Traci Foust, author of Nowhere Near Normal: A Memoir of OCD, began showing symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or OCD, as early as six years old. (OCD is an anxiety disorder in which sufferers try to hold fear and anxiety at bay by engaging in repetitive routines.) Her obsessive hand washing and Lysol spraying was seen as quirky, however, not symptomatic of an illness. Meanwhile .Traci’s anxieties expanded beyond fear of microbes. She was afraid of contracting diseases that had already been eradicated; she had to make sure the miniature Catholic saint statues on her windowsill always pointed due north; she scratched out bald patches on her scalp, and she snapped her fingers after every utterance of the word God.
She knew something was not right at a very young age, even if the grown-ups around her did not. As a young girl, for instance, she brushed her teeth over and over with a mix of Ajax cleanser and bleach in her fight against invisible health dangers, and no one noticed the sores erupting in her mouth.
Here are some of her insights.
ThirdAge: How can family members tell if their child or grandchild has a form of anxiety disorder like OCD?
Foust: Watch kids closely and take special note of what makes them afraid. All kids have fears that seem irrational to adults, but look for signs that your child is constantly worried over what is going to happen in the future. I was always nervous and I'd asked my parents things like, "What now? What comes after we eat our dinner? Who will be home tomorrow?" Those small things can mean a child feels unsettled; when that’s not addressed right away, they can lead to bigger things -- worrying about illness all the time, for example. Watch and listen. Ask kids what they think about when they feel afraid.
ThirdAge: May is Mental Illness Awareness Month. What do people need to understand about OCD and other anxiety disorders and mental illnesses?
Foust: There is such a huge stigma in this country attached to mental disorders. The shame and embarrassment of not being able to "just pull yourself together" makes people shy away from getting help; i.e., taking meds or talking to a psychiatrist. When someone has cancer, you can clearly see they are ill, and of course you want them to get all the help they possibly can. But when someone is suffering from panic attacks and cannot drive to work or wait in line at the grocery store, outwardly they look OK. Yet on a physiological level, they are having rapid heart rate, sweating, chills, feeling nauseous, feeling like they need to run. These are real symptoms.
ThirdAge: What can family do to help?
Foust: Parents [and other caregivers] are the best and sometimes the only source for real advocacy when it come to receiving an accurate diagnosis for a child. Often times the medication that can be prescribed for ADHD [Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder] worsens the symptoms of OCD, but ADHD is the first diagnosis usually given to any child who struggles with attention issues. Parents need to do more research than they've ever done in their lives to assure a wrong diagnosis does not make their child worse.
ThirdAge: How did you get better?
Foust: I'm a big believer that no one gets better from any anxiety issues unless they can really let go of what other people think of them. I always tell anyone who asks me if there is one secret to getting well it would be to first accept you need help, then by whatever means, whether it be psychotropic medication or yoga or a new diet or a combination of all these, just do whatever it takes to get yourself well. Stop worrying what the guy next to you is thinking or what your friends and family think. There are lots of people who mean well but say things like "Oh, don't get addicted to Prozac" simply because they have no idea how these medications work. Ultimately, remember that no one can help you as much as you can help yourself. No one is responsible for how you feel except you.
Judy Kirkwood often writes about mental health issues for ThirdAge.com
