@childocdtherapist: Summer break can be a relief for many kids. No homework. No tests. No early mornings. No school avoidance. But for some kids with anxiety or OCD, less structure doesn’t always mean less stress. When school ends, there can be more time for overthinking, rumination, reassurance seeking, social media checking, intrusive thoughts, and worries that might have been temporarily distracted by the busyness of daily life. You might notice your child: • Overthinking conversations • Worrying more about health or safety • Spending hours analyzing friendships • Getting stuck in intrusive thoughts • Seeking reassurance more often • Struggling to relax even when they finally have free time That doesn’t mean summer is the problem. It just means that when there is more downtime, anxiety and OCD often have more opportunities to fill the space. The goal isn’t to keep kids busy every second of the day. The goal is helping them learn how to handle downtime without getting pulled into anxiety and OCD’s endless loops. If you’re looking for some guidance on how to support your child through this, I did a podcast episode a few years back called Helping Kids with Anxiety & OCD with the Downtime of Summer that dives deeper into this topic. Listen at www.natashadaniels.com/psp265 #ocd #ocdproblems #ocdrecovery #ocdawareness #childocd

Natasha Daniels

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Saturday 30 May 2026 21:19:02 GMT