Living with and/or parenting someone with OCD can be exhausting. The things their OCD wants them to do can be irrational. annoying, and time-consuming. And unfortunately, the natural, kind ways that we want to respond - helping them, reassuring them, doing things that can immediately reduce their anxiety - can actually increase their distress in the long run. Here is the information that I like to share with parents and family members of clients with OCD (and other anxiety disorders) to help them understand what is going on and what their role in treatment will be.

There are no magic words that will erase all frustrating childhood behaviors. So when you have all the ‘right’ skills but still (of course) have moments when you are frustrated and struggling and it just doesn’t seem to work ‘right’, here are some things to keep in mind…

If you’re tired of being the broken record of ‘no’s or feel like all of your energy is going into negotiating things you’re not sure you should be negotiating, some new limit setting techniques might help!