OCD in Children

There is nothing more exhausting, frustrating, and heartbreaking  than having a child with OCD. I don’t mean that in a negative way but it can really start to impact not only the child but also the entire family. It can really start causing issues with daily routines along with the underlying anxiety it causes for your child. The start of it all is usually with intrusive thoughts. The idea that something bad might happen and a lot of the time it is usually something that isn’t harmful regardless.

Once these thoughts keep prevailing is when it turns into an action. Oftentimes the cause of OCD to start with is ongoing anxiety or stress. This can be troubling for a lot of parents as the thought of their child having anxiety or stress makes them feel like they are doing something wrong or there is something wrong in the household. This is not the case, this stress or anxiety is usually caused by an event or issue that took place years ago. 

What actually causes OCD in Children

We went over the fact that underlying stress and anxiety is usually the cause of OCD in children but how does this happen? Well it is usually stemming from a nervous system issue. The nervous system isn’t filtering out the right amount of information which sends the body into a chronic state of stress and anxiety. This nervous system issue can stem from the birthing process as a lot of stress is put on the head and delicate upper neck structures. It can also be  caused by trips and falls causing the bones in the neck to misalign, foods or chemicals that your child might be sensitive to, or a stressful environment. 

We can definitely limit things that are happening in the environment and get a better diet going for our children but we still need to fix the problem that occurred from these stressors. The biggest challenge with OCD is changing the patterns that have been created from the nervous system dysfunction happening overtime. 

Although these patterns may just seem like something that is a patterned behavior externally like turning off a light switch, making sure things are in a particular order, etc. There is usually a very deep pattern that is going on inside of the body and nervous system. This is why OCD usually takes a decent amount of time to fully clear up and isn’t a quick fix. This pattern within the body as mentioned earlier has usually been going on for years even though the actual symptoms of OCD may be very new for your child.

Luckily there is a way to actually break this pattern and get the nervous system and entire body working together and how it’s supposed to be working! 

How We Can Help OCD

We now know what causes OCD but how can we help this sometimes mysterious seeming condition? As we learned so far the nervous system is the key to OCD. At The Specific Chiropractic Centers Naples the nervous system is exactly what we focus on. More specifically, our goal is to get the nervous system to work how it’s supposed to work. There are a number of therapies out there that focus on the tendencies of OCD and how to limit the behaviors or urges of doing certain behaviors. Those therapies can be really helpful and I’m not saying to stop trying those therapies but when we start focusing on the root cause we can start to see some massive changes going on!

Many times the first time we might experience nervous system dysfunction can be caused from the birth process. The birth process can be very traumatic and a lot of stress can be placed on the small upper bones of the neck even in perfect conditions. We often miss this as it is something that simply isn’t checked because there are so many other things going on during the birth process. The misalignments caused by this can cause the nervous system dysfunction that may be causing OCD in children. 

If this is the case then this nervous system issue may have been going on for years before we even noticed any sort of symptoms of OCD. Because of this there usually isn’t any sort of quick fix to solve the issue. Even if we are looking at helping the specific behaviors with certain therapies it often takes months or even years to combat.

This is one of the reasons why when people come into The Specific for care we usually recommend a 6-8 month long care plan. Now we may see a change in symptoms before the end of that care plan but our goal is to cement the changes we are making into the system. Remember if a child is dealing with OCD or any other Neurodevelopmental Disorder there usually has been a nervous system issue going on for years before the symptoms have been noticed. Our goal is to reprogram the nervous system and break it from the pattern that it has been stuck in. Since it has been stuck in a specific pattern for so many years it is going to take a long time to make the long term changes we need to make in order to see improvement long term and not needing to keep coming in for adjustments over and over again.

Once we start working with the nervous system and getting it working how it’s designed to work we do start to see a change in symptoms. As for how soon that happens is different in each case. We will usually see a decrease in stress, anxiety, ADD, or ADHD to start, then overtime we will see changes in the OCD being experienced. Remember that a lot of times there is underlying anxiety or chronic stress going on in the system that is causing the OCD so once we are able to combat this, the OCD will start diminishing. 

Every single case of OCD in children is different but specific chiropractic care is something that may be beneficial for your child if they are struggling with OCD. It is a condition that is really challenging and not only effects the child but also impacts the entire family. This is why it’s so important to get a handle on the situation quickly instead of waiting to see if it will randomly clear up. If you’re interested to see if what we do at The Specific Chiropractic Centers could help hit that schedule button on the website and we can set up a complimentary consultation to see if we can help.

Learn more.

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