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Growing up, Tina's son, Matt, still looked like a normal kid
He was merry, extroverted and was a little ball of energy that could not stay in place.
But some things were boring He was wearing jeans because he did not like their feel on his skin and did not like going to the beach because he hated the feeling of sand on his hands.
As Matt, a resident of Vancouver Island whose name changed to protect his identity, he grew older, he was diagnosed with anxiety and hyperactive deficit disorder. # 39; s attention. But it is only at the age of 12 that things have changed – and quickly.
Matt began to worry about things, and then his attention turned to contamination. Matt was washing his hands several times in a row, and if he washed his hands and was going to do another task, he would wash them again. He was worried about touching his game controller, fearing that he would contaminate that and would be forced to wash his controller. He only used a towel once and as soon as he hit the ground, Matt thought it would be dirty and contaminate the floor.
Shortly after, Matt was diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). According to the OCD International Foundation, obsessive-compulsive disorder is a mental health disorder that occurs when a person is caught in a cycle of obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are thoughts, images or intrusive impulses that arouse deeply distressing feelings.
The Canadian Psychological Association reports that between one and two percent of Canadians will have an episode of OCD. He describes the situation as follows:
"Obsessions are recurrent and persistent intrusive thoughts, images or impulses that are unwanted, personally unacceptable and cause significant distress." Even if a person is trying very hard to suppress the Obsession or canceling its negative effects, it continues to happen in an uncontrollable way. "Obsessions usually involve shattering themes that are not just excessive worries about real problems but rather are irrational concerns that the person often recognizes as very improbable, even absurd. "
According to the APC, OCD can be chronic – thickening and decreasing with the stress of life.It rarely disappears without treatment, and can have a profound negative impact on the patient. functioning – interfering with jobs, schooling, social interactions and relationships.
"It exploded on us, it came out of nowhere … it was very confusing for him too," said Tina, who claims more mental health services on the island.
"He [contamination] was almost transferable .. Say that I touched the door of the car that he thought was contaminated, so I touched something else, so that would be contaminated.It's just this snowball effect. "
After the diagnosis things got tougher. His fears of contamination intensified to the point where Matt used his sleeves to open the doors of the cars. If he thought that one part of the car was contaminated, he would move to another seat and then another, until he finally asked his mother to wash the car whole.
The disorder also began to affect his relationships. If he was hanging out with friends and his clothes were dirty, he would have to change clothes a few times or they would like to ride a bike and he felt that he could not do it. As a result, he lost some friends in the process.
Tina said that watching the mess take her life was difficult.
"Looking at him and how it was debilitating for him and how much it hurt him emotionally, that's it"
Shortly after, Matt was treated at the Queen Alexandra Center's Ledger House for Children & # 39; s Health, where he attended therapy for seven weeks, and then participated in the OCD program through British Columbia.
According to the BC Children & Web site Hospital, the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder usually consists of psychological and psychiatric badessments, after which the evaluation team meets with the family to discuss its findings and implement a treatment plan.
The badessment focuses on the patient's medical, developmental, family and school history, mental status and attention to the potential presence of other psychiatric disorders
. usually in a cognitive-behavioral therapy – basically, a better understanding and a better control of the problems by speaking.
"The goal of CBT is not to learn not to have these thoughts in the first place, because essence … intrusive thoughts can not be avoided." Instead, it This is to help a person with OCD to identify and modify his thought patterns that cause anxiety, distress and compulsive behavior, "reads a statement from the OTP. OCD-UK, a UK charity. "What the therapy will teach the person with OCD is that it is not the thoughts themselves that are the problem; it's the key to healing an obsessive-compulsive disorder.
For more severe cases, when the patient's distress is severe or his ability to function is significantly reduced, or when "A poor overview of the irrational nature of the obsession and / or stress may lead to resistance to CBT, "says the document on the parameters of practice of the Children's Hospital. "The need for close family involvement will make the successful implementation of CBT more difficult in chaotic or non-intact families."
Tina said that Matt, now 17, has good and bad days. While the school had been put on the back burner, Matt is busy with a job and hangs out with his colleagues.
Despite the fact that her son was able to receive treatment, Tina said that there was not enough mental health. services on the island.
"We do not have any of these programs here," Tina said. "There is a great lack of services."
– with files from Black Press
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