Suzanne1281 Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 Does anyone know where I can find advice on how to control obsessive thinking? I have been this way for the past 7 years since my father committed suicide. After that happened, the constant thought on my mind from the time I woke up to the time I went to bed was the events of that tragedy. Eventually, with time, therapy and some life changes I was able to overcome that. However, I noticed that everytime I am left by a man I begin to think this way again. I have just gone through another bad breakup. The obsessive thinking is painful, my chest hurts I'm so stressed, I can't work or eat and I can't even find rest from it in my sleep: I dream about it. All I think about is the last things he said to me, how he said he'd call, and mostly I obsess about my own actions, over-analyzing everything and blaming myself (when the fact of the matter is I probably didn't do anything wrong). I know this stems from what happened with my father, but I don't want to go back to that place after I've come so far in my life. I don't have health insurance right now so I can't go back to therapy (edit to add: when I did go to therapy, my psychologist did diagnose me with obsessive thinking, we tried prescriptions, but I don't think I took it long enough to see if it would control it). I have just started the job of my dreams and have just moved to a big city, so I can't go and make life changes right now. I have started taking some homeopathic meds like St. John's Wort to try and calm the anxiety down, have quit smoking, am trying to have a healthier diet and not drink alcohol, but I just dont' know where to turn. I'm only 26 and have been like this since I was 18. If anyone has advice, please help me. Link to comment
juicey Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 Hi Suzanne, I was diagnosed with a varient form OCD (basically just obsessive thinking with no compulsive acts) and I am not on meds. I know what you mean, I have a lot of obsessive thoughts and a bad situation usually triggers thoughts of an earlier bad situation. The best thing that I do is try to redirect my obsessive thoughts. Do you have a hobby that you enjoy? I like cooking and will really throw myself into it. Link to comment
Suzanne1281 Posted March 31, 2008 Author Share Posted March 31, 2008 Juicey, Yes I do take dance classes. I haven't been able to get to any because I don't get out of work early enough, but maybe I can try and rearrange that and really get back into dancing. Thank you for your advice. Link to comment
richmonder80 Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 exercise really helps!!!! I've had anxiety issues since very young as my mom left when I was only 10. I know that medicine is only a temporary solution and leads to dependency on those medicine to cope with anxiety. You have to overcome the anxiety not dim down the symptoms. The amazing thing about our body is that it is very adaptive...a traumatic experience in our life can alter the chemical balance of our brain, which in turn changes our behaviours and thoughts. The more amazing thing is that, it can revert back to your health self. The first thing is to change your outlook...if you think depressive thoughts, you will be depressed...if you think optimistic thoughts, you will be more optimistic. Two, do not look to substance to help you cope...like cigarettes, alcohole, $ex, other drugs. It will only lead you deeper into anxious, depressive, and distruptive state. Three, look to a higher being, whether it be, God, the nature, whatever you believe in. Spirituality is not about being religeous but belief that there is something much bigger than who we are. Four, take is day by day...recouperation takes a lifetime, so take it a day at a time as healing process is continous. Link to comment
Suzanne1281 Posted March 31, 2008 Author Share Posted March 31, 2008 Thank you rich, I think I may try and start some dance classes tomorrow. I may look into what you said about spirituality as well. Link to comment
ryan123 Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 I wish I knew myself. I'm trying to overcome my OCD. Everything that happens to me I obsess about in my head(reliving every moment to a T) and I even sometimes can't think about it because my mind is just wasted that I have to just write it down and read it over and over. I don't know what triggered this. I've always had a lot of anxiety problems and always have been OCD with checking things. Its taken over my entire life. Everything I do I think about and write down afterwards. Every penny I spend. Every action I make. Its mainly on Mondays as I go back to work(sad time) and have to reflect on the good times I had over the weekend. But it happens everyday. Link to comment
juicey Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 Hi Ryan, Have you tried meds? Even for a short period? I am not on them but will get a prescription when things get particularly bad. Link to comment
