Obsessive movements in a 7-year-old child. Obsessive-compulsive disorder in children: clinical picture and features of the treatment of the disease

The most precious thing that parents have is a baby that has recently appeared in their life. Dad and mom watch his growth and development every day. And when observing any deviations, one cannot rely on the fact that everything somehow forms by itself. It happens that children have a syndrome of obsessive movements.

The concept of obsessive movement syndrome in children

These are often repetitive monotonous movements. They appear in children from the first years of life and primary school age. Violations go on the mental and emotional levels. The movements that the child makes are unconscious and uncontrollable. The child will not be able to answer the question why he does it.

Most often, timid children and children from difficult families are subject to this unpleasant disorder. They are lost, seeing difficulties in overcoming obstacles, experiences and other negative emotions on their own. Obsessive movements can torment for a long period, and in the case of a negative flow, some obsessive movements are replaced by others. Sometimes the disorder manifests itself as a nervous tic.

What are obsessive movements

The manifestations of movements in this syndrome are diverse, we list the most common:

• Frequent sniffing and wiping;
• Flapping or shaking limbs;
• Bruxism;
• Twitching of the genitals (boys);
• Head bobbing;
• Pulling hair, stroking it, twisting it on your finger, etc.
• Swinging with the whole body of the body for no apparent reason;
• Nail biting;
• Pinching yourself on the ears, cheeks, hands, chin, nose;
• Finger sucking;
• Blinking and desire to squint for no reason.

Syndrome of obsessive movements in children

Obsessive movements in children, which have developed into a full-fledged syndrome, are a manifestation of obsessive-compulsive disorder neurosis. A serious problem sits inside the child, which he cannot voice, but causes him psychological pain.

Most often, the baby does not know the reasons for his experiences and he himself cannot understand what is happening to him. The syndrome is a manifestation of an internal reaction to the problems that exist in the relationship of the parents.

The main causes of occurrence

The baby's psyche is still poorly developed, does not have immunity and reacts sharply to any provocative influences of a negative nature. The reasons why obsessive movements may appear are often:

• attention deficit;
• difficult situations that traumatize the psyche;
• long stay in a dysfunctional environment;
• global mistakes in education - indifference or excessive demands;
• severe stress;
• changes in habitual life - moving, changing schools, leaving parents and their long absence, staying with strangers.
• sharp fear.

Medical treatment

Medicines for neurosis are prescribed only as an auxiliary link. They affect the blood supply, restore nerve cells, soothe, increase the duration of sleep. Medicines only relieve stress in children.
Doctors prescribe:

• psychotropic drugs - Phenibut, Tazepam, Sonapax, Sibazon. Used for a short time. The regimen is developed taking into account the possible consequences that may affect the development of the child.
• Pantogam and Glycine, normalizing the processes of excitation and inhibition;
• herbal teas - Evening tale, Hipp, Fitosedan, Calm down, Bye-bye, Soothing children's;
• treatment can be supplemented with the help of vitamin complexes, which contain an increased amount of components belonging to group B.
• sedatives based on natural and herbal ingredients. Such as Fitosedan, Persen and Tenoten.
• homeopathic preparations - Hervoxel, Baby-Sed, Naughty, Hare, Notta, Dormikind;

The opinion of Dr. Komarovsky

Yevgeny Komarovsky advises building positive relationships in the family. Think about whether there was a scandal in the family, a negative situation in the children's team, whether the child was sick recently, what medications he used before the onset of symptoms. Study the side effects of drugs in the form of disorders in the central nervous system. A child in psychological stress can bring himself to a state that can threaten health. It is very important and necessary to contact a specialist. The natural goal of parents is a healthy child.

Do not focus on the unnatural movements of the baby. He makes them unconsciously and trying to prohibit them from doing by pressure will only aggravate the emotional and psychological state of the baby. The best way to influence is to distract the child. Do something together, ask for help or take a walk. You can not talk in a raised tone and shout at the child at the time of the manifestation of unmotivated movements. React adequately so as not to cause even more excitement and fear in the child. Continue to communicate with your baby in a quiet, calm voice.

The neurologist will usually prescribe one or more sedatives, magnesium, and vitamins. He will recommend a course of massage, exercise therapy and a swimming pool. Such treatment is quite expensive. If there are no serious deviations, it is not necessary to stuff the child with pills and injections, since recovery will not occur. Use more effective ways to help the child - this is the love of mom and dad, endurance, participation in his development.

