You have no idea what happened – your child is suddenly overcome with remarkable anxiety and bizarre worries and behaviors. It is the onset of OCD. The sooner you get the right help, the sooner and more likely it is that this can be eradicated from your child’s life on a permanent basis.
Doing the opposite of what comes natural is closer to what is needed. Do not pity them. Empower, believe in them, and speak to their courage to get through this. It is important to put on your brave face and to not show panic as their parent. They literally have no idea if you fake courage. Don’t try to reassure them; rather, encourage them to feel and face the feeling that the OCD bully is giving them. With the right help and coaching, kids seem to recover from OCD amazingly well.