INPUT ARTICLE: Article: A family member or loved one with OCD can heavily influence the household atmosphere and schedule. It is just as important to know which behaviors reduce anxiety but enable the cycle of OCD to continue. It is tempting for family members to participate or allow rituals to continue. By accommodating your loved one in these ways, you are perpetuating their cycle of fear, obsession, anxiety, and compulsion.   In fact, research has shown that accommodating the person’s request to comply with rituals or alter routines actually produces worse presentations of symptoms of OCD.   Some rituals that you may need to avoid enabling include: answering repeated questions, reassuring the person about his fears, allowing the person to dictate seating at the dinner table, or asking others to perform certain things several times before serving food. It is easy to fall into this enabling behavior because the rituals and behaviors are seen as harmless.  However, if the enabling has been going on for a long time, suddenly stopping all ritual involvement and reassurance may be too abrupt. Inform the person you will be decreasing your involvement in their rituals, then create a limit for how many times a day you will help with rituals. Then slowly reduce this number until you are no longer a participant.  It may be helpful for you to keep an observation journal, noting when symptoms seem to come up or worsen. This is especially helpful if the family member with OCD is a child. Though it's a stress point for this person and it'll be difficult not to succumb to his desires, it's important that you and others around this person continue life as normal. Instead, come up with a family agreement that your loved one’s condition will not alter the family routines or schedules. Make sure that your loved one knows you are there to support him, and you see that his distress is real, but you will not support his disorder. If your loved one needs to engage in certain OCD behaviors, suggest that these happen in certain rooms. Keep communal rooms free from OCD behaviors. For example, if your loved one needs to check that the windows are locked, suggest that he does this in the bedroom and bathroom, but not in the living room or kitchen. When your loved one is faced with the urge to engage in compulsive behavior, you can help by offering some type of distraction such as going for a walk or listening to music. Try to avoid labeling your loved one as his OCD condition. Avoid blaming or chastising your loved one when his behavior becomes frustrating or overwhelming. This is not productive for your relationship or for your loved one’s health. Regardless of how you feel about the OCD, you need to be encouraging. Ask your family member about his specific fear, obsession, and compulsion. Ask him how you can help him decrease his symptom (outside of complying with his rituals). Explain in a calm voice that the compulsions are a symptom of the OCD and tell him that you won't participate in the compulsions. This gentle reminder may be just what he needs to resist the compulsions this time, which can lead to more instances where he is able to resist them. This is very different than accommodating your loved one. Being supportive does not mean allowing the behaviors. It means holding the person accountable in a supportive way and offering a hug when he needs it. It’s important that your loved one feels involved in decisions that are made about his OCD. This is especially true for a child with OCD. Talk with your loved one to find out if he wants to tell his teachers about his OCD, for example. Overcoming OCD can be a difficult road. When your loved one makes small improvements, congratulate him. Even if it seems like a small step, such as not checking the lights before bed, your loved one is making improvements. Many times, family members become involved in a loved one's rituals in an attempt to reduce the person's distress or to avoid confrontation. Reduce stress by encouraging your family to learn relaxation techniques, such as yoga, mindful meditation, or deep breathing. Encourage them to exercise, adopt healthy eating habits, and get adequate sleep, which can help reduce stress and anxiety.

SUMMARY: Avoid enabling behaviors. Keep your regular schedule. Request that your loved one limit OCD behaviors to certain areas of the house. Help distract your loved one from their thoughts. Don’t label or blame the person for his OCD. Create a supportive environment for your loved one. Involve your loved one in decisions. Celebrate small steps. Learn ways to reduce stress in the household.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Bats favor dark, quiet hideouts and have an aversion to lots of light and commotion. Try leaving a light on in the attic or another area you think bats might be inhabiting. For a two-pronged approach, you might also invest in a white noise machine and leave it running overnight to double your chances of scaring them off.  It’s against the law to exterminate bats in places where they’re considered a protected species, which means you’ll have to find a non-lethal way to get rid of them.  Hanging strips of aluminum foil from the ceiling can create a series of obstacles that will disorient and repel bats. Bat boxes are small enclosed structures that provide a hospitable temporary environment for bats seeking a place to roost. The idea is to flush them out of your home while giving them somewhere else to go so that they won’t be tempted to return. For people living in wooded areas, bat boxes can be a good way to relocate bats without the need for more costly measures.  You can construct your own bat box from scratch or ask your local pest control or wildlife removal service how to obtain one.  Set up your bat box near the treeline of your property or alongside your home in a place with ample shade. By fitting suspected entry points with a one-way valve or tube, invading bats will be free to exit a space but won’t be able to get back in. This way, bats will simply leave on their own. Exclusion devices are arguably the most effective method for ridding your home of bats once and for all.  Denying bats reentry is preferable to trapping them, which is often difficult and dangerous. Exclusion devices can be found at most pet stores and home improvement centers and are relatively simple to install. If you’re not having any luck getting rid of the bats on your own, or you suspect you might be housing an entire bat colony, your best bet is to have the problem dealt with professionally. Pest control specialists will be able to pinpoint the places where bats are likely getting in, then remove them and seal vulnerable entry points to keep them from coming back.  This will be the safest and most convenient option if you can afford to have it done. In places where environmental conservation is a high priority, you may be able to find a team of wildlife experts to remove bats from your home at no cost.

SUMMARY:
Create a disturbance to drive the bats away. Set up a bat box. Install a one-way exclusion device. Call a pest removal service.