According to experts, there’s been a sharp rise in contamination-related obsessive compulsive disorder among school children since the pandemic. The Mail on Sunday has more.
“Public safety promoting social distancing and mask-wearing had a much more pronounced effect on children than most people expected,” says Dr. Zenobia Storah, a Manchester-based consultant child psychologist.
“I still regularly see children with red-raw hands from the amount of handwashing they do and kids who refuse to go to school because they’re afraid of catching something. It’s worrying because OCD can stay with them for the rest of their lives.”
The Mail on Sunday has heard from parents with children as young as three who use antibacterial handwash compulsively and avoid other children for fear of catching a virus.
Around 750,000 people in the U.K. live with OCD. Of those, an estimated 35,000 are children.
The condition can strike at any age, but it typically develops in childhood. Some are able to manage their compulsions with treatment, which usually involves regular sessions of cognitive behavioural therapy with a psychologist and, sometimes, antidepressants.
But, in half of cases, treatment fails to keep the condition under control and patients remain unable to do everyday activities such as socialising and going to work. Some sufferers struggle to even leave the house.
It is not the first time that a global health crisis has triggered a rise in contamination-related OCD.
“We’ve seen increases in contamination OCD at points where infectious diseases are in the national conversation,” says Dr. Emma Citron, a private clinical psychologist in London. “It was documented during the AIDS epidemic, along with the swine flu outbreak in 2009.
“While the behaviour of someone with OCD may be irrational, the basis of their anxiety is often genuine. But this anxiety can lead to intrusive thoughts about the worst possible outcome.
“Eventually sufferers reach a point where they believe if they touch something dirty or don’t wash their hands properly, something bad is going to happen.”
In the first six months of 2020, when Covid was rife, OCD referrals to mental health services rose significantly in several countries. And many of those who have already been diagnosed found that their symptoms either returned or got worse.
In the U.K., there was a startling rise in the condition among children. One study, carried out at Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, revealed that the number of children referred to mental health services for OCD rose by more than 30% on the previous year. Meanwhile, nearly 70% of children with OCD became more unwell. The researchers noted that many reported fears of infection and contamination by Covid.
Three years on, experts are still seeing children with these fears.
Worth reading in full.
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I’ve missed the last two or three episodes of London Calling, so was glad to be able to listen to this one. It reminded me why I love it – because Toby and James talking together (arguing?!) make me laugh so much!! Very cheering.
BTW, the Light Truth Paper (which I think is its full title), mentioned by Toby, is only free because someone has paid for enough copies to give away. If you want to subscribe to a hard copy, it is £5 per issue (monthly), so quite expensive. However, it is free to look at online. It has good stuff in it, but some slightly weird adverts!
Didn’t have you down, Toby, as a dead ringer for Pat Sharp…!