getupkid82 Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 hi there, i'm taking a (very short) break from posting in the healing after a breakup forum and am wondering if anyone else here suffers from ocd. i myself have suffered from it since i was a kid and it got worse in my early 20's up until last summer when i attended cognitive behavioural therapy. i'm in a much better place nowadays (ocd wise) and am just letting people know that i suffer from it but i know how to control it now. if anyone feels like posting it'd be great to talk to people who know what it's like and i'm free to answer any questions about the therapy i went through. Link to comment
sarey Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 I suffer from OCD, have done for years now. It's so hard everyday, I have an eating disorder so they don't match well together in the least, I also have health anxiety, or something like that, but anyway, I obsessive over it, and I check my body a lot, it's really difficult getting through the day. It was so much more worse a few months ago however. I have one thing to say. "The more you do it, the more fuel you give to the fire" Link to comment
getupkid82 Posted January 26, 2009 Author Share Posted January 26, 2009 I suffer from OCD, have done for years now. It's so hard everyday, I have an eating disorder so they don't match well together in the least, I also have health anxiety, or something like that, but anyway, I obsessive over it, and I check my body a lot, it's really difficult getting through the day. It was so much more worse a few months ago however. I have one thing to say. "The more you do it, the more fuel you give to the fire" yeah it's horrible, for me it was the intrusive thoughts that got to me. it's like your head is a prison. no matter what i did i couldn't stop. looking back now its like, i can't believe i went through such agony, but at the time it was the worst time of my life. Link to comment
sarey Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 The intrusive thoughts and compulsions were hell for me. I would need constant reassurance from a close friend and it felt like if I didn't "confess" I was a bad person. I heard that phrase above and I went with it, resisting the urge to confess and seek reassurance. My checks have gotten much better, I only do a few now, compared to spending probably half an hour on them. However, the intrusive, obsessive thoughts and compulsions still remain. It's hard. But I have gotten better from before. I cannot believe how anxious and stressed and I would cry if I didn't get reassurance and I would scream at myself to stop the checks, stop the thoughts, stop it all. Link to comment
nurse1986 Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 I don't know if this is OCD, but I tend to look in the mirror a lot. I am like possessed with facial expressions, my facial expressions. It's hard to deal with too, because I'm constantly tuned to how my facial expressions are... Any idea how to get over it?? lol Link to comment
getupkid82 Posted January 26, 2009 Author Share Posted January 26, 2009 The intrusive thoughts and compulsions were hell for me. I would need constant reassurance from a close friend and it felt like if I didn't "confess" I was a bad person. I heard that phrase above and I went with it, resisting the urge to confess and seek reassurance. My checks have gotten much better, I only do a few now, compared to spending probably half an hour on them. However, the intrusive, obsessive thoughts and compulsions still remain. It's hard. But I have gotten better from before. I cannot believe how anxious and stressed and I would cry if I didn't get reassurance and I would scream at myself to stop the checks, stop the thoughts, stop it all. one thing i had to do with the intrusive thoughts was to let them just come. a thought would get into my head and i had to concentrate on it for a couple of minutes. my heart was racing and i'd become anxious. after maybe a minute or so the anxiety level would drop and you would feel ok again. this was what i had to do every week in therapy. it was terrible haha but it's worked. it's like exposure to what you fear. eventually you'll see they're just thoughts and you do have control over them. Link to comment
sarey Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Exposure therapy, that's what my psych was gonna do but I dropped out. I'm doing quite well on my own with the support of some close friends. Link to comment
getupkid82 Posted January 26, 2009 Author Share Posted January 26, 2009 Exposure therapy, that's what my psych was gonna do but I dropped out. I'm doing quite well on my own with the support of some close friends. if you're doing well then good for you, it's good to have people who can help you through it. the exposure thing is hard, it's really hard but it was worth it. i haven't had an issue with ocd since. yeah i've had the odd light switch and check the car is locked but nowhere near what i used to be like. Link to comment
sarey Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 I find that I wanted to do it at my own pace, I was afraid my psych would make me face it all, so I dropped out and decided to take it slow by myself. Link to comment
heatspreader Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 My ocd seems to go in stages of better and worse. For awhile I was so bad that I actually made myself sick from worry and obsessive thoughts would take over my mind and I was scared to leave my house. The last 2 years seems like it hasn't been bad. Some days are worse the others obviously. Link to comment
Cognitive_Canine Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 I find that I wanted to do it at my own pace, I was afraid my psych would make me face it all, so I dropped out and decided to take it slow by myself. As long as you are making progress, that's all that matters. Good for you, Sarey. You are such a strong individual for your age (or any age, for that matter). I do not suffer from OCD but I know one person who has it extremely bad. He does his homework 6 times every night. He'll do it all and then erase all his pencil markings and then do it again...and repeat. But, he does have the highest grade in the class. Too bad he can never enjoy getting A's though. He doesn't want to get good grades, he just can't deal with getting bad ones (bad being less than perfect). Can people help relief your OCD or do you find it best to be left alone? Link to comment
getupkid82 Posted January 26, 2009 Author Share Posted January 26, 2009 My ocd seems to go in stages of better and worse. For awhile I was so bad that I actually made myself sick from worry and obsessive thoughts would take over my mind and I was scared to leave my house. The last 2 years seems like it hasn't been bad. Some days are worse the others obviously. yeah i know man, it really can disable you. i had days where i couldn't get up out of bed cos it was all too much. just wanted my head to shut off. then of course people who suffer from ocd can also suffer from depression, which i did. like you said some days are worse than others but good to see the past 2 years haven't been too bad for you. Link to comment
sarey Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 As long as you are making progress, that's all that matters. Good for you, Sarey. You are such a strong individual for your age (or any age, for that matter). I do not suffer from OCD but I know one person who has it extremely bad. He does his homework 6 times every night. He'll do it all and then erase all his pencil markings and then do it again...and repeat. But, he does have the highest grade in the class. Too bad he can never enjoy getting A's though. He doesn't want to get good grades, he just can't deal with getting bad ones (bad being less than perfect). Can people help relief your OCD or do you find it best to be left alone? To be honest, like I said, the more you do it, the more you fuel the fire, if you help the OCD's fuel of fire, like my close friend did by giving me reassurance, then I would say leave it alone, but I would also confront him about it and perhaps suggest that he tries to fight the thoughts and compulsions, maybe take it down to 5 times, then 4 times, then 3 times, etc, in his own time, of course. I would suggest therapy, but that doesn't always go well. There are some medications that can help OCD, but I wouldn't use that as first option. Does he know why he does it 6 times and erases it, etc? Does the number 6 mean anything to him? Discuss it with him, let him know he is not alone and that he can fight this, I have! And thank you too, for the compliments, I assume? Link to comment
getupkid82 Posted January 26, 2009 Author Share Posted January 26, 2009 As long as you are making progress, that's all that matters. Good for you, Sarey. You are such a strong individual for your age (or any age, for that matter). I do not suffer from OCD but I know one person who has it extremely bad. He does his homework 6 times every night. He'll do it all and then erase all his pencil markings and then do it again...and repeat. But, he does have the highest grade in the class. Too bad he can never enjoy getting A's though. He doesn't want to get good grades, he just can't deal with getting bad ones (bad being less than perfect). Can people help relief your OCD or do you find it best to be left alone? it could go either way, people who do it themselves deserve a medal cos it's one of the toughest things ever. while suffering from it and even now i think people take some things for granted like their mental health. i had to get help, cos i couldn't help myself. my hat goes off to sarey for doing it her way. if you don't feel comfortable doing exposure therapy that's