How is OCD experienced by children and adolescents?
OCD affects children and adolescents during a very important period of social development. Schoolwork, home life, and friendships are often affected. Some children with OCD are too young to realize that their thoughts and actions are unusual. They may not understand or be unable to explain why they must go through their rituals. But older children may feel embarrassed–they don’t want to be “different” from their peers and may worry that they are “going crazy”. Fearing ridicule, children may hide their rituals when in front of friends at school or at home and become mentally exhausted from the strain. Some families resort to counting the number of bars of soap used daily as the only way to track a child’s washing rituals. Other children find their rituals so time-consuming that they are too tired to play with friends or concentrate in school. How does child and adolescent OCD differ from adult OCD? Although children and adults experience many of the same obsessions and compulsions, chi
