How Courage Helped to Redefine a 12-Year-Old’s Relationship with OCD

In over 22 years as a therapist, I have seen people fall apart then find the strength to put it all back together again. I have heard stories of people who refused to give up, who found ways to adapt, and who chose to not let events from the past or present influence the way they wanted to experience the world today.

Through my work I have the opportunity to help people rewrite their stories. But despite their power to inspire, stories from the therapy room are confidential. So, I created True You! where people can share their stories. Because we know that when other people listen to stories of courage, strength, and perseverance, those people can become inspired to change their own narratives.

Madalyn’s Story
But when my own daughter, who is now 12, began to experience symptoms of anxiety at a young age, I never imagined that, 6 years later, she would be sharing her story on True You! I also never imagined that my daughter would WANT to tell her story. Well, it has taken 6 months of her persistence to convince me that her motivation to tell her story was not the fun of sitting in front of a microphone or of hearing her own voice. She was not dissuaded by worry that other kids might listen to her story and give her a hard time. That was my worry, to be honest; I will always be a protective dad. Madalyn wanted to tell her story not only because her story might help other kids. She wanted to tell her story because this kid earned her story.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Madalyn was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) at the age of 10. That means that she was experiencing symptoms for a long time before that. At age 7 or 8, or even younger, she was experiencing repetitive, unwanted thoughts that a 5-, 6-, or 7-year-old would be unable to understand. Even more, kids at that age have little innate ability to communicate what they may not realize is problematic. Instead, they often express fear, anger, reactivity, and defiance.

Madalyn, and our family, all experienced those emotions. And despite most of my early career working as a therapist for kids with challenging emotions. I could not see outside of my own box to get a grip on what was happening with my own daughter.

In 2018 Madalyn’s symptoms of OCD were really taking control. She hid them well! Eventually, we caught on. We found the right providers, at the right time, and Madalyn was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. You can listen to my prior interview on True You! with Dr. Elizabeth McIngvale, who is an OCD specialist who was diagnosed with OCD around the same age as Madalyn.

Exposure with Response Prevention
In January of 2000 we flew down to Tampa Florida after enrolling Madalyn in a Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP), which is a 6 hour-a-day program, 5 days a week, for 6-8 weeks. They offered Exposure with Response Prevention (ERP), which is the gold standard treatment for OCD.

Madalyn talks about Roger’s Behavioral Health in her story, but we really cannot describe how essential that treatment was for Madalyn, and for us as a family. While Madalyn resisted for several weeks, eventually she dug in. She pulled as much out of that program as she possibly could. Her therapist, Sara, became Madalyn’s worst nightmare; after all, ERP required her to confront deep-seated fears. And Sara also was also an excellent therapist and one of Madalyn’s greatest assets in helping her develop the tools that she needed to manage some tough thoughts and behaviors.

Madalyn found strength and courage at Rogers that I just do not think she would have found anywhere else–that is how it felt, anyway. Since leaving Florida Madalyn has made a 180-degree turn. She still gets stuck in repetitive thoughts. She still struggles at times to quell the thoughts that get in the way of attending school. OCD is something she was born with and is never going away. And Madalyn knows that. But she pushes herself through every challenging obsession and com…