OCD Symptoms in Teens: Are you Missing the Signs?

This video is not intended to replace medical advice. This is for information purposes only. This video is for informational purposes only and should not be used to replace the guidance of a local mental health professional. He’s really oppositional!” The mom vents. “Honestly it takes a miracle to get him to do anything. Don’t even get me started on how long it takes him to get out of the house in the morning.” She takes a breath and continues, “And no one can go into his room. One time I entered his room without his permission and he had a complete meltdown.” This is often my initial introduction to a teen whose main issue isn’t opposition, but rather OCD. OCD symptoms in teens are often misconstrued as oppositional or quirky behavior.

I go on to meet with this “oppositional” kid. He sits quietly on my therapy couch. He talks about having to do and redo his laces, his buttons, his belt. He talks about having to decontaminate his room and how stressful it is when his family enters his room and he has to start his rituals all over again. He talks about living in a private pain, a pain so deep he feels overwhelmed and alone. A pain he has never shared with anyone.

Teens with OCD are often embarrassed and ashamed of their behavior. They often been hide their OCD symptoms for years and years. Don’t miss OCD symptoms in teens, learn what to look for so you can address the true issue of what may be going on in your home.

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[sofgomezg]

Ohhhh my this explains so much of the things i did as a child

[megii]

how do I bring this up to my therapist? Im scared if I get tested and I am not positive for ocd, my parents will think I want attention.

[kikigoumas]

I’m 11 year old and I just related to all these things

[goofball]

I was diagnosed with OCD and ADHD when I was 10. Now I’m 14 and since I’ve started treatment I’ve been doing better.

[Leo-tugh]

you deserve more views and attention i am so glad that you clarify OCD i suffer from it and it hurts when people belittle it

[alina]

Thanks. I have suffered from ocd for a long time, but my parents never believed me

[songbird]

When I was 3 I felt weird if I accidentally stepped on a crack in the sidewalk, so I had to step over the lines and watch where I stepped or else I'd get a weird sensation in my foot. Was that childhood OCD? I heard a lot of people say they had that same experience too.

[samplautz]

I definitely had symmetrical ocd when I was a kid. This might sound weird but maybe I grew out of it? I don't do it anymore and haven't in awhile. I'm 18 and this probably stopped when I was 10 or 11

[kaitlyn]

I'm about to be thirteen... And I every time I take a test at school I read the question like 1 million times! Just as I do the answers! When people use my colored pencils or markers... I ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO put them back in order! And complete perfection! Place both packages back in the exact same spot as they were last time when I got them out... And! I have my pencils separated of what they are! Mechanical goes in the holder... Pencils go in the original package they came from the store! I just looked at my calendar and I saw an X that looked curvey! It was hideous! Yuck! This started happening at the end of last school year... I'm in 7th grade now! But! Please tell me if these are signs of OCD... 😬 Also! Sometimes when I am walking on sidewalks! I STEPPED over the crack! If I stepped on the crack! I had to go two lines back and start over again...also! My last edit it this! I liked the video! Not only because it helped me realise I might have OCD! but! it was at 69 likes... I had to make it even! It was bothering me badly... 😕

[rosederavil]

Umm I related to a lot of these. I try to keep most of it in my head because people judge me and think I’ll crazy...

[maggiehopkins]

One of the symptoms you mentioned was excessively saying "I'm sorry". We have always thought it was his anxiety; his need to not have anyone mad at him or his worry of getting in trouble and getting yelled at. Are there resources you could direct me to research this more?

[Alexander-hhyt]

I use to cry when i blinked as a child now i falsey accuse myself of cheating and obsessing over it knowing i did nohing reassurance made me feel worse afterwards when everyone told me i never cheated i still worried “what if”

[wispie.]

I do this thing where when I breathe, blink, drink something, scratch an itch, i feel like I have to do it in this certain pattern which is 12345, 12, then 12 again to kind of “cancel out” the first 12. I also “have to” do the same thing mirrored on both sides, And if something gets in the way of me doing that it remains in the back of my mind for awhile. But, I have noticed that these behaviors have died down ever since we started school at home. I’ve been trying to figure out why I feel the need to do this, but I don’t want to jump to conclusions, if you have an answer please share. Thank you!

[isssssssssssssssssssssssaaaaaa]

I CANNOT sit in the middle. If I try I will have a mental breakdown.

I can’t hold certain materials and only the thought of it makes me mad.

Certain sounds are triggering.

I have wearied tics that come when I’m stressed. I tic all the time.

Hyper fixation in some areas of my life ( school is one and it constantly feels like I have to be perfect. An A is like an E for me. It’s like a voice in my head screaming “An A or you will disappoint everyone” )

Sensitive about food. NO ONE can touch me while I eat or are at the dinner table. I refuse to eat certain things, and even I don’t know why. And I get stressed when people TALK while I eat, so I prefer to eat alone, and when I have to eat whit others I keep to myself.

Things such as my toothbrush can’t stand where the other toothbrushes are.

Feeling a need to do stuff a certain way.

Gets hyper fixated on things my head tells me. Right now it’s other humans in general. It’s getting hard to even go outside.

Everything has to be my way.

Intrusive thoughts on a daily basis. And they effect me every single day.

I reckon it’s only getting worse for each year. Is this OCD? I mean their is ofc more symptoms that I have. But these listed are the major ones that happen for no specific reason, but have always been a problem in my life. I don’t want to self diagnose, but I want to know if this is something to look into further. And wondering, is this maybe OCD?

