"Rebbe, I don't understand what you're teaching" is all Moshe managed to blurt out after crying through the entire lunch break. Moshe was out sick for a few days and had just returned to school the day before. His rebbaim, teachers and parents all noticed that something was different. It seemed as if Moshe was carrying a heavy burden on his shoulders; he did not smile, did not go out during recess, and did not even raise his hand during class.

It was the last statement with which the rebbe confirmed that something was not right. Moshe was always the first to raise his hand in class; he was always the first to state the correct answer to the class; however, the past two days were different. Although everyone was sure that Moshe had a full medical recovery from his fever, it seemed as if his mind had not yet recovered. He spent most of the day with his watery eyes looking down, and his shoulders slouched beneath the burden of weight he seemed to carry on them.

After noticing a difference in him, the rebbe called Moshe's parents to find out what was going on. Moshe's parents had noticed some drastic changes in Moshe over the past few days as well. They told the rebbe that they were discussing with each other whether to call him to find out if anything had happened at school since they were unable to figure out the source of Moshe's altered behavior. It is this phone call to his parents that prompted the 'talk' the rebbe had with him over lunchtime break. Through numerous individual and group conversations with Moshe, his parents, and his rebbe over the next couple of days, it came out that Moshe felt that he had missed too much over the few days that he was out, and was unable to catch up now that he was back in class.

Moshe's parents, rebbaim and teachers have always been very impressed with him. Everyone viewed Moshe as the ideal child. He has always been an A plus student in yeshiva. At home, he was a role model for his siblings and friends as well. He was a quiet, bright high academic achiever who always brought home good grades and never got into trouble.

Knowing Moshe over the past few months, the rebbe knew that it was not logical that Moshe was unable to keep up due to his absence from school, since he was brighter than most of the other kids. Furthermore, the two days that Moshe missed consisted of review material that Moshe had already known perfectly.

Moshe's parents, rebbe and teacher tried to help him out of this rut; however, Moshe thoughts continued to spiral in this concept of not being able to keep up with the class. As the days went on, the rebbe and parents noticed that Moshe was spending a lot of time ensuring that his belongings were perfectly neat. At home, he vacuumed at least every day and even offered to clean the refrigerator. At school, he started to volunteer to clean the classroom and one day even cleaned his school bus during recess. Moshe came to class an hour late and he told his rebbe the he was late because he had to clean the bus. This is when the rebbe called Moshe's parents and suggested that he see a therapist.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, commonly referred to as OCD is a fairly common issue among children and adolescents. Within our community, it often afflicts those who have some similar personality attributes. Some of the commonalities that people who have developed OCD have is that they are high achievers; they often try very hard in school to obtain good grades, as well as trying very hard to please parents, peers or other people they are in contact with. They are often very concerned about how people perceive them and may appear to be shy due to this. Often, the symptoms worsen in reaction to a stressful incident or sometimes due to common childhood illnesses such as strep.

Some other common symptoms of OCD or other anxieties are excessive or extreme frumkiet, religiosity or fear of being punished for sins when it does not have a basis in halachah. OCD and other anxiety disorders such as panic attacks and phobias are fairly common, and perhaps even more prevalent in our community than in other communities. There are treatments that can help. If you or someone you know presents with any of the above symptoms, or similar symptoms a therapist can help alleviate or eliminate them.