How to Care for Someone With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) can make life difficult for everyone in a household. Not only is the patient's daily life affected by their obsessions and accompanying compulsive actions, but the lives of their family can also be disrupted by these things. Family members naturally want to help their loved one as much as possible. Fortunately, there are several beneficial things you can do to care for someone with OCD.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Care for Someone With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

1. Attend OCD support group meetings with your loved one. Not only will this help you understand the condition better, it will show your loved one that you care about him and are interested in helping him recover.

2. Go to support group meetings for family members of people with OCD. A local psychologist or psychiatrist can tell you if your area has a group like this. Attending meetings of a family support group can help you better understand what your loved one is going through, as well as give you ideas on how to cope.

3. Be an active participant in your loved one's therapy. You can do this by keeping track of their counseling appointments and medication schedule to make sure she is following her treatment program. You can also ask her psychologist if there are any ways in which you can assist with behavioral therapy exercises at home.

4. Let your loved one's therapist know if any new symptoms appear or if existing symptoms get worse. The treatment program may need to be altered or medications adjusted if any of these things occur.

5. Avoid making it easy for someone to perform their compulsions. While you don't want to actively prevent them from doing so (unless that is part of their behavioral therapy program), you don't want to go out of your way to accommodate these behaviors.

Tips & Warnings

• Try not to openly show anger toward a person suffering from OCD, even if you feel angry. Expressing anger toward him for his condition will only make him feel worse about himself and cause him additional stress, which may actually worsen his symptoms.

• In most cases, a therapist can only talk to you about your loved one's obsessive-compulsive disorder treatment if she has given the therapist permission to talk to you. Many states require this permission to be given in writing. Find out what your state's requirements are when you take your loved one to the initial appointment.