[PrfectParl]

I have a lot of these symptoms so I asked my mom to get myself checked out and she said “Well everybody had a little bit of OCD.” But I still really want to get myself checked out.

[tammym]

I realize this was posted a while ago, but perhaps if you're still active (on this video especially) you could possibly help me out? Though obviously, I wouldn't expect any diagnosis of course.

I've taken screen tests online for OCD and so far I've 'overachieved' the average mark on those tests. So currently, I'm on my way to seeing a therapist about it. I don't talk to anyone about this because I feel that they're going to say I'm asking for attention or that I don't know what I'm saying (which isn't untrue, since I'm not in any way specialized in OCD matters). It makes me really emotional talking about it because I know that truthfully, they won't understand because of course, it could be anything.

To get this out of the way, here are what I think are symptoms (that I'm enduring):
- I have to count everything. It comes in spurts, but when I'm anxious or bored I always have little rituals of counting how many steps I take, how many seconds it takes until someone speaks again (for example, when I'm just talking with my friends). It even goes as far as to see how much time I can hold my breath.
- For the breathing part, this may be a bit odd- which it is. I've been having this habit for a while, where if I'm anxious about something (for example, an exam) I feel the need to hold my breath for a certain amount of time; if I do so, then good luck will come to me. Or so I think. Even further into an example could be if I'm talking with somebody, (when the spurts happen) I feel the need to do or say something before they speak, move, etc. If they do anything.
- Some of these rituals can consist of only going to sleep if the hallway light is turned off (and even holding my breath until it's turned off by a family member) or waking up at an even time (ex. 12:20 instead of 12:19). My favourite numbers it seems are all 'even' aside from six. And of course, the unlucky thirteen.
- I crack my knuckles, tap my feet against the ground or snapping my fingers- but also online, I feel the need to close and reopen tabs and rewind videos for no reason other than to feel less anxious.
- Since I attend a school further away from my home, I have to take a bus. On the bus, I usually listen to music or daydream, since I don't know anyone who goes on there. But I always and constantly feel the need to scream or hum REALLY loud, and abnormally loud (and almost to the point I can't stop myself). I remember reading that it's a symptom(?) in people who are diagnosed with OCD, but I still don't quite know.
- Lastly, I'm very self-conscious of myself. Not saying that no one my age, especially as a teenager, isn't- but it feels more frustrating than downgrading. I truly hate myself some days, and feel that I'm a horrible person for no real reason?

I constantly doubt myself and think my mind is against my own body. For instance, when my old friend came out to me as bisexual. Of course, I still cherish and love them just the same, but even as a known straight person, this had me thinking deeply. And overthinking constantly that I'm into girls (or both) when I know not. This constant mistrust caused me to start my 'research' and how I fell into the hole of OCD symptoms. I plainly looked up 'I'm straight but I doubt myself" or something along the lines of that. An article came up, 'How Do I Know I'm Not Really Gay?: Teen Obsessions About Homosexuality" (Fred Penzel). For a second, I had felt like it was a normal thing to have to think about because of the title...but when reading into it, OCD was brought up many times; with a list of symptoms I had just realized I have been enduring.

[evamariqe]

I think I have like ocd but my family is like oh yea we all probably have that but when I’m stressed it gets very bad and looking back at those times when I’m not stressed kind of scares me but I only have like a couple of the symptoms
I also have a thing where I have to do things in odd numbers specially 3’s and 5’s and the tv can only be a certain number. And I think I’m one of those kids who hides it?? But then the compulsions also happen like whenever they just pop up mostly when they aren’t watching or aren’t home. And no I don’t have separation anxiety (and never did). I think I am very good at masking it though, but some of the compulsions slip through. can you help?

[kaitlynssong]

I’m 12 and I may have a minor case of ocd

At school:
- I won’t let anyone touch me if they went to the bathroom. Idc if they washed their hands
- let alone I hate people touching me. Especially my hair
- I won’t go to the bathroom at school or in public but when I do I use paper to open the door and flush the toilet ext.
- if I do a group poster I get very upset if 1 thing went wrong
- in ELA my huge workbook fell on the ground and got a small wrinkle so I got a new one.

More stuff-
- I try to avoid cleaning my room cause if I do it goes on for hours
- I need to finish things perfectly or I feel like something bad will happen.
I always tap my foot and play with my hands
- I always set 20 alarms in the morning so I know what I have to do in perfect order. Example: I will set alarms to show I have from 5:15 and 5:30 to take a shower and 5:30 to 5:50 to get dressed.
- I always wake up 2 hours before school so I’m not late and have lots of time
- I have to wipe down the floor before I do push-ups in PE and I still don’t feel safe.
- I also have to wipe down every desk I sit at
- At the store I will often organize/reorganize items because it’s not together or doesn’t look nice
-When I make food I put it in a design and put it on the most fancy plate I have.
There’s more but I think that’s good for today.
So...
Do u have any form of OCD? Or am I just a perfectionist( that’s what my family calls me)

[parismorgan]

Can symetrical OCD be shown in other ways? Because i hate when one side is different than the other. Especially in colors. i cant wear an outfit unless there is a balance of matching colors and seperation between each one.

[fionnula_from_the_woods]

I have a lot of symptoms of ocd and I’ve told my mom but she doesn’t believe me