Teenagers with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, (OCD)
Everyone knows someone they might refer to as a "neat freak", the kind of person who likes everything in its place and cannot tolerate untidiness. We may even know someone who seems obsessed with personal hygiene and the presence of germs, constantly washing their hands and avoiding things they believe to be contaminated. Both of these types of people may well have a condition known as obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD.
This is a condition that often shows itself at first in late childhood and is especially prevalent in teenagers. OCD is a condition whereby the sufferer has extreme anxieties, bad thoughts and fears that they develop rituals to help them deal with, known as compulsions. Their fears, or obsessions, are irrational, but the person seems unable to put them into any perspective.
Scientists say that OCD is linked to the levels of serotonin in the brain, when the proper flow of this chemical is blocked, the brain overreacts and goes into anxiety mode, despite them being false alarms. The level of anxiety experienced by those with OCD is very real and the compulsions they develop to help cope with them will help temporarily, but then the anxiety returns even stronger and the compulsions also become more extreme.
The good news is that OCD can be effectively managed and controlled with therapy, allowing the sufferer to live a normal life. The bad news is that many cases of OCD are undiagnosed, especially in teenagers, and the resulting misery is extreme. If your teenager seems unnaturally anxious about something, seems fearful of unlikely happenings they may have the beginnings of OCD, the obsession element.
The compulsions will follow, but the teen is aware they do these repetitive, strange actions, and may try to hide them from the family. As a parent you may be very glad that your teenager has an immaculately tidy room, and is always punctilious about hygiene. The warning signs of this being a compulsion is when the teen repeatedly washes their hands, straightens pictures, and gets agitated if things are not tidy or in their proper place. Other teens may notice the OCD behavior before the family, and the teen may become the subject of cruel behavior as OCD is repetitive and odd the teen is regarded as peculiar and a worthy target for bullies. The teens' reaction may be extreme anxiety culminating in an aggressive response.
A teenager with OCD may get into trouble as their anxieties escalate and meeting only ridicule they become angry and confrontational. OCD is diagnosable by most good therapists, and treatment may take time, but is very effective. Before parents decide their teenager is just acting oddly, and behaving badly, it would be a good idea to take their teen to a therapist for assessment.