AT Parenting Survival | Raising Kids with OCD & Anxiety

Living with anxious kids requires a different kind of parenting. Sometimes it can feel exhausting. Sometimes it can feel frustrating. And sometimes it can feel inspiring and hopeful. It can be quite the roller-coaster ride. In The AT Parenting Survival Podcast, I am doing a monthly series highlighting real life stories from members of the AT Parenting Community. This month I want to introduce you...

You are listening to The Best of AT Parenting Survival Podcast, a replay of one of our top episodes. The show will be taking a two week break for the holidays. Enjoy the "Best Of." New episodes will be back starting January 7th, 2020.This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be used to replace the guidance of a qualified professional. Visit my website at www. ATparentingSurviv...

You are listening to The Best of AT Parenting Survival Podcast, a replay of one of our top episodes. The show will be taking a two week break for the holidays. Enjoy the "Best Of." New episodes will be back starting January 7th, 2020.This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be used to replace the guidance of a qualified professional. Visit my website at www. ATparentingSurviv...

Anxiety and OCD can take its toll. It can be exhausting, overwhelming and traumatizing for the whole family. So, when your child starts to make some big improvements, it’s normal to be worried about how long it will last. It’s normal to doubt the progress. You might ask yourself, “Is this for real? Is this the new normal?”Many of us live waiting for the other shoe to drop. I am TOTALLY guilty of t...

If you really want to learn about OCD, one of the best ways to do it is by listening to the OCD Stories. The OCD Stories is a podcast, created and hosted by Stuart Ralph. He has interviewed hundreds of people with OCD and has brought a face and a narrative to what it is like to have a full life with OCD. He has also had conversations with some of the most inspiring treatment providers and research...

You are not alone. That is the main message from my new segment on the AT Parenting Survival Podcast called, Member Spotlight Segment. This month I invited AT Parenting Community member, Sophie onto the show. She shares the struggles of trying to help her daughter in a country that has limited resources for children with OCD. She discusses early misdiagnoses, her frustration with the system and th...

I love the holidays. I mean LOVE them! But my three anxious kids can hit some pretty big bumps during the holiday season. In fact, most kids who have anxiety or OCD hit a few bumps during this time of year. There is the chaos. The crowds. And then there are the new foods, constant parties, scratchy clothing, lots of socializing, busy schedule and high hopes for what they’ll get. All that leaves so...

We often think there is nothing we can do if our child doesn’t work on their anxiety or OCD. I often say, we are in the passenger seat and they are in the driver’s seat. But there is one thing, one HUGE thing we can do. We can work on how our expectations of our child’s success or failure impact the outcome. We can also work on our stress. Because our stress doesn’t live in a bubble, it’s contagio...

Do you feel overwhelmed, burned out and depleted? Raising a child with anxiety or OCD can have that impact on us. In this 3-part video series I talk about why your well-being directly impacts your child's treatment success and what to do about it! Sign up here so you don't miss this series:www.bit.ly/atselfcare 
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We want to give our kids everything that we never had, but what happens when we are able to do that? How do we foster appreciation and gratitude? How do we help our children develop appreciation for what they have, when they don’t know what it’s like to not have it? It is a dilemma. On this week’s episode of the AT Parenting Survival Podcast, I am talking about philosophical and concrete ways to d...

You are not alone. There are hundreds of thousands of parents just like you. They feel despair, they feel overwhelmed, they feel hope. Welcome to the new segment on the AT Parenting Survival Podcast called Member Spotlight! The first week of each month, I will spotlight a member of the AT Parenting Community to talk about their struggles, their wins and a bit of their journey. We learn from other...

Does “self-care” equal “self-ish” to you? Often there is a negative connotation with the idea of focusing on yourself, especially when you have a child who is in crisis. Sadly, that is when self care is the most needed. When we are depleted, anxious or overwhelmed we are in no condition to help our kids. Believe it or not, the very first step in helping our kids with anxiety or OCD is to help ours...

I'll be back next week with all new episodes, but this week I am replaying the most popular episode on the AT Parenting Survival Podcast. Helping sensitive children navigate our world is a tool many of us raising anxious kids need to know. This episode goes into how to help sensitive kids handle mean people (or perceived mean people). See you next week!***This podcast is for informational purposes...

