Help. New symptom...Coprolalia?

[bluedarling]

dd12 has confessed to 2 months of uncontrollable thoughts of cursing/swearing.  She is NOT uttering them...or if she does not audibly. (This was a rather shocking confession.)

There are no other symptoms...no tics, no schizo symptoms that I'm aware of....just depression over the symptoms (and schoolwork.)  She's been trying to pray herself through this for 2 months! (poor thing!)

 

This child is having trouble with schoolwork being too hard, I believe due to undiagnosed auditory processing/language struggles....but nothing that seems related to this symptom.  We are Christian, and she has had very little exposure to this (reports she did go to a friends house where parents cursed...that's it!)

 

Would love to be pointed in the right direction.  I've called a psych and our pastor, but the psych was full and I'm waiting for referral from them, and haven't heard from the pastor. 

[geodob]

It is fortunate that she doesn't vocalise the words.

Though when we think with words, the speech muscles involved with saying the words. Are activated, as if we were actually saying the words out loud.

But with Coprolalia, it is of motor muscle origin. So that it isn't a case of the swear word being thought and vocalized. But rather the motor muscles act out and saying the word automatically.

 

Where it is basically a release of muscle tension, in muscle group.

Though something that you could look at, is whether she holds tension in her shoulders and neck?

Where people hold tension in different parts of the body/ limbs/ head.

So that these cursing thoughts, could be providing a release of shoulder/ neck tension?

In turn, avoiding the development of shoulder/ neck tension, could see the swear word thoughts disappear?  As their is no muscle tension to produce them?

One thing that I would ask, is if she holds her head upright, or if she holds her head tilted forward?  Where holding the head tilted forward, causes/ requires a lot of muscle tension to hold it in that position.

As opposed to holding our head up and balanced on the top of our neck.

It has also been observed that tight/ uncomfortable collars, exacerbate Coprolalia.

 

So that it could be helpful to look at whether holding tension in shoulder/ neck is a factor?

[bluedarling]

The more I'm reading on this it appears to me more likely a form of OCD, not coprolalia.  But I really don't know...guess I'll need a psych for that!  I tend to hold my head forward, but I have not noticed that with her.  I have no idea if she's tight.  The coprolalia doesn't fit, though, with Tourette's or schizo causes....OCD seems more likely (I saw a few references with that for this kind of thing, though its apparently not one of the more common types.)  The trying to pray herself out of it fits with OCD.  Still no word on a psych referral...waiting and reading.  If anyone has reading recommendations that would be great!

[Julie of KY]

I thought this book was great at understanding OCD and dealing with compulsive thoughts (even if it's not OCD):

 

Freeing Your Child from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Powerful, Practical Program for Parents of Children and Adolescents by Tamar Chansky

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812931173/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1