My daughter started exhibiting OCD symptoms at a very early age. I would say age 3-4. But as she got older the symptoms worsened. She had more compulsions than obsessions. she had to do every action (e.g. chewing, stepping, turning a door handle, writing, blinking, etc.) in multiples of three. If it took her 5 steps, for example, to get to where she was going, then she would have to take one more step in place to equal 6 total steps. She was constantly calculating everything she did in her head. On top of that, she calculated every word she spoke or heard, and all of these had to end in multiples of 4. She would calculate her sentences so that her last word would end on 4, 8, 12, 16 etc... If she was in a conversation, she would phrase her responses so that they would finish off the previous sentence with the correct number of words. Large groups were challenging for her, as she would be continuously calculating everybody's conversations. She learned to "finish off" conversations that she wasn't a part of very quietly or in her head, so as not to draw attention to herself by talking to herself. She was so proficient at this that most people didn't notice her "ticks", they just thought she avoided large groups or was shy. My heart broke when we would be enjoying ourselves in a public place, or at a family celebration, and I would realize that it was sheer torture for her. She became extrememly chlosterphobic in large groups (such as a school cafeteria).
It affected her social life as well. She had a hard time making friends because it was hard for her to be social and she always felt different. Her elementary school tested her and told me that she has a brilliant mind with an extremely high IQ. I already knew that! She had to, to do what she did on a daily basis. Over the years we tried managing it many different ways. Being able to talk to someone about it seemed to help the most, but as she got into middle school, it became apparant that wouldn't be enough anymore. We were trying to find alternate forms of therapy so we wouldn't have to resort to drugs. But things were getting dire. Her school counselor kept calling to give me updates, and described a forlorn girl who would walk through the school cafeteria, and huddle in a corner next to a trash can eating her lunch while burying her nose in a book. A book provided minimal relief, and tended to drown out some of the chatter, so she always had her nose in a book, even through the hallways. Her grades started falling, because she was failing the tests. She would get 100% on all the homework, but she couldn't finish the tests due to all the distractions. The school counselor described one math test to me, saying that all the figure eights and number sixes were gone over with the pencil so many times that they almost wore through the page. She would start writing it and not be able to stop. My husband and I realized we needed to do something.
We found doTERRA not long after that, but I couldn't find much about OCD and essential oil use. She was half way through the 8th grade. I decided to start with the Elevation blend because I heard it was good for depression, and my thinking was that the doctors would probably have prescribed antidepressants for her OCD. It wasn't much to go on, but it was all I had. I bought a bottle for her, and I told her to wear it as a perfume, so she could smell it throughout the day. She enjoyed the smell, and it brightened all of our day when we smelled it. But I wasn't holding my breath for any real change. I couldn't believe it when after about a month she told me that she thought she was starting to see a difference. I told her to keep using it. After another month, we all started noticing a big difference. She was more social and looked happier. I asked about her symptoms, and she told me that she could go days without counting at all!! She had never been able to go even 15 minutes before the oils.
The biggest testimony was when her school counselor called me and said, "I see you finally took her in and got her on medication." I said no, I didn't, why? She then described to me a new girl. She said she had put her book down, and was eating lunch with friends at a long table. She was even sitting between people. She was laughing and chatting like a normal teenage girl. I was thrilled. I remember the day she came home and started telling me about friend "drama". I was so happy I almost started crying! She had friends to have drama with!
It wasn't long after that her symptoms stopped completely. Gone! She stopped using elevation everyday, and now only uses it when she needs a little pick me up. But her counting hasn't returned! She is now a freshman in High School, and she is involved with student council groups, and she is part of her school's Glee choir. She is still an avid reader, but now uses books as a form of entertainment rather than a physical escape. She has a goal to be valedictorian when she graduates.
I wish I could express how much this has changed her life, and subsequently ours. She is such a joy, and I feel like she can conquer the world! I love these wonderful miracles that come in a little brown bottle!
-Emily
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