Dr. Komarovsky about obsessive-movements syndrome in children

Children are creatures vulnerable and impressionable, and therefore there is nothing surprising in the fact that they are more emotionally experiencing certain situations. There, where the adult will step over and forget, the child will still experience for a long time, returning again and again into an incomprehensible or unpleasant for him a minute. Since young children are not able to express the whole range of their emotions with words, they can begin to manifest them on a physical level. And now the child has the habit of pinching himself on the ear, often blinking, biting the fingers. The famous doctor Yevgeny Komarovsky talks about how to treat such oddities in a child’s behavior and whether it can be treated with something. Obsessive movement syndrome in children is a problem that many face.

Syndrome of obsessive movements in children is a complex of psycho-emotional disorders that occur under the influence of emotional turmoil, strong fear, fear, stress. The syndrome is manifested by a series of unmotivated movements - of the same type or turning into more complex ones.

Most often, parents complain that their child has suddenly begun:

• biting nails and skin around the nails;
• grind your teeth;
• shake your head from side to side;
• swing all the body for no apparent reason;
• shake or shake hands;
• pinching yourself by the ears, hands, cheeks, chin, nose;
• bite your own lips;
• blink and blink for no reason;
• pull out your own hair or constantly wind it on your finger.

The manifestations of the syndrome may be different, but the disease can be spoken when the child repeats a series of movements or one movement often, especially in situations where he begins to worry or feels uncomfortable.

The factors that can trigger the mechanism of the onset of obsessive movements syndrome are numerous:

• severe stress;
• long stay in a psychologically unfavorable situation;
• total mistakes in education - connivance or excessive rigor;
• attention deficit;
• changes in the usual life - relocation, change kindergarten, departure of parents and their long absence.

To the child himself, all these manifestations may not cause any inconvenience at all - unless, of course, he injures himself.

It is noteworthy that the syndrome of obsessive movements is recognized by doctors as a disease, he has his own number in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10), the disorder is classified as neurotic, caused by stressful situations, and also somatoform. However, the doctors did not have and there is no single standard for diagnosing this disease. In other words, the child will be diagnosed only on the basis of the complaints of the parents and the symptoms described by them.

If the involuntary movements of the offspring are caused by a certain cause, then with a high degree of probability the syndrome will pass by itself, without any treatment. It just takes the child time to get rid of the experience. However, it can be a sign of more alarming states.

Neurosis of obsessive movements and states, according to Evgeny Komarovsky, is a manifestation of inappropriate behavior. It necessarily forces parents to consult a doctor, because it is very difficult to independently understand what is happening - a temporary psychological disorder or persistent mental illness.

Temporary stress syndrome always has an explanation, it always has a reason.

But the most common cause of mental illness may not be. If nothing changed, did not hurt, the child did not take any medicines, he did not have a fever, he ate and slept well, and the next morning he shakes his head from side to side, frowns, blinks and squints, tries to hide, run away, shakes his hands without a break for an hour is, of course, a reason for referring to a children's neurologist, and then to a children's psychiatrist.

The problem is, Komarovsky says, that parents are embarrassed to contact a specialist like a psychiatrist. This is a big misconception. Negative attitudes towards doctors who help solve behavioral problems need to be reviewed as soon as possible.

A son or daughter can reach in his nervous manifestations to conditions that can threaten life and health. If there is a risk of self-harm, the child is capable of causing serious harm to himself with his movements, Komarovsky advises that he should consult a specialist in order to rule out the presence of psychiatric disorders and get recommendations on how to overcome the situation.

It is not necessary to focus attention on the obsessive movements - and even more so try to forbid the child to commit them. He makes them unconsciously (or almost unconsciously), and therefore it is impossible in principle to prohibit them, but it is easy to aggravate emotional disturbance with prohibitions. It is better to distract the child, ask him to do something, help, go somewhere together.

It is best to continue to talk with the baby in a quiet, calm voice, with short sentences, not to argue with him, in any case not to leave him alone. It is also not necessary to look the kid directly in the eye.

Ignoring the problem is also impossible, because the child really needs to talk to him and discuss his problem. In the end, he has these new "bad" habits, too, cause confusion and fright. Sometimes it is trusting communication helps to get rid of the problem.

With a high degree of probability, the neurologist, to whom the parents will come to the reception with complaints of obsessive movements in the child, will prescribe one or more sedatives, magnesium preparations, as well as vitamin complexes. He would strongly recommend visiting the massage, exercise therapy, swimming pool and salt caving chamber. The treatment will rise in a fairly round sum to the family (even with the most approximate calculations).

Evgeny Komarovsky advises to think well, intending to begin such treatment. If the psychiatrist has not found serious abnormalities, then the diagnosis of obsessive-movement syndrome should not become a reason to stuff the child with pills and injections. Pharmaceuticals are very likely not to affect the healing process at all.

The very fact of their appointment is convenient for both the neurologist and the parents.After all, the doctor perfectly understands why anxious parents came to him for treatment. And he appoints him, which means that the parents will not complain about the specialist, who turned out to be so careless that "he did not register anything at all." Parents believe that there are magic pills that in a few tricks will solve all the problems.

There are no such pills, says Komarovsky. But there are other, more effective ways to help a child get rid of neurosis - this is the love of mom and dad, patience, time and participation. If parents make it a rule to walk with their child every day, discuss films and books that they watched and read together, if they create favorable emotional conditions at home, then quickly the child will disappear all obsessive states and movements that so disturbed his relatives. It will be great if mom and dad find a good child psychologist who can help them normalize their son or daughter.

In the next video, Dr. Komarovsky talks about how to combat bad habits in children.