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RHS portlet MHH - who's who

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Find out who's who in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services

RHS portlet MHH - Glossary

Glossary

Don't know what that word means?

Take a look in our glossary

RHS portlet MHH - what yp found helps

What young people have found helps them

Research and tests are useful, but it won’t tell us everything. Here are some positive things that young people say help them when they are feeling sad or worried.

  • Talking to their pet
  • Eating nice food or chocolate
  • Having a hug
  • Listening to music
  • Writing things down
  • Go for a run
  • Make a list of all the things to look forward to in the future

What we think

We agree that there are things that we can all do to help ourselves. Having a good diet, exercise, and feeling that people understand and care for us can all help. But, there might be times when we need more help.

 

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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

When people have OCD they can be troubled by obsessions, and compulsions. Obsession means that people can’t stop thinking about certain things. For instance, being seriously worried about whether something is contaminated by dirt or germs. A compulsion means having a very strong feeling that you have to do something. An example of this might be feeling that you need to check several times that you have locked the door, or turned the gas off, even though you have just seen yourself do it. Or you may need to keep washing your hands.

How you might feel or behave?

Many people might seem to be obsessed with someone or something, but most can forget about it, but for people with OCD the obsession and compulsion can take over their lives and make them feel very anxious. The severity of OCD varies, so some people may not be able to leave their house, whereas others may be able to leave their home, but are very anxious.

What you should be offered?

There are a many different types of help or treatments that can help you feel better. Most people with OCD won’t have to go to hospital unless their problems are very serious.

If you have mild problems, you should be given some information, which contains exercises, to help you with your thoughts and actions.

If you need more specialist help, you may be offered cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) including exposure and response prevention (ERP).   CBT is a psychological therapy that helps you change the way you think about things. ERP involves you being exposed to the things that make you anxious and with help from your therapist you find ways to deal with things differently and in a more positive way.  Your family/or carers should be involved in your treatment. You should be offered the option of having this treatment alone or in a group of others with OCD.

If your symptoms are really serious and CBT and ERP aren’t making you feel better, your doctor or the health care person looking after you should refer you to a specialist in OCD, such as a child and adolescent psychiatrist. You may be offered medication as well as CBT and ERP.

If you are under 18 you are likely to be given a type of medication called Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI).  Only the following two types of SSRI are supposed to be given to children and young people.

  • Sertraline (this is the chemical name for the drug.  You may also hear it referred to by a trade name or brand name for example, Lustral.)
  • Fluvoxamine (this is the chemical name for this drug, you may also hear it referred to by its trade name or brand Faverin.)

If you have been given something different ask your doctor why. It could be that these medications are not suitable for you, but it is good to check.  

 SSRIs were first used as a treatment for depression but research has shown that they also help people who have OCD.

If the medication and therapy aren’t helping, you may be offered a different SSRI or another type of antidepressant medication called clomipramine.  Before taking clomipramine your doctor should talk to you and your family about the medication as it can have more side effects, and can be dangerous if you take too much.

If you are taking medications such as SSRIs your doctor needs to check you regularly to make sure that you are ok, and not having any side effects.

What if you have OCD and Depression?

You may have heard that only Fluoxetine or Prozac should be given to people under 18. This only applies to treatments for depression. So if you are under 18 and have OCD and depression, you should be given Fluoxetine or Prozac (see depression section for more information about this medication).

Further information

 

 

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