If parents begin to set aside time for daily walks, begin to discuss various topics with their son or daughter, all psychological problems and neurosis will go away.

Prevention of childhood neurosis

Preventive measures to prevent unobtrusive movements are carried out with healthy children and those who have recovered from neurosis. Try as much as possible to exclude factors that are ready to negatively affect the state of his psyche. From the first days of life, pay special attention to its development, education. Take care of your child, no one except you will make him a man with a capital letter, no one will teach the right reactions in life.

The most important and necessary qualities are perseverance, hard work, endurance, self-confidence, the ability to cope with stressful situations.

Without a happy atmosphere in the family, this will be difficult to do. Try to teach your baby from childhood to personal hygiene, to neatness and sports. Do not destroy children, do not destroy their self-esteem through constant discussion of their shortcomings. Moreover, they are relative. For parents from different families, the same disadvantage of the child will be perceived with varying degrees of undesirability. Learn to delve into the problems of your children and support them, do not demand blind obedience to adults (parents), suppressing the independence and initiative of your own child. You cripple him in this way.

Even adults are not always right. It is important to create a trusting relationship with the child so that he can turn to the parents with any question. In addition to leading the child, you must become his friend. This will prevent long-term stress and help you understand your child better and know more about his personal life.

Love for children, caring for them and spending time together gives full development. Instill important qualities of character, explain how to act correctly in a given situation, guide them. And also be sure to respond in a timely manner to unwanted deviations in behavior or health. The greatest responsibility for the condition and opportunities of our children lies with the parents.

Obsessive Movement Syndrome (SND) is a neurological disorder that is a manifestation of obsessive-compulsive disorder, in which patients tend to commit the same type of repetitive actions. Neurosis develops equally often among both adults and children. But most often it manifests itself in 20-30 years - during the period of maximum activity of a young organism. The syndrome is quite common among children. Their movements are unmotivated and difficult to control. This disease has no gender: it affects men and women equally often.

Agitated and nervous, patients begin to perform stereotypical motor acts that are not perceived by people around them. They bite their lips, smack their lips, bite their nails and skin on their fingers, click their joints, twitch their limbs, nod their heads, make strange movements with their hands, blink and squint frequently, twist their hair around their fingers, rearrange objects on the table from place to place, sniff, endlessly rubbed with hands. Such actions are performed unconsciously, patients do not notice them at all.

The development of SND is facilitated by a tense psycho-emotional situation in the family and the team. Of great importance in the development of the disease is hereditary predisposition. Sick people are obsessed with this or that idea. To alleviate their condition, they perform certain ritual actions - movements of a symbolic nature that repeat from time to time, actions that arise involuntarily and are unusual for the personality. At the same time, patients are able to critically assess their condition and deal with these obsessions.

In official medicine, the often repetitive, meaningless movements that occur in response to obsessive thoughts are called compulsions. Patients are aware of the futility of these actions, but they cannot do anything about it. The situation is aggravated, there is anxiety, anxiety and fear. Relationships with loved ones are violated, irritability, sleep disturbance and other negative manifestations occur.

The disease does not lead to disability and disability. SND has the ICD-10 code F40-F48 and refers to "Neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders."

Etiology and pathogenesis

The causes of the pathology are not currently determined. It is believed that the modern rhythm of life, frequent stress, mental stress, conflict situations are of great importance in the occurrence of the disease.

The syndrome of obsessive movements develops in response to moral and physical overwork, emotional exhaustion, nervous strain, and a negative atmosphere in everyday life and at the enterprise. In addition to psychosocial factors, it is necessary to highlight pathophysiological processes. The syndrome is a manifestation of CNS diseases - schizophrenic psychosis, encephalopathy, epilepsy, TBI.

The main causes of illness in children:

• psychological trauma and stressful situations - a tense situation in the house: scandals, quarrels, fights,
• hereditary predisposition - problems with the nervous system in relatives,
• intrauterine fetal hypoxia,
• an allergic reaction to certain foods,
• hypo- and avitaminosis,
• parenting mistakes and psychological problems of parents.

