With good treatment, many kids with OCD will go for long stretches without problems. However, expecting your child to never have another OCD thought ever again for the rest of her life probably isn't realistic. While some kids may fully outgrow their OCD, many won't.
OCD tends not to go away on its own and without treatment it is likely to persist into adulthood. In fact, many adults who receive a diagnosis of OCD report that some symptoms started during childhood.
OCD has peaks of onset at two different life phases: pre-adolescence and early adulthood. Around the ages of 10 to 12 years, the first peak of OCD cases occur. This time frequently coincides with increasing school and performance pressures, in addition to biologic changes of brain and body that accompany puberty.
Can people grow out of OCD completely? It's very rare for a person to truly grow out of OCD, and long-term remission often involves people developing the skills needed to manage the condition on their own, rather than their symptoms disappearing entirely or spontaneously.
A special type of CBT that focuses on exposure and response prevention (ERP) is considered the gold standard treatment for OCD. This evidence-based treatment helps a child gradually resist engaging in compulsions while learning that the outcome is not as bad as expected — or, at least, can be tolerated.
OCD runs in families and can also be related to environmental factors, such as an overly strict upbringing, but, “We think that fundamentally it is probably biological and genetic in its origins,” Dr. King says.
You Can't Outgrow Childhood OCD Without Help
Looking at the research, one thing that is really clear is that OCD is not likely to go away on its own. It's not something that a child is likely to just outgrow or forget about. Kids with OCD need specialized therapy.
However, as mentioned above, obsessive-compulsive traits never truly go away. Instead, they require ongoing management. General life stress is often the main factor for the worsening or subsiding of obsessive-compulsive symptoms.
OCD is chronic
This means it is like having asthma or diabetes. You can get it under control and become recovered but, at the present time, there is no cure. It is a potential that will always be there in the background, even if it is no longer affecting your life.
Best treatment for OCD
So what is? Well, the best treatment is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) known as Exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy. Instead of avoiding your triggers, ERP involves exposing people with OCD to things that trigger their symptoms.
Genetics, brain abnormalities, and the environment are thought to play a role. It often starts in the teens or early adulthood. But, it can also start in childhood. OCD affects men and women equally.
Teens are very good at this type of therapy and it can make huge improvements in their symptoms. Overall, while OCD can get worse during puberty due to all of the social and physical changes that teens experience, there is an effective treatment to reduce and manage symptoms.
However, one thing that is clear is that comorbidities, stress, anxiety, and major life changes or circumstances can all play a significant role in how much worse OCD might become. As symptoms increase or intensify, people with OCD may also experience the following: Failure at work and/or school.
If you have OCD, you can undoubtedly live a normal and productive life. Like any chronic illness, managing your OCD requires a focus on day-to-day coping rather than on an ultimate cure.
Onset in childhood or adolescence can lead to a lifetime of OCD. However, 40% of individuals with early onset may experience remission by early adulthood.
Early-onset obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is one of the more common mental illnesses of children and adolescents, with prevalence of 1% to 3%. Its manifestations often lead to severe impairment and to conflict in the family.
On top of being attentive, people who have OCD usually want everything to be perfect, and consider themselves to be a perfectionist. That means you're great at meeting deadlines, completing tasks with your best work, and managing your time well.
Some experts say that mild OCD symptoms are much more common than OCD itself, and appear in up to 30% of the population. Mild symptoms may present as recurring thoughts about daily activities, like whether or not they locked the door, turned off the stove, and so on.
While both mental health conditions involve repetitive worrying, people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) often engage in unwanted and repetitive behavior in response to their worry. People with anxiety, however, tend to overthink their worry, but don't act in specific responsive manners.
Research does suggest that undergoing a traumatic experience can be a contributing factor in the development of an OCD diagnosis. A traumatic event can include living through natural disasters, sexual abuse, accidents, or neglect, amongst other factors.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder treatment may not result in a cure, but it can help bring symptoms under control so that they don't rule your daily life. Depending on the severity of OCD , some people may need long-term, ongoing or more intensive treatment.
For your child to beat OCD, they need to face their anxiety and not complete their compulsions or rituals. This will allow them to see that over time, their anxiety will come down by itself as the perceived danger does not come true. This can take time and planning, but is very effective in reducing OCD.
Reassure your child by telling him not to worry, that everything is going to be OK, that everybody is safe, and that bad things will not happen. It feels good to be able to ease the child's distress, but the relief will not last long. The OCD will always come back for more until your child learns to stand up to it.
Medication can play an important role in treating children and adolescents with obsessive–compulsive disorder, or OCD. Many children and teens with OCD find that a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy and medication is helpful in overcoming the anxiety related to the condition.