My Son needs help has OCD

[Kobbi2023]

I am a father that has a 13 year old with crippling OCD. His OCD has started 1 year ago as soon as he hit puberty it seemed to be the start of OCD. Our family is being torn about do to his mental illness. He has contamination ocd and has not been at school for over 10 months. We have no money and we can’t afford to get him help. We are also on a waiting list to get him treatment and trying to get a job with insurance to help pay for some of the treatment. We don’t sleep anymore because my son some times melts down so badly some times because he contaminated something or because of his thoughts. He will melt down screaming and crying for 6 hours until he gets tiered. It’s starting to happen more and more. We noticed it’s progressing and now he is kicking walls. We have a 15 year old daughter who goes to school with no sleep because my son will meltdown from 9:00 pm till 5:00 am sometimes. We are now getting anxiety every time we see signs of a melt down. The only way I can shield my daughter from her hearing my son scream bloody murder is by driving around town at 3:00 am till my wife tells me he is done melting down. I lost my job because there where days where we didn’t sleep for 3 nights do to my sons 6 to 7 hour meltdowns with no hope of calming him down. How does one get their son treatment with no money??!!! My wife wants to give up on her life because she sees no hope in site. We are all depressed constantly crying and me as a father breaking down because I want to get my son help soooooo badly and no one can help us!!! My 13 year already got diagnosed with OCD But refuses to take medication. My son sees me and my daughter contaminated and sometimes by us being around him it triggers a meltdown. We need advice so badly and my son needs help so badly. We are so heart broken for our son because he will not go outside anymore and every time we try to talk to him about getting him treatment we already know it’s going to be a 6 hour meltdown and no one is going to sleep! I used up my 401k just to pay the bills since I lost my job. As a father I am trying to stay positive for my family but I also see no help or light at the end of the tunnel. I am losing hope and I don’t see a future. My son needs major help how does one get help with no money ??????!!! I am actually crying right now as I am trying to write this post. We once were a happy and successful family coke having a good job with happy kids to no job, no savings, no money, no insurance and my wife doesn’t want to live anymore. We need advice anything to try to keep going with life and get the help that my son so badly needs!! Can anyone just help with advice PLEASE!!!

[Taylor-RO]

Hi @Kobbi2023,

Thanks for sharing your story with us. Firstly, I am really sorry to hear about just how difficult things have been for you and your family. It seems like your son's experience of OCD is really debiltating and distressing which is having a really significant impact on everyone in your family. It must be so hard to really want to support your son but not having the money or capacity to do so, due to the waiting lists in your area. Understandably, this is causing a lot of stress and low mood for you and your family. I can hear that this situation is really wearing you down as parent. Supporting someone with a mental health issue can be really challenging but it sounds like you're doing the absolute best that you can. You have had to give up a lot of things in life due to your situation. Seeing as accessing treatment is a barrier for you right now, I have found a website that includes resources for OCD. This isn't to replace treatment but it might be beneficial while you're waiting for support.

I have also sent you through an email, if you don't mind having a look at that when you've got the chance.