Obsessive compulsive disorder is a polyetiological disease in which hereditary predisposition is realized under the influence of various trigger factors. The risk group is made up of children with a weakened nervous system; overly spoiled kids; hyperactive and restless children; who have had acute infectious diseases and head injuries; suffering from chronic heart failure. Suspicious people are susceptible to the disease, worried about how their actions look from the outside and what others will think of them.

Insomnia and violation of the rest regimen increase the severity of symptoms of pathology in patients. Mental trauma leads to emotional overstrain and excitation of certain parts of the brain. To get rid of it, patients commit obsessive actions.

Parents are often very picky and demanding of their children. Punishments, prohibitions, disassembly excite the child's fragile psyche. Adults, not knowing the manifestations of neurosis, perceive the symptoms of the disease as the bad behavior of children. This further aggravates the situation. SND in children is a reversible pathology, the clinical signs of which disappear after the elimination of the root cause and the creation of a favorable atmosphere in the family and the team.

Symptoms

The clinical signs of the syndrome are obsessive movements that differ from the manifestations of other diseases in that they develop as a result of psycho-emotional discomfort and can be restrained by willpower. The syndrome of obsessive movements is characterized by cyclicity, regularity, monotony and constant repetition of the same movements.

The syndrome begins with rather harmless clinical signs - uncontrolled behavior of patients, performing incomprehensible actions for others, lack of manners and tact. In the future, such movements and strange gestures are repeated more and more often. It scares those around you. But patients cannot help themselves - their behavior remains unchanged.

Obsessive movements in children include: lip biting, knuckle-clicking, head nodding, smacking, coughing, frequent blinking, teeth grinding, arm waving, foot stomping, rubbing hands, thumb sucking, scratching the back of the head and nose. Parents try to stop such actions, but their children do not accept criticism. At the same time, the movements intensify, hysteria develops. All symptoms of the syndrome are extremely diverse. Every child has a different disease. The common feature of all the symptoms is their annoying, almost minute-by-minute repetition. In some cases, such actions become absurd - children bite their nails until they bleed, they can bite their lip, tear off all the buttons from their clothes.

In adults, the manifestations of the syndrome are constant smoothing of the hair, straightening of clothes, twitching of the shoulders, wrinkling of the nose, grimacing, showing the tongue. Such actions are a response to a stress factor. For children, this is the first visit to a new team, moving to another city, communicating with strangers, and for adults, interviews, dates, passing exams.

The obsessive movements syndrome usually develops in timid, indecisive, hysterical personalities who cannot overcome their fears and negative emotions. Such patients do not eat well, sleep, get tired quickly, stutter. Sick children become capricious, whiny, irritable, disobedient. Mature people experience nervous overexcitation, suffer from insomnia.

Obsessive movements in adults and children are generally identical. Their essence is in the constant repetition of certain meaningless actions. Adolescents are very worried when they discover signs of illness in themselves. They feel flawed and are embarrassed to tell adults about it.

The unpleasant consequences and complications of the syndrome include:

1. gradual decline in performance
2. deterioration in concentration,
3. decrease in the level of intelligence,
4. loss of appetite and restful sleep,
5. weakening of the immune system
6. dysfunction of internal organs,
7. infectious diseases of bacterial and viral etiology,
8. the formation of a desire for a constant manifestation of resentment, secrecy, alienation,
9. family conflicts, problems with study and work.

In the absence of effective treatment of the syndrome, there are sad consequences. Patients change their character. They cease to treat others normally, the process of interaction of the individual with the social environment is disrupted, distrust arises, self-immersion, disappointment, and frequent conflicts occur. Inadequate human behavior resembles paranoid psychosis. At the initial stage, patients are aware of the features of their disease. But as the pathology develops, a new emotional explosion occurs, irritability and chronic fatigue, confusion of speech, a drop in self-esteem, and a nervous breakdown appear. Only the timely help of psychologists will allow patients not to completely lose confidence in others and not to be disappointed in life.

Diagnostic measures

Therapeutic and diagnostic measures for obsessive movements syndrome are the work of specialists in the field of psychotherapy and neurology. They conduct a survey of patients and their relatives, psychological testing of patients, refer them to laboratory and instrumental examinations in order to exclude organic pathology of the brain. Typical symptoms clearly point to the diagnosis.

Patients need to undergo the following diagnostic procedures:

• blood and urine tests,
• rheoencephalography,
• electroencephalography,
• brain ultrasound,
• CT and MRI,
• food allergy research
• positron emission tomography,
• electromyography,
• echoencephaloscopy,
• thermal imaging.

