O.D.D......Scared Childless!

I was talking to a friend of mine on Sunday. We spoke for a couple of hours, about life, family, money woes, the usual. We somehow ended up discussing the problems of her cousin. This cousin has had a troubled life. She was never living on the street or anything like that, but she’s had a few bumps that left her pretty depressed. Recently though, she made a move in what we thought would be the right direction. She met and married a man in the military. He got them housing on a base in Hawaii, and together they had a baby boy. That makes three children for her. Things seemed to be moving in the right direction for her, but now her two oldest children are exhibiting some problematic traits.

My friend was reciting a list of what the kids had been diagnosed with so far, saying that some of the problems might be connected to the fact that the husband was back from Iraq, with Post Traumatic Stress syndrome. The eldest (he’s 10) suffers from severe depression, and has had suicidal thoughts. I was heartbroken to hear about that, because he had always been such a sweet boy. The middle child (I think she’s 6) has A.D.H.D., O.D.D., and a bunch of other stuff.
Now when I write “a bunch of other stuff” I don’t want to come off as uncaring, it’s just that after my friend said “O.D.D.” I didn’t hear anything else. “Wait, what’s O.D.D.?” I asked. “Oh, that stands for Oppositional Defiant Disorder” she said. Well…where the hell have I been? I’d never heard of that s***. She went on to explain that the little girl basically does the opposite of everything she’s been told.Wait I know about A.D.D. & A.D.H.D., but O.D.D.????? Am I the last person to hear about this? Where was the public service announcement?
Anyway, she told me a story that scared the shit out of me. About a year ago. The little girl dragged her baby brother down the steps by his feet. His mouth hit every step. Her reason for this…..She was told to stop bothering her baby brother. Yep that's it...He didn't do anything to her...Neither parent had screamed at her earlier that day.... The little girl just went bizzerk. I swear I felt my ovaries shrivel up a little after hearing that story. Is it wrong to be a lil' happy bout’ the fact that subconscious Nic hit the snooze button on her biological clock?

When I got a chance I looked up O.D.D. on the computer.

The only definition I could find for O.D.D. said, “Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) is a behavioral disorder that is characterized by aggressive, defiant, negative, irritable and annoying behaviors towards peers and authority figures, such as parents and teachers.”

Just looking at this definition is pushing me towards an anxiety attack. Things are getting out of control. It seems like every time I turn around a new behavioral disorder is springing up. Where are they coming from? I need answers people. I can't keep blaming things on MacDonald's' hormone packed food!