girl friend Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 You reckon it could be a form of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder perhaps? No point in getting treatment for the wrong diagnosis. Its just it sounds more like PTSD than obsessive thinking to me. I mean sure there is obsessive thinking there but why is that? Link to comment
juicey Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 PTSD is caused by a specific event and the disorder surrounds that event. It doesn't trigger obsessive thinking about something other than that. Her father dying was very traumatic, but has no bearing on her obsessive thinking about break ups. Link to comment
notanexpert1 Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Could be just because you"re a woman? I used to have OCD - I cured myself. & when I said I had OCD, I had OCD! Done it without cbt or anti depressants. 100% recovery! Link to comment
Suzanne1281 Posted April 2, 2008 Author Share Posted April 2, 2008 Could be just because you"re a woman? What does being a woman have to do with obsessive thinking that only started after my father killed himself when I was 18? Link to comment
girl friend Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 You reckon it could be a form of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder perhaps? No point in getting treatment for the wrong diagnosis. Its just it sounds more like PTSD than obsessive thinking to me. I mean sure there is obsessive thinking there but why is that? PTSD is caused by a specific event and the disorder surrounds that event. It doesn't trigger obsessive thinking about something other than that. Her father dying was very traumatic, but has no bearing on her obsessive thinking about break ups. The obsessive thinking is all related to the tragedy though, even if we have to take the psychological ''fear of abandonment'' route. And PTSD can trigger obsessive thinking. Like then the person tries to suppress thoughts of a traumatic incident and instead ends up thinking about them more. It certainly sounds to me like the OP has unresolved issues relating to the past tragedy, and so i stand by what i said. Its important to take a symptom and think, 'what is this really about.' Link to comment
girl friend Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 Could be just because you"re a woman? I used to have OCD - I cured myself. & when I said I had OCD, I had OCD! Done it without cbt or anti depressants. 100% recovery! Well would you enlighten the modern psychological psychiatry of the age then with your 'miracle program for cure' because to me it either sounds like you don't know what OCD is, or you are taking the mick. OCD is a very serious disorder, where the individual feels ''out of control of their own mind.'' It cannot be cured by just getting over it. Certainly not the way you can force yourself to 'get over someone' or stop thinking about something. The point of OCD is that you are not in control, and that is why it is so very frightening. Link to comment
Vulcan800 Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 Long story short, my ex broke up with me lastyear March 13th to be exact. For the entire year, I fought with depression and not being able to function in daily life. I started seeing a therapist and went on Zoloft. Currently at 125mg. The Zoloft has worked but the last week or so I began to feel as if the meds were not working. I noticed I had become very irritable and short with people even getting mad at my pets for nothing. My sleep began to suffer and then came the constant thoughts. For along time I was doing ok and up until the last week or so I was actualy happy. The thoughts are unstopable! The constant thinking of the ex is crazy! I would replay real and imagined conversations and these thoughts would consume 90% of my day leaving me sad, angry, depressed, tired mentaly emotional drained to the point where you just want to rip out your brain to make it stop also along with those thoughts come anxiety and of course deeper depression. Now for me I don't know if I am just having a bad phse or if this is going to continue but what I do know that having thoughts like this or any obsessive thinking is mental torment to ones self. I know how it can affect evrythingin ones life from work to eating to sleep and everything else. My suggestion is this, If you do not have medical insurance try calling the local hospital or your county board of health. Somone should be able to direct you to some sort of program where you can get either deep discounted medical or even free medical treatment. I also believe that with this sort of thinking I know from my own experience that I would have blown my brains out by now ( not really but it was pretty bad) if it had not been for friends, and medicine. I am making a doctors apt this week because I do not want to let this go on any longer than it has to and from reading here I think that you should really explore some ways to get into see a doctor or get a referal to a therapist or something like that. I wish you all the best Link to comment
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