Obsessive compulsive

Post Reply New Topic

Hi,

My son has been diagnosed with Asperger's with OCD as well as depression. He is 18. At present his obsessive interest is Aliens. It is all he talks about. He goes on the internet and finds any site that deals with aliens. Every conversation is always brought back to aliens. He also does not seem to be able to tell the difference between opinion and fact. To him everything he reads is real. His main goal is to convince everyone that aliens exist. My question is this: Would limiting or removing his access to this subject help to control his obsessive/compulsive behavior or make it worse? or cause other problems. Any input would be appreciated.

I was like this for several years about food intolerance/allergy. I related everything in the world/society etc to diet, and the effect that food has on mental and physical health. I still believe that it is a huge factor, but my behaviour around it is no longer OCD/AS intense.

It took a long time before I was able to see the subject in a more balanced way. And I know that it sometimes made me difficult company.

I don't think that it would be a good idea to "limit access" to "information" about it. It will probably pass. I don't know whether the fact that there is actually no data to go on, compared to food intolerance that is, is likely to make the obsession last for longer or for less time.

Why do you want him to stop? Is it having a destructive effect on his life? Or are you just fed up of hearing about it? if the latter just make it clear that it doesn't interest you, and leave him to it.

It may be functioning in a similar way as religion does for some people, providing a sense of meaning, or of not being alone in the universe. There is some fantastic thought expressed in Sci-fi for instance which can help to make sense of the universe.

I think that limiting access to it could cause other, more serious, problems.
.

Concrete answers lessen the duration personally.
Could give him an alloted time each day to listen to his interests, if he feels he has your whole attention for a shorter stint, it lessens the need to revisit information and allows him to verbalise anxiety toward such a hypothetical topic.

I limit my gf's son and it's worked wonders. His obsession is American Top 40 music. You can only hear the same song 1000 times in a single day before you want to jump off a bridge and end it.

As one of the few men who post here I can empathize with your husband. The alien obsession is one of the worst ones I've heard of to date. For an 18 year old kid in a public school setting? Yeah, that probably doesn't go over too well.

I'd limit it....for his own good.

i think it would be appropriate to limit the amount of time he spends looking up information related to aliens............i think you need to talk with him about your expectations & also about what consequence will occur should he choose to not follow your rules. depending upon his level of functioning- you could let him have some say in how much time is enough time, & what consequences should be for not following the rules.

If you try to limit his access to his special intrest (I hate the term obsession) you will only end up making your son depressed and hate you in the long run. Many people here say their parents tried to take away their special intrest and they say they were depressed and still hate their parents. My parents tried to take away my meerkat obsession and I wanted to kill myself.

i'm not saying to take away his special interest- just help him to realize that moderation in all things is healthy.

Thanks eveyone for your imput. At this time we have decided not to limit his special interest on the internet as long as he is taking care of his responsibilities at home. At present he is working part time for a construction company and looking for a full time job as well as planning to get his GED. I had hoped that he would go to a trade school, but that will be his decision.

sounds like things are going well