had better start doing what the monster said. 3

4 From then onwards he had always done what the monster said, even though he felt stupid doing it. Sometimes it took him so long to do all the things the monster told him too that he would be late for school. In class he often didn t hear what the teacher was saying because he was concentrating on counting in his head. There are lots of children and adults who have OCD like Peter and Zak. OCD stands for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. OCD can make people feel really bad. OCD can be thought of as a monster (like Peter did) that stops you from living your life normally. Like Zak explained it has two parts, one part is that you think about bad things or worry. These are called obsessions. Then it makes you do things to calm down even though you don t want to. These are called compulsions Peter s obsessions were worries that something bad was going to happen to someone. Zak was worried that he would be contaminated by germs. At school the other children sometimes saw Peter doing his touching and they would say nasty things to him Peter, Peter why do you always touch everything? You must be mad! Peter would just shrug, They are right he thought I must be mad. Sometimes Peter s mum would ask him what he was doing when he was doing his counting and touching. Peter didn t know how to answer, he was sure his mum would think he was crazy if he told her about the 4 Peter s compulsions were counting to 50 and touching the corners of rooms. Zak s compulsions were washing his hands over and over again. If you have already been to your doctor and to meet someone at CAMHS then you may be waiting for a therapist to help you with your OCD. This therapist will help you to face your fears and to cut down on doing your compulsions. This will involve some hard work, but it will be worth it in the end because you will be able to get on with your life a bit more normally. Your therapist will never make you do something that you 9

5 I thought I did too, but my doctor was really nice, he said he thought I might have OCD too but that he would send me to a place called CAMHS to see what they thought. They know about this sort of thing. Did you go? asked Peter. Yep I went and it was OK. Zak told him, A bit scary at first, I don t like telling people about it. I met a lady there and she was nice. I am waiting to see someone who is going to help me cut down on washing my hands. You should tell your mum, things could get better. So, what is OCD? Peter asked Zak. Zak explained that it was something which made you think bad things over and over and then make you worry. Then it makes you do things to calm down, even though you don t want to. monster. So he just shrugged and carried on doing the touching like the monster said. Peter s mum asked him Peter why won t you tell me why you re doing that? But Peter just didn t know what to say. This made his mum angry Oh Peter, I don t know what to do with you sometimes! You keep doing these strange things and we keep being late for things because of this. Peter thought it was never going to get better, he would never be free from the monster and he would never be able to make friends or play games like other children because he was so busy doing the monster s work. Maybe my monster is called OCD then thought Peter; I m going to tell mum and dad. 8 5

6 One day Peter walked into a classroom at break, trying to hide from the other children. He started touching the corners, just like always, when suddenly he noticed someone in the room. He was scared at first, what if it was the monster? He soon realised it was a boy he recognised from two years above him. He was older than Peter and Peter didn t know his name. The boy came over to Peter, Hi! he said putting out his hand. I m Zak. Hi replied Peter, shaking the boys hand warily. I m Peter I ve noticed you touching the walls in classrooms Zak said, I do some things a bit like that. Peter looked at the boy, he wasn t sure if he was teasing him. Peter was shocked; he wasn t the only one who had to do things. Maybe there were more people out there. Do you have a monster too? Peter asked. Zak smiled, Yeah, I guess you could call it a monster I just have these thoughts that bad things will happen if I don t do the washing, and I will get contaminated by germs. I managed to tell my mum about it. What did she do?! exclaimed Peter, terrified at the thought of doing the same with his mum. She remembered her uncle doing something a bit similar. She said that I might have something called OCD. So she took me to the doctor. I hate doctors said Peter. I sometimes have to wash my hands 10 times before and after I do anything. Zak explained, I ve been doing it for years. 6 7

Self-Acceptance. A Frog Thing by E. Drachman (2005) California: Kidwick Books LLC. ISBN 0-9703809-3-3. Grade Level: Third grade

Self-Acceptance. A Frog Thing by E. Drachman (2005) California: Kidwick Books LLC. ISBN 0-9703809-3-3. Grade Level: Third grade Self-Acceptance A Frog Thing by E. Drachman (2005) California: Kidwick Books LLC. ISBN 0-9703809-3-3 This Book Kit was planned by Lindsay N. Graham Grade Level: Third grade Characteristic Trait: Self Acceptance