Only after a comprehensive examination of patients and obtaining the results of additional methods can a correct diagnosis be made.

Treatment

Therapeutic measures are carried out after identifying the causes of neurosis. Patients must be protected from the effects of negative factors and provide comfortable living conditions.

Patients are prescribed the following groups of drugs:

1. antidepressants - Amitriptyline, Paroxetine, Imipramine;
2. nootropics - "Cinnarizine", "Vinpocetine", "Piracetam";
3. neuroleptics - "Sonapaks", "Aminazine", "Tizertsin";
4. tranquilizers - "Seduxen", "Phenazepam", "Clonazepam";
5. vitamins of group B - "Milgamma", "Neuromultivit", "Combipilen";
6. sedatives - "Persen", "Novopassit", "Motherwort forte".

To normalize the processes of excitation and inhibition, children are prescribed "Pantogam" and "Glycine", multivitamins "Vitrum Junior", "Alphabet", "Multi-Tabs", sedatives of plant origin "Tenoten", herbal tea "Bayu-Bai", "Calm- ka". Psychotropic drugs for children are prescribed only by a doctor.

All of the above drugs can be used only after consultation with a specialist. This is especially true for children. In the initial stages of pathology, they are often limited to psychotherapy sessions, and in more advanced cases, they proceed to prescribing medications. It must be remembered that neuroprotective drugs have a stimulating or depressing effect on the child's central nervous system. Medications are prescribed in case of aggressive behavior and the presence of suicidal intentions. By themselves, drugs do not cure the syndrome, but eliminate some of the symptoms and alleviate the general condition of patients. That is why the treatment should be comprehensive, including also psychotherapy, physiotherapy, diet therapy and herbal medicine.

• Psychotherapeutic treatment consists in carrying out effective therapeutic techniques - "stopping thoughts", hypno-suggestive and cognitive-behavioral therapy, auto-training. These psychotherapeutic effects allow patients to recognize the causes of obsessive thoughts and experience a surge of negative emotions.
• Some physiotherapy procedures will help patients calm down. These include electrosleep, electroconvulsive therapy, acupuncture, electrical brain stimulation, and vitamin B1 electrophoresis. Psychotherapists recommend dance therapy, yoga, sports, walking barefoot, drawing, and outdoor recreation to patients. Comprehensive treatment should include massage, swimming, cross-country skiing, skating, exercise therapy, hot baths, sponging, dousing and bathing in running waters, conversations with a psychologist, group psychotraining.
• Specialists pay special attention to a therapeutic diet that excludes food allergens. Patients are recommended to eat meat products, sea fish, sea kale, bananas, kiwi, apples, currants, dark chocolate, fermented milk products, fresh vegetables, nuts and seeds. Forbidden: strong coffee, confectionery and flour products, salty dishes and smoked meats, alcohol.
• In addition to the main drug treatment of the syndrome, traditional medicine is used. Before using them, you should also consult a specialist. The following remedies have a calming effect on the nervous system: oatmeal grain infusion, sage and Indian basil herbal tea, green cardamom and sugar tea, St. with lavender, mint and sea salt, carrot juice, tincture of zamaniha roots, straw, aster color, angelica roots.

SND is a reversible mental disorder. By eliminating the root cause of the disease, you can achieve full recovery. Parents should create a favorable environment at home, monitor their behavior, not conflict and not sort things out in the presence of children. It is not easy to detect these problems and get rid of them on your own. The help of specialists - child psychologists and psychoneurologists is needed.

Prevention and prognosis

The main preventive measure for obsessive movements syndrome is a healthy lifestyle. This is especially true for people with a hereditary predisposition to the disease. Experts recommend that such people do not neglect rest, sleep enough, exercise, develop personal qualities. People prone to neurological disorders should be registered with a doctor.

The syndrome of obsessive movements has a favorable prognosis and is successfully cured. It rarely becomes chronic with alternating periods of exacerbation and remission. The impact of provoking factors leads to a deterioration in the general condition of patients. Patients need to create a calm home atmosphere, protect them from negative emotions, and help them take their place in society.

In the absence of adequate treatment, the symptoms of the disease can appear for years. Complete cure of patients is possible only after serious complex treatment in the clinic.

