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Struggling with OCD/intrusive thoughts over losing items/cheap sunglasses


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I have no idea if this is OCD or just anxiety or a psychological disorder I'm unaware of

 

I always go CRAZY (borderline SUICIDAL) if i lose things, even cheap things that are easily replaceable, such as cheap sunglasses, T shirts, phone chargers

 

Recently I was travelling in a foreign country halfway across the world from my home and was staying in an apartment owned by a family acquaintance. I lost cheap plastic $1 sunglasses somewhere during my travels in this foreign country. Maybe I left it on the bus or in a taxi or in the apartment i was staying in. I returned home and realized I had lost the sunglasses. My family friend said she cannot find it in her apartment.

 

I feel the urge to fly back HALFWAY across the world to her apartment and tear her apartment apart to find these cheap sunglasses.

I have the urge to find out the exact manufacturer, model #, and any random information these cheap sunglasses had on them!!

 

If I left them on a bus or taxi im ok with that philosophically BUT if they're in the apartment than ill have to fly back to her apartment and get them back, or have her mail me the sunglasses (which is ridiculous to ask because that will be expensive and they are worth $1 and my family friend has a busy job and won't have time to mail me sunglasses to cure my OCD). Most likely i left them on the bus/taxi but it's just driving me insane thinking theyre somewhere in her apartment half way across the world.

 

I've been taking pristiq (desvenlafaxine) and prozac (fluoxetine) to help me fight these intrusive thoughts with the oversight of a psychiatrist and been geting CBT from my social worker. Thank you for any advice. It's just a slow process and i wanna know if anybody else struggles with something similar.

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I've been taking pristiq (desvenlafaxine) and prozac (fluoxetine) to help me fight these intrusive thoughts with the oversight of a psychiatrist and been geting CBT from my social worker..

Have you discussed these issues with your psychiatrist? What do they say? What do they suggest? I think you would be far better off getting answers from your psychiatrist than strangers on the internet who have no qualifications in this field.

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I hate to lose my things too, even inexpensive things. You just have to talk yourself out of being upset. I'm still looking around the house for a flash drive I lost last year, although I'm pretty sure I lost it in another state. But you just have to let it go.

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Learn to laugh at yourself.

As soon as you find yourself obsessing over something stupid, laugh out loud.

 

For lots of money and side effects, shrinks/pill pushers try to mimic the therapy but never come close.

Save the gift of obsessing for a sick child, cancer, failing eyesight etc.

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I notice a lot of posts lately that present symptoms, treatment plans and aren't looking for answers to the problem, but rather fish for others to post similar stories about themselves. Why is that?

 

They want to feel like they're not the only one. That they're not "weird" or strange or crazy.

 

I have self-diagnosed with OCD, but it's not to this extreme. I just feel like I "have" to check my stove many times before I leave home, I wash my hands about 25 times a day, I have intrusive thoughts and I count things like the stairs outside my home even though I already know there are 36 (4 flights of 9 stairs).

 

What I do when I have these events is tell myself "You already know there are 36 stairs" or "That's an intrusive thought and it is not based in reality" or "Oh, poor baby, your precious HANDS got some dust on them, you aren't going to DIE, hands are washable!" And it reminds me that all this stuff was invented by me, in my own mind, and it will have zero effect on my life or anyone else's life. It's helped a lot.

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You need to make an appointment with the psychiatrist asap and discuss this and discuss the medication effects and side effects.

I always go CRAZY (borderline SUICIDAL)

I've been taking pristiq (desvenlafaxine) and prozac (fluoxetine) to help me fight these intrusive thoughts with the oversight of a psychiatrist and been geting CBT from my social worker.

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So what I do is manage my expectations in advance. So, for example travel to a foreign country - I remind myself to expect some jet lag, that my stuff will be all over the place (even if I pack in a somewhat organized way- once I'm in a strange location, even a hotel, of course it's so much easier to misplace things). I also come up with a plan to decrease the risk of losing things. I have a list of everything and also note the location in my luggage if it's not obvious. Once at the place I keep important things like chargers, papers, etc in one place. I try to be much more focused on where things are . But with it all -accept that travel has its huge upsides but it is often a time of chaos, loss of control, not feeling your best. To me it's worth the experience. And yes, accept that you will lose things like umbrellas, sunglasses, etc.

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