Since children can’t express their feelings as clearly as adults can, we often underestimate how powerful those feelings can be. Kids with OCD, who may be as young as 6, can have overwhelming, even paralyzing fears that they aren’t mature enough to understand. The rituals they develop — lining things up, tapping a certain number of times, touching things in a certain order, repeated hand-washing or asking for reassurance — serve to repel these fears, or obsessions, but they come right back.

This week on childmind.org, we take a close look at some of these outsize worries in kids with OCD. In addition to the common fears of contamination, or that something catastrophic will happen, kids with OCD often develop an intense fear of vomiting. They may worry about doing (or thinking) something violent. Some kids become distressed by sexual thoughts, or by fears that they may break religious rules or offend God. Some are even plagued by thoughts of suicide — a fear that is sometimes confused with being suicidal. And we explore the gold standard treatment for OCD, which is specialized to address a child’s particular obsessions.

– Caroline Miller, Editorial Director | ✉