I would appreciate any feedback from professionals in the field or other parents who have experienced this with their child(ren). Thanks.
My son is 8 years old. Something which started occuring recently is that he is CONSTANTLY afraid of getting sick and throwing up. He also does not know if he feels nauseaus (spelling). In other words, when asked if he feels nauseaus, he says he does not know. He had a stomach virus not long ago and threw up a few times. I tried to explain to him that the feeling before he threw up is what we call nausea, but he still has doubts and is always asking if he is going to be OK or if he is nauseaus. He asks VERY often during the day and night if he is going to be OK. He constatnly needs to hear our reassurance. He makes me swear that he is not going to be sick. If he gets a stomach ache he starts to cry and gets really nervous. Is this OCD or some type of Anxiety disorder? I suffer from anxiety. Can this be genetic?
2006-08-15 08:59:38 · 5 answers · asked by Eli 2 in Health ➔ Mental Health
Funny, I thought I was the only kid in the world with a fear of puking... I am 30 now, but from the time I was about 5 yrs old I was scared to death of throwing up. I snuck pepto-bismol all the time if I even burped too much. I have a sister 10 yrs younger than me and we shared aroom till I moved out at 21. Whenevery she had a stomach virus, I'd sleep outdoors in a tent and wouldn't eat indoors or even use the same toilet she did. Every time she coughed I'd leave the room in a panic. Whenever my younger brother would fake a vomiting noise, I absolutely came unglued. I got over it after suffering salmonella as an adult. I threw up so much I just got used to it.
Buy a bottle of Tums all for him, and tell him to take one if he feels sick. As long as he doesn't take more than 4-6 a day, he can't really overdose on them. And take him to the doctor for a "check up" to help him know that he probably won't throw up again unless he is really, REALLY sick. My parents did this for me, and it helped me to get through the really tough bouts of anxiety. In the meantime, have him evaluated by a child psychologist. The anxiety may be a displacement of anxieties about school, friends, etc. The rougher his life is, the more fear he may experience.
2006-08-15 09:30:00 · answer #1 · answered by Angela M 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
All the revisting of his worries is reinforcing the worry.
When he was ill and threw up a few times, did he one time choke or something like that? If he did, he may have thought that he nearly died - which is pretty scary to anybody.
If possible, do not ask him if he is feeling ill as he'll start worrying that *you* are worrying and that therefore the likelihood of him being ill is very high.
He certainly seems to be suffering from anxiety, and maybe there's something else he's anxious about. It sometimes happens that young people focus on 'something else bad' if they are trying to not think about another 'bad thing'. A gentle chat with him should help him feel comfortable about airing anything else that's on his mind.
When he starts talking about his concern of being sick, make light of the matter and try to dismiss it as something trivial, and smile when you talk. If you look worried when you reply, he'll pick up on this and think the worst.
He's building up an inflated negative idea, and the more that the idea is thought of in a negative context, the larger the negative idea becomes. You can start to chip away at this massive negative idea by saying things (but only when he's raised the subject) like 'Oh, I've been sick and I'm absolutely fine' or 'oh, these things everybody gets and it passes very quickly and we get better' (which it sounds like you're already doing!!). Chip away at any negative thoughts of his with a positive thought. Imagine a large snowball as the negative thoughts and a snowflake as the positve thoughts. You need to chip snow from the large ball and build up the small ball (the positive thoughts) until it's bigger - following that he'll 'plug in' to positive thoughts far easier.
Best.
2006-08-16 02:00:07 · answer #2 · answered by skiparoouk 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I even have had particularly undesirable OCD for years and the only subject i ought to think of of is that if somebody drank to flee the OCD.....aside from that I dont see any connection in any respect. i comprehend particularly some those with OCD and none of them drink excessively (no longer that i comprehend of besides!) You dont rather say notwithstanding if alcoholism has offered on the OCD or any opposite direction around? i'm hoping this has helped slightly x
2016-10-02 03:14:50 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know that this falls under OCD, however I have children and I understand your situation. Try not to use words that you have to explain. Try to ask if his tummy is upset. I know with my kids if I use words that don't fully understand no matter how much I explain to them, they tend to panic if they think they have it. Here are some websites about andxiety being hereditary. There is still lots to learn, however I believe that anxiety can be controled with meditation. It worked for me and got me off my Klonopin. Now my 9 yr old meditates when he is stressed. GOOD LUCK.
GMM
http://www.npadnews.com/faqs.asp
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi
http://aacap.org/page.ww?The+Anxious+Child
http://www.childanxiety.net/
2006-08-15 09:11:49 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
yes this is a proven medical fact Obessive complusive disorder can be Genetic but it is not always like that you can find this information at www.medlineplus.com my ex girlfriend has OCD so i know alot about this disorder i,am so sorry to hear that your son is gong through that is a terrible anxeity disorder
2006-08-15 09:08:54 · answer #5 · answered by candyman198022 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