How to Support A Loved One With OCD
Published June 13th, 2024
4 min read
Five expert-backed ways that you can support someone with OCD on their mental health journey.
Written by Simon Spichak
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is one of the most common and misunderstood mental health conditions. People with OCD develop obsessions and compulsions that can derail their personal and professional lives. If you haven’t experienced it before, it can be hard to figure out how to help a loved one deal with these symptoms.
Here are five tips to help support your loved ones.
#1 Understand the basics of OCD
OCD affects one in every 40 people worldwide. It is typically incorrectly portrayed as a condition where people are obsessed with cleanliness and organization.
However, people who like to be neat and organized don’t necessarily have OCD, and not all people with OCD have obsessions with cleanliness. OCD involves fear and anxiety over specific triggers and involves two components: obsessions and compulsions.
Obsessions are unreasonable thoughts, worries or anxieties. Reasoning with these obsessions doesn’t actually make them go away. Some common examples include:
Fear of contamination or dirtiness.
Disturbing sexual thoughts or images.
Religious, blasphemous thoughts and fears.
Worrying that a task is incorrect or incomplete.
Compulsions are actions or thought patterns that alleviate the anxiety, fears, or stress caused by obsessions. Some common types of compulsions include:
Repetitive cleaning.
Compulsive checking.
Counting or touching.
Mental compulsions like rumination.
#2 Provide non-judgmental support
Make sure your loved one knows that you’re there for them. They may share some of their obsessions or compulsions — thank them for opening up to you and react with compassion. Avoid criticizing your loved one for their symptoms. Don’t push them to share their experiences if they aren’t ready, and be understanding that OCD symptoms can’t be treated overnight.
When they know that you won’t judge them for their thoughts or actions, they will feel more comfortable speaking with you and seeking support.
#3 Recognize their OCD triggers
Everyone experiences OCD a little bit differently. Some people have specific triggers that can set off or worsen symptoms — like stress at work, major life events, or sleep problems. Take time to make sure you can be there for your loved one, especially after they’ve experienced these triggers and watch for any gradual changes to their symptoms.
#4 Recognize improvements but don’t focus on day-to-day changes
Some days will be worse than others, and that’s normal. However, it can be upsetting to be told that you were doing better yesterday or last week. Avoid these kinds of comparisons and comments when possible.
On the other hand, you will notice when your loved one makes progress, so make sure to acknowledge these improvements. Acknowledging these improvements can help keep people steady on their OCD journey, especially when they know that their treatments are working.
#5 Do not enable their compulsions
Sometimes, you might think you’re being helpful, but you might actually be enabling their symptoms or compulsions.
Accommodating compulsions by waiting while a loved one checks and rechecks that the door is locked and the oven is off before leaving the house doesn’t help. Often, setting boundaries can help interfere with some of these compulsive thoughts or behaviours.
Some other ways people might unknowingly enable OCD behaviours include:
Participating or helping loved ones with their compulsions.
Changing your routine and schedule to accommodate your loved one.
Providing verbal reassurance over and over again in response to their compulsions.
Instead of accommodating these symptoms, encourage your loved one to seek support from a mental health professional like a psychiatrist, psychologist, or therapist.
How Resolvve can help
If you want to learn more about OCD, Resolvve is here to help with free resources and therapy. Here are some of our blogs that talk about how therapy works for OCD:
If you or your loved one is considering therapy, click here to learn more about our therapists and book a free 15-minute consultation.
Please note that this post is written for educational purposes; it is not therapy. If you need to talk to a professional, please book a consultation with a psychotherapist through Resolvve.
