hi Ross, there doesn't necessarily have to be a depression in the family, that's not the prerequisite for anybody having it, and normally anxiety and depression go hand in hand, one is not absent from the other, and it seems as though your mother is trying to push everybody away.
I can absolutely sympathise with your son, just as I can for you for trying to cope with his extreme OCD, it must dominate the lives for you and your son, because people who have known about my OCD and that's only a couple of people, the pressure that is put on you is terrible, and the more he is criticised, the worse he will become.
I also know that when I was a builder/handyman payments were never paid on time, mostly by those who are quite wealthy, so this is another major stress factor and changes the way you think.
Ross, I am so pleased that you have had so much support, that's exactly what you need and what we want to do for you, because when we have our own problem/s we always think that no one will be interested, not so.
I have a son who has inherited my OCD showing extreme habits and rituals, which I feel so ungrateful in giving it to him, I know that couldn't be helped and I certainly couldn't stop it, but I must admit that there many times when I couldn't cope with it and actually crawled at him, that was stupid and inconsiderate by me, and the only way I found out I had OCD was because we took him to a child psychologist who automatically said that it's OCD, that's when I knew what I was doing had a name.
Firstly you need to maintain your strength, which I know is not easy, especially when you have so much on your plate, but perhaps could I suggest that your son start playing some sport, that's when I never did any OCD habits/rituals, maybe he can go with you to yoga, it maybe a slow process, but try to do it slowly. Geoff.
