Why Trying to “Reason” With Your Child’s OCD Backfires
About this episode
This episode discusses why reasoning with a child's OCD can be counterproductive and offers strategies for parents.
It feels so natural to explain, reassure, and try to calm your child down when OCD is loud. After all, that’s how we solve problems in real life. But OCD doesn’t play by those rules. When we try to reason with OCD, we often get pulled deeper into its loop, answering more questions, giving more explanations, and still watching our child struggle. In this episode, I talk about why reasoning and reassurance can quietly fuel OCD, what’s actually happening in your child’s brain in those moments, and how to start shifting your role from “problem solver” to “anchor.” If you are a parent who finds yourself repeating the same answers over and over, or watching your child feel better for a moment only to spiral again, this episode will help you understand why and what to do instead. Links mentioned in episode: PDF handout SPACE Study Course Video on Reassurance as an OCD Compulsion Video on Confessing as an OCD Compulsion *** This podcast episode is sponsored by NOCD. NOCD provides online OCD therapy in the US, UK, Australia and Canada. To schedule your free 15 minute consultation to see if NOCD is a right fit for you and your child, go to https://go.treatmyocd.com/at_parenting This…
Sponsors
NOCD
More episodes of AT Parenting Survival | Raising Kids with OCD & Anxiety
- Why Adjusting Expectations Matters When Parenting a Child with Anxiety or OCD
- What Good Communication Actually Looks Like with Anxiety and OCD
- The Power of the Pause in Your Child’s Anxiety and OCD
- An Important Difference Between Anxiety vs OCD Reassurance
- ARFID: Is It OCD, Anxiety, or an Eating Disorder?
- OCD Compulsions Parents Don’t See
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