It can be difficult to adjust to a different sort of lifestyle whenever a loved one is diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder. However, these adjustments are necessary if you wish to maintain a productive and peaceful environment, especially if you are living in the same household with them. Here are some tips for how best to deal with this diagnosis and how to move forward.
Recognize Signals
Family members must learn how to recognize the warning signs of OCD. Sometimes people with the condition are thinking about things that you don’t understand, so it is important to watch for certain behavior changes that indicate these thoughts. Some examples of common signals include:
- Large blocks of unexplained time spent alone
- Doing things again and again
- Excessive need for reassurance
- Simple tasks taking longer than usual
- Increased concern for minor details
- Severe emotional reactions to small things
- Inability to sleep properly
- Changes in eating habits
- Avoidance
- Increased irritability and indecisiveness
Modify Expectations
For someone with OCD, any kind of change, even positive ones, can be very stressful. As a family member, you have to learn how to accommodate for this by modifying your expectations for progress during these times of transition.
Avoid Comparisons
The severity of obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms will vary significantly from person to person. Therefore, you have to measure progress on an individual basis, not against other people’s level of progression.
However, day-to-day individual comparisons can be misleading because they don’t represent the bigger picture. Instead, look at the overall changes since the beginning of the process and since treatment began. You can make a positive difference by reminding them how much progress has been made since their worst episode.
Recognize Improvements
It is common complaint for people with OCD to say that family members don’t understand how difficult some small tasks can be for them, such as cutting a shower down by five minutes, or resisting things like asking for reassurance. These gains might seem insignificant from an outsider’s perspective, but they are actually a big step for your loved one. If you acknowledge these small accomplishments, it can encourage them to keep trying and make more progress.
Give Support
The more you can avoid criticizing your loved one, the better off you will both be throughout the process. Instead of criticizing, try to learn as much about your loved one’s disorder as you can. Your encouragement and acceptance are very important for their recovery. Instead of ganging up on each other, gang up on the OCD together—this is the best way to become a team and avoid personal setbacks.
Support Medication
Never undermine the medication instructions that have been prescribed. All drugs will have side effects that can range in severity—however, people with obsessive-compulsive disorder should never take their health into their own hands by stopping a medication because of certain side effects or because their symptoms have improved. You should attend appointments and ask questions as needed so you can participate in their care as much as possible.
