Young people's stories

My name is Lisa, and I am George’s Mum.

George has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). He first showed signs when he was 6 years old, following the death of his Granma. George’s OCD revolved around germs and the risk of contaminating his father and I, in case we got sick and died.

We took him to our GP, who referred him to CAMHS, and after a few months of weekly visits with a therapist to talk about his worries and fears, George started to cope a lot better and it was as if his OCD disappeared - his father and I thought it had gone.

In the summer before George went into year 6, when he was 10, we went to Alton Towers as a family. After someone touched his little finger, his OCD came rushing back.

He turned into a little boy that panicked over every little thing. If someone touched him or if he touched something that might have germs on it, he would want to wash his hands and would ask for constant reassurance.

He constantly washed his hands, changed his clothes several times a day, and wouldn’t walk on anything in his bare feet. He even struggled to touch family members. He wouldn’t go into supermarkets or busy places; school was the hardest, even though he went to a small primary school.

He became very unhappy and started to isolate himself. It was very distressing to watch this happen, but it was at this point he was referred to CAMHS again, for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Initially, I was very skeptical that this would make a difference. I couldn’t imagine how anything could help as he had changed so much and had become such an insecure worried young man, who needed constant reassurance. He needed to be with either his father or I and would constantly ask “what if” about the other parent.

When he started his CBT Therapy, it was amazing but hard. I was with him for every session and hearing him talk about some of his worries was difficult as no 11 year old should ever worry about the things he did!

His therapist Lucy, was patient and calm and over the sessions I could see a change in him. This was not easy, and when the exposure part started, it was very hard for me, so my husband took the lead role, however after several weeks I started to feel stronger and I could take more of a lead role in George’s therapy again.

I’m sure every mother will agree, that it is not in our nature to intentionally cause our children stress and upset, but with the support of Lucy, George managed to overcome about 85% of his fears.