You probably know that you shouldn’t be asking your family to help you do your rituals, or to give you reassurance about your obsessions, or to help you avoid things that trigger your OCD. However, these things can sometimes be hard to resist. Studies have found that the majority of family members do get involved in their loved ones’ symptoms, often on a daily basis (I describe this more fully in the newest edition of my book “Getting Control”. There are several big problems that result: (1) the family members felt more stressed because of this, but did it to reduce the OCD sufferer’s anger or distress, and (2) doing this actually keeps your OCD going, rather than helping you to control it effectively.

Do you know how much you are involving your family in your OCD symptoms? Try this questionnaire which was developed by Dr Linda Calvocoressi and her associates at Yale University and elsewhere to measure the amount of accomodation of OCD symptoms by families.

After you complete this questionnaire, you may want to discuss the results with one of your family members. It is often easiest to start controlling your OCD symptoms by having your family members take the first step – it easier for them because they don’t suffer the strong emotions of OCD.

Please add your comments about your experiences with family accomodation.

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