I know there are a bazillion awareness weeks and months. Every cause, issue or disease has a color or a month. But I wanted to talk to you about why OCD Awareness Week is so important and how you can take part with even the smallest of gestures. OCD is one of the most misunderstood disorders. Which is sad considering it can be one of the most debilitating conditions a person can experience. Part o...

One of the biggest struggles parents have is motivating their child to work on OCD. Who can blame them? Working on OCD can be extremely difficult and overwhelming. But, there is a tool in the toolbox that many parents haven’t explored – that’s ACT. In this week’s episode on the AT Parenting Survival Podcast, I invited Dr. Patricia Zurita Ona (Dr. Z) on to talk to us about how we can use ACT to hel...

We many think my sweet, anxious child will never do drugs. In fact, how could she? She’s afraid of her own shadow! I am right there with you. But our young, anxious kids often turn into depressed, overwhelmed teens. The last thing we want is for them to self medicate. That’s why talking about drugs when they are young is so important. There comes a time when our kids think we “don’t get it.” Our k...

It seems like more and more these days we are having to cope with some horrific things. Mass shootings, school shootings, bombings, hate crimes, environmental disasters and devastating weather are things that we and our children have to contend with all too often. How do we talk to kids when something bad happened? It is tricky. Many of us just avoid it altogether. But unfortunately our kids do no...

Dealing with extreme picky eating can be a lonely journey. Barely anyone gets it. People will tell you all sorts of things. Some to lift you up and some to tear you down, but neither wind up being helpful. He won’t starve to death You should force him to eat (as if it was just that easy!) If he was my child… (that’s never a good sentence) Aren’t all kids kind of picky? You let her eat just that?!...

Hands down the number one fear I deal with as a child therapist is the fear of bad guys. It isn’t surprising. I remember being a child myself, sitting in my bed, blanket up to my neck, wondering not if, but when would I be attacked. The fear is often dealt with platitudes like:I’m right here Who is going to hurt you Nothing has ever happened to you Why do you worry so muchIn this week’s AT Parenti...

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be used to replace the guidance of a qualified professional. Interested in my AT Parenting Community Membership? Click below to join us!http://www.atparentingcommunity.comSign up for my weekly email newsletter:https://pages.convertkit.com/740ba8cd83/92109b7172To sign up for my online class on How to Crush Social Anxiety (for Adults & K...

You are done. You can’t take it anymore. When will things get better? How long is this going to last? Will things ever change? Raising a child with anxiety or OCD can be beyond exhausting. You are not alone. Many of us have been there. We know what it is like to want to hit the escape button. We know what it is like to go to bed ridden with your own feelings of anxiety and hopelessness. All the Wh...

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be used to replace the guidance of a qualified professional. Interested in my AT Parenting Community Membership? Click below to join us!http://www.atparentingcommunity.comSign up for my weekly email newsletter:https://pages.convertkit.com/740ba8cd83/92109b7172To sign up for my online class on How to Crush Social Anxiety (for Adults & K...

 “We don’t see it, he’s great for us.” “Nope, we don’t have any issues with her.” “Anxiety? Are you sure?” “OCD? I never see him wash his hands.” (eye roll to that one) “He is a perfect angel when he is with me.”Ugh. These types of comments can make you doubt all that you know and see. Is it me? Am I causing her anxiety? Am I causing this behavior? Do I make his OCD worse? You are not alone....

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be used to replace the guidance of a qualified professional. Visit my website at www. ATparentingSurvival.comInterested in my AT Parenting Community Membership? Click below to join us!http://www.atparentingcommunity.comSign up for my weekly email newsletter:https://pages.convertkit.com/740ba8cd83/92109b7172Take one of my online classes...

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be used to replace the guidance of a qualified professional. Visit my website at www. ATparentingSurvival.comInterested in my AT Parenting Community Membership? Click below to join us!http://www.atparentingcommunity.comSign up for my weekly email newsletter:https://pages.convertkit.com/740ba8cd83/92109b7172Take one of my online classes...