Teens with OCD

(February 28, 2008) - NATIONAL - About two percent of children and adults suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder.

One young patient describes her OCD as normal teenage anxiety multiplied by 100.

Lizzie Rogers is a typical 17-year-old teenager, active in sports and cheerleading. But for years, she hid a troubling secret. She suffered from OCD, obsessive compulsive disorder, and it was getting worse.

"I had this really big thing, I thought, like over-thought everything, like I didn't sleep at night 'cause I was thinking so much. I'd replay everything in my head and it just got to the point where, like, this isn't normal," said Lizzie.

"My closet's neat now, but when I OCD's, every shirt was color coordinated, they were spaced out perfectly, they all had to have the same colored hangars," she continued.

Doctor Andrew Gilbert is with one of the few programs in the country that offers intensive outpatient OCD treatment jut for kids.

"We've come a long way in recognizing this disorder in childhood and adolescence," said Dr Gilbert. "And we have some really good evidence supporting particular treatments that appear to be very effective."