I’M CONCERNED ABOUT MY DAUGHTER

About three years ago my family and I went out for dinner and afterwards we all had upset stomachs and diarrhoea. Ever since then my daughter has had problems with her stomach and spends hours in the toilet because she says her digestive system doesn’t work properly and she can’t empty her bowels.

She says nothing happens when she goes to the toilet and seems to be chronically constipated. We’ve taken her to medical specialists but no one seems able to help her.

My daughter has obsessivecompulsive tendencies and gets disturbing thoughts that she can’t stop from going around and around in her head.

She was prescribed medication for this and since taking it the thoughts have been less troubling, but she’s obsessed about going to the toilet and not being able to finish on the toilet in a reasonable time. What can I do? Allan, email Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) plays out as obsessive behavioural rituals, thoughts and ideas or beliefs that can be very disruptive to the life of the sufferer.

It can even render them incapacitated because the rituals take up so much time and energy that they can’t function normally.

The best treatment for OCD is a combination of medication, behaviour therapy and hypnotherapy. The patient has to be taught to control their obsessive behaviour and manage the impulse they feel that causes them to repeat the behaviour over and over again.

It sounds as if your daughter has developed obsessive thoughts about going to the toilet and believes that she’s unable to completely empty her bowels – whether this is in fact the case or not.

Considering that the specialists couldn’t find a medical reason for what she’s experiencing, your next step should be to get your daughter psychiatric and psychological help to sort out this problem.