system
How can severe OCD and anxiety be treated?
human
Yes...I am trying to find Proper help for my daughter-in-law. She and my son have been married for 17 years and they have 4 beautiful children. She has never liked to talk to anyone and at first, I thought she didn t like us. Over the years, we just figured that she must be shy. But, she really doesn t even communicate with her children, other than telling them to clean, clean, clean, because she does admit that she has OCD. During the past 5 or so years she has said that she has one disease after another and has been to many many doctors for her bad feet and bad stomach and bad back. It is always something and many doctors have told her that they can t find anything wrong, but she will go onto the internet and look up diseases and then seem to have those symptoms by a day or two later. When she was growing up in her own family, her parents never took her to a doctor when she was really sick and always told her that it was all in her head. They never allowed her to have friends over and her parents never had any other friends other than close family. My son is a very social person who works for a large company hardware store and he is their road manager. She doesn t like the fact that he is around a lot of people and she wants him to be with her. He is very much in love with his wife but he has told her for years that he would like to see her make friends with women her own age so she could have a friend to go shopping with or to a movie or out to dinner, like other women do. She says she doesn t know anyone. My son has taken her with him to meet other couples that he has met through his work and he said that they are really nice people who live good lives and have been really nice to her but she won t speak to them. She just sits at the table and watches everyone else having fun socializing. My heart goes out to her and my son is so frustrated, he doesn t know what to do. He sees these same things in the children ages, 10, 8, 7, and 5. They are becoming more introverted and don t like to talk to people. He tells the children that it is not polite to not speak to someone when they are speaking to you and with the boys, it seems, that they are trying to be friendlier but their only daughter is exactly like her mother. She just acts miserable all of the time. Also my son s wife has been pointing out things that she thinks the children have or is coming down with. She has convince the older child that he has migraines just like her and she was even saying that their daughter is getting rheumatoid arthritis. When I asked the child if she is having pain, she just looked at her mother and then shrugged as if she were afraid to say something wrong. I know that my daughter-in-law should seek professional help and I have seen the stress on my son and all 4 of the children but I don t know what to tell my son for advice as to how he should approach this matter. I am not even sure what this would be diagnosed as. My son called me last night and he was desperate to get her the help she needs but she doesn t really see that she has a problem. She said, she just doesn t like people. I have spent many hours at their home baby sitting and the children are such beautiful and intelligent children but they have mentioned that the only thing their mother cares about is being on the computer and looking up diseases. What they don t realize, is that much of her fears and anxieties have already rubbed off on them. They are just children. Everything has to have its PROPER place in the house or she has a fit. If a dirty tissue is thrown into the bathroom waste basket. It will not stay there more than a few minutes, because when she goes to the bathroom the next time, she will empty it even if it has one thing in it. When you take your shoes off in their house, the children will stand like they are on shoe patrol and will tell you how they have to be place on the floor. I like a clean house as much as the next person but I want to live and relax and be at home in my home. She runs the home like a army barracks. Like I said, They have been married for 17 years and my son loves his wife very much. And for the most part, he has always just looked the other way and said, Oh well, that s just the way she is. But it is not healthy and she is not happy. He wants to see her have a life with friends and to see her smile. Please if you can help give me some advice about this situation and how would be a good way to handle it so she can get the help she needs. She does know that it is not right because she is never happy but I think she just doesn t know what to do because she has always been this way and her mother is the same way. She sees it in her mother and it bothers her too. I hope this stays confidential Thank you Doctor
gpt
Hello and Welcome to ‘Ask A Doctor’ service. I have reviewed your query and here is my advice. OCD and anxiety disorders comes under the same head "anxiety disorders". But the treatment method varies according to the symptoms. I suggest you to consult a psychiatrist for assessment and further treatment. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. Regards, Dr. K. V. Anand