Apolymantikó cherión, and no water on the island- How we laughed…eventually!

Ever wondered what the Greek word for hand sanitizer is?

Me neither... Until my daughter was diagnosed with contamination OCD, which decided to accompany us (and create havoc), on our holidays too.

Including one to Greece.

And what a holiday that turned out to be!

One minute we were sat calmly on the beach...

The next, all hell broke loose, after something triggered an OCD flare-up in my daughter, and there was no hand sanitizer...it had run out.

Imagine the scene.

My daughter was completely freaking out.

My other daughter and husband's bodies had tensed up due to knowing what chaos lay ahead.

And me?

Well, I just did what I always did when OCD decided to play its game...

I jumped up and immediately began traipsing through the cobbled streets, in the baking sun, in my quest to source some hand sanitizer, to calm the situation.

How difficult could it be?

Pretty difficult, it would seem; especially when you don't speak the language.

As trying to mime out what we were trying to purchase wasn't having the desired effect.

Until, finally...we found a small shop, and an assistant, who somehow understood what we needed, and presented us with a bottle of hand sanitizer.

Or 'Apolymantikó cherión', to give it its Greek name.

You'd be amazed at how quickly this diffused the situation and returned a smile to my daughter's face.

Until the next OCD incident, that is.

We were sitting in a restaurant mid-way through a delicious Greek meal when I glanced over at my daughter and recognised that "dreaded look" on her face.

The one that she often had after scanning people, and places, when looking for signs of "contamination".

Because that's what OCD sufferers often do.

They scan everyone and everywhere, trying to detect any outward signs of "contamination", and then... FLEE!

And that's what we did.

We fled.

And as usual, there were lots of tears, and trembling, until we eventually managed to calm the anxiety, temporarily, via rituals.

Here's an actual extract taken from one of my diary entries, written around that time:

Monday wore 2 long sleeved tops despite it being boiling 26 degrees, uncomfortable when she nearly?bumped into a " contaminated" lady. Wiped herself down with my wipes?

Anyway, we somehow got to the end of the holiday and everything seemed calm until...

My daughter's shower wasn't working.

Nor anyone else's for that matter.

And after some investigating, it seemed that the island had somehow run out of water.

You really couldn't have made this up.

Especially when this was her last shower before she left for the airport...

And the one that would "neutralise" any "contamination" before boarding the plane to come home.

Thankfully, the water supplies got replenished in just enough time for her to shower, before leaving for the airport.

She and I often laugh about it now, because, despite still having some issues around OCD, she now lives a much more normal life.

One where she has managed to take back control from the invisible bully that moved into her head and controlled the whole family.

And to be able to lead a more normal life.

I decided to share these stories, to provide a brief glimpse into some of the challenges that OCD can present...

And to offer hope to other families, who may find themselves in a similar position.

It's also the reason why I now write my Mind Monsters books to help parents and teachers support children with anxiety and OCD.

And why I will be providing OCD workshops in the new year too.

If you'd like any further details about what I do, or any advice about supporting a child with anxiety and OCD, then please feel free to DM me.

Or alternatively, you can visit my website which is:

www.themindmonsters.co.uk