Video: how to get rid of obsessive movements

Disorders of the nervous system, accompanied by symptoms of various origins, are neurosis. Children experience stress several times more seriously than adults. OCD in children is the result of an unstable psychogenic situation or brain damage due to trauma.

Causes

The disease develops for various reasons:

• decreased immunity;
• features of personality development;
• natal trauma;
• unstable psychogenic situation;
• increased mental and physical stress.

Neurosis may be a concomitant symptom of VVD. In case of violation of blood flow, underdeveloped vessels, the enrichment of the brain with oxygen decreases, therefore, various nervous and physiological reactions appear.

Reduced immunity, especially in babies, leads to the development of neurosis. Infectious diseases negatively affect the nervous system. Due to this, psychomotor development slows down, the child becomes lethargic, constantly feels tired, irritable.

Receptive, highly emotional children are more influenced by environmental factors than stress-resistant ones. Even babies do not always know how to behave in a given situation, so they show their emotions in the way they can, that is, through hysteria. If there is no proper example of a behavioral response, the baby fixes his reflexes and behavior.

Natal trauma often causes neurosis. At the end of the first year, the traces of natal trauma disappear, and the neurosis is quickly cured if the mother consults a neurologist in a timely manner.

Children are more vulnerable than adults and many situations that seem insignificant to us are perceived outside the box due to their inexperience. The baby can be negatively affected by frequent moving, quarrels between parents, high demands of parents or connivance.

A quarrel between parents with a child can be the cause of childhood neurosis

Physical and emotional overload is the main factor. Toddlers have their own schedule. At the age of three months, they feel tired after only 2 hours of being awake. Inadequate sleep or lack thereof leads to overwork. The unformed nervous system reacts sharply to this, begins to urgently look for ways out of the situation, and the baby, with his hysteria, tries to indicate that he is tired. In the future, such a reaction turns into a habit, to which psychosomatic symptoms are added. Obsessive states of children can manifest themselves with admission to school and in adolescence. The accelerated pace of life, preparation for exams, extra classes, problems with peers, teachers - all this unsettles the child. He is tired mentally and physically. The activity of biocurrents in the brain decreases, the baby becomes lethargic, irritable, often gets sick, withdraws into himself or behaves more aggressively.

Symptoms

Symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorders in children can be very different. The signs of the disease will differ depending on the age of the child and the intensity of the impact of the negative factor.

In childhood, until the moment the baby speaks, obsessive-compulsive disorder manifests itself:

• hysterical seizures up to loss of consciousness;
• irritability, aggression;
• urinary incontinence;
• loss of appetite;
• obsessive movements.

Compulsions and tics are a signal of a problem that the child is unable to describe in words. They are repeated at regular intervals. A tick is an uncontrolled contraction of muscle fibers. In babies, this is blinking, squinting. Obsessional neurosis in young children is manifested by the following compulsions:

• twitching of the head;
• winding hair on fingers;
• nail biting;
• rubbing of the earlobes;
• raising hands up;
• sniff;
• torsion of buttons, twitching of the lower edge of clothing.

A sign of obsessive-compulsive disorder in children can be complex movements - rituals: shaking the leg in a sitting position, walking along a certain trajectory (bypassing furniture on one side only, stepping on the street along squares of a certain color or configuration, folding toys in a certain order, etc.) . Children do this in an attempt to overshadow the cause of their anxiety.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder in adolescents also manifests itself in the form of compulsions: stamping the foot, biting the lips (up to blood at the moment of the highest tension), rubbing hands, biting pens, pencils, regular scratching of the nose, neck, ears. Other symptoms added:

• sleep disturbance;
• obsessive thoughts that involuntarily arise in the head;
• decrease in activity;
• increased sweating on the palms, feet.

Specific symptoms may include loss of hearing, voice, or vision. A detailed study of the pathology in the organs themselves are not detected. For example, there was a case when a child did not want to study music. Under parental pressure, he continued his studies, but it turned out that he did not see the musical staff. During the diagnosis, the doctor determined that the blindness extended only to the notes, he saw everything else well. This is due to the protective reaction of the body, i.e., closing the eyes to an irritating factor.

In adolescents, neurosis can manifest itself as inadequate behavior in society. During this period, he has already formed his own vision of the world and is actively trying to prove his position. To the denial of this position, the unwillingness to see him as a person, the teenager reacts violently. Because of this, conflict situations arise at school, at home.

