How to Help a Family Member With OCD

An obsessive-compulsive disorder is part of an anxiety condition. The anxiety usually manifests itself in one of three ways. The sufferer may be compelled to check over and over that he has locked the door. He may be preoccupied with dirt and germs and wash his hands repeatedly, sometimes until they bleed. A third common type of OCD is when a sufferer becomes obsessed with troubling thoughts that hinge on order or numbers. He may be unable to relax until he has aligned everything completely straight on the shelf. Most people experience some of these symptoms at some time. It is when the behavior has a detrimental effect on a person's life that a diagnosis of OCD is given.

Instructions

• 1

  Learn as much as you can about the condition and encourage the sufferer to do the same. Encourage him to talk about it. Secrecy and shame often accompany this disorder, adding to the sufferer's distress. Talk about it as a part of an anxiety state, and accept that irritiating as the behavior can be, it is a genuine illness, and your relative would stop this if he could.

• 2

  Urge your family member to seek support. This often takes the form of cognitive behavioral therapy. The sufferer learns alternative ways of dealing with feelings of stress. Cognitive behavioral therapy is designed to give her the tools to take control of her condition. It can be very helpful. Explain to your relative that therapists are familiar with this condition and are likely to be able to help her.

• 3

  Carry on normal family life. Try not to let the OCD control the household. Avoid colluding with the condition. You can find yourself doing this by getting involved in the rituals or providing constant reassurance. This does not work, because the OCD is about anxiety within the sufferer, not whether the door really is locked. Try to separate the condition from the person you care about and nurture the aspects of your relationship that are apart from the obsessive-compulsive disorder.