In each individual case, different manifestations can be observed, they need to be identified in time to prevent the development of more serious abnormalities.

Methods of treatment

Compulsive movement neurosis in young children does not need to be treated with special drugs unless more serious problems are identified and the development occurs in accordance with age. Over time, this will pass. Everything depends on the parents. You need to spend more time with the child, discuss his problems, help to learn about the world around him, and not focus on obsessive movements. It would be nice to enroll your child in drawing. Treatment of OCD in children under one year old requires a careful approach. The consequences of natal trauma are eliminated with the help of the Glycine preparation, massage and exercise therapy.

If obsessive-compulsive disorder in children caused physiological abnormalities, then they are treated with light sedatives of plant origin or natural herbal preparations (in the absence of allergies). And also vitamin complexes, physiotherapy exercises, breathing exercises and work with a psychologist are shown. At home, doctors suggest taking soothing baths for babies.

Treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder in children in puberty will be more serious:

• In adolescents, treatment for OCD involves cognitive behavioral therapy.
• In difficult cases with suicidal tendencies, prolonged depression, antidepressants are prescribed. Short-term psychotropic drugs may be shown: Phenibut, Tuzepam.
• In parallel with psycho- and drug therapy, massages and electrosleep are carried out.

Such treatment of OCD is indicated for obsessive-compulsive disorder in puberty, accompanied by aggressive behavior, social maladaptation. Troubled teenagers are more often dealt with in groups. This allows the child to feel that he is not the only one in this world who has faced difficulties. At the sessions, children learn to solve problems together, to analyze the essence and cause of their behavior, to build the right position in society and to establish relationships with people.

It is important to understand that obsessive-compulsive disorders in adolescents are a formed reflex, a response to an irritating factor. Medicines are not able to eliminate the problem, they are necessary to relax the nervous system and restore mediator connections in the brain. The goal of treating children with obsessive-compulsive disorder is to transform a negative reaction that is destructive to the body into a positive one that promotes adaptation.

Treatment of obsessive-compulsive movement neurosis in children involves teaching relaxation techniques that a teenager can apply in real life.

Conclusion

OCD develops due to various reasons and it is not always an unstable situation in the family. Manifestations of neurosis of obsessive movements in a child are treated with the help of psychotherapy, which includes various methods to achieve relaxation of the nervous system. Massage is obligatory in such cases, especially if the neurosis is manifested by tics. In each individual case, an individual treatment regimen is selected.

Obsessive movements in a child are quite common. They are difficult because they are a constant repetition of monotonous movements over a long period of time. For example, parents may begin to worry about the question of why he sways, shakes his head, and so on.

Let's try to understand in more detail with such a concept as "obsessive movements syndrome". In addition, consider the symptoms, causes, methods of treatment and prevention of the disorder.

Why does obsessive movement syndrome appear?

Who is most susceptible to this type of disorder? What is the cause of obsessive movements?

Most often, they suffer from children who are very often in stressful situations, brought up in dysfunctional families, or babies after traumatic brain injuries. But there are also cases when obsessive movements in a child appear for no apparent (for parents and others) reasons. In any of the cases, it is important to identify the factor that contributes to the development of the disorder, and eliminate it in time so as not to aggravate the situation even more.

Symptoms of obsessive movements

There are many variations of this type of disorder. Caring parents should be alert to situations where their child very often:

• snaps fingers or sucks them;
• bites nails;
• shakes his head or sways his whole body;
• often sniffs (not including the presence of a runny nose);
• makes waves with his arms or swings his leg;
• pinching the skin on the hands or other parts of the body;
• blinking frequently;
• often turns the neck or tilts it to one side;
• twists his hair around his finger.

At the same time, it is important to repeat that the presence of a problem can be said not with a single performance of the above actions, but with their regular repetition.

What can obsessive movements be combined with

In young children, the symptoms of the disorder in most cases appear on their own. There may be a constant repetition of any one or several signs at once.

As for school-age children, their obsessive movements may be accompanied by enuresis, stuttering or neurotic insomnia. This is especially true of expectancy neurosis, which manifests itself as a result of the fear of making a mistake (for example, when answering at the blackboard, and so on). At the same time, obsessive movements in a child may be accompanied by a tick in the form of coughing, sniffing, blinking, grumbling. Their amplification is usually observed during excitement, fear, worries, anxiety.

Are obsessive movements in a child the norm?

What do doctors say about this, including the well-known doctor Komarovsky? Obsessive movements do not always indicate the presence of mental problems. In cases of mild severity, they may soon disappear on their own. It is important to remember that often such actions are the next stage of understanding the world and growing up.

But if the child has been snapping his fingers for a long time, shaking his head, or other symptoms of the problem are observed, it is worth contacting the local pediatrician for a special diagnosis and, possibly, prescribing the necessary type of treatment.

Diagnosis of the disorder

We must not forget that obsessive movements in children are not a separate disease, but may indicate the presence of more serious problems. And only with the help of special diagnostics it is possible to exclude or identify the presence of pathologies. For example, the cause of constantly repetitive movements may be the presence of such diseases:

1. Obsessive-compulsive disorder.
2. Trichotillomania.

At the same time, they can manifest themselves at absolutely any age, both in completely healthy children, and in those who are distinguished by slow rates of intelligence development.

Therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder

How to get rid of such a problem as obsessive movements in children? Treatment includes different types of therapy, depending on the degree of manifestation and severity of the symptoms of the disorder.

If in some cases drug treatment is not required, then in others drugs are used. The combination of psychotherapeutic sessions with a child psychologist and drug therapy is most effective. At the same time, parents should understand that for the successful recovery of the child, they will also have to make some efforts.

First of all, you should reconsider your methods of education. It is unacceptable to use screams and assault in relation to the child. The look and voice should always be calm and friendly.

In addition to this, the baby must be taught to be independent, neat and clean, and from a very early age. It will be useful to carry out hardening, communication with peers, reading together, and so on. It is important not to overdo it and prevent both physical and mental overwork.

It is advisable to dance with your child for at least a few minutes every day. You need to choose funny and rhythmic songs that the baby will like first of all.

Medical treatment

After the true reason for why the child bites his nails or makes other obsessive movements has been identified, the pediatrician may decide on the need for medical treatment.

The most commonly prescribed drugs are:

• "Asparkam".
• "Glycine".
• "Cinnarizine".
• "Pantogam".
• "Persen".
• "Milgamma".

We must not forget that such drugs can only be used as directed by a doctor, as they affect the central nervous system. They are used only in extreme cases, when serious deviations are observed or the disease is in a very advanced stage.

Treatment with traditional medicine

Folk remedies for getting rid of the disorder can be used in combination with the main therapy. Some of them help to entertain the child and distract from the problem, while others help to calm his nervous system.

Let's consider several possible options:

1. Soothing baths. During daily water procedures, you can use herbs such as string, chamomile, lavender, mint. They calm the nervous system and relieve tension.
2. It seems like such a simple tool, but it has a great effect. To prepare it, you need to dilute a teaspoon of honey in a glass of warm (by no means hot!) Water and give the child a drink just before bedtime.
3. A decoction of oatmeal. To prepare it, it is necessary to wash the oat grains and cook them until half cooked over low heat in a liter of water. After that, strain the resulting broth and add one tablespoon of honey to it. Give your child one glass of it once a day.

Prevention of the onset of the disorder

It is in the power of each of the parents to prevent or at least reduce the likelihood of the child developing obsessive movements or any other mental abnormalities and neuroses.

First of all, prevention methods consist in a sufficient amount of communication with the baby. It is important to allocate at least some time every day to talk with a child (regardless of his age, even with a baby), read fairy tales to him, find joint entertainment (drawing, modeling, dancing, active games, and so on). This will help establish trusting contact and make the child calmer.

The next stage is the protection from stressful situations. Of course, it is impossible to foresee everything, but it is in the power of parents to do everything possible so that the child is as prepared as possible for them. To do this, you can, for example, play scenes with various unforeseen situations, so that if they occur, the baby is not confused and scared, but knows how to act correctly.

It is necessary to establish a daily routine and strictly adhere to it. In addition, it is important to teach the child to independence and responsibility.

Another important point, which has already been mentioned above: in no case should mental and physical overwork be allowed, since they do not have the best effect on mental balance. For you, you can also use the methods that were described in the section "Treatment with traditional medicine" - soothing baths with herbs and sea salt, water with honey at night, and so on.

The main thing that absolutely all parents need to remember is that the health of the child (including psychological) is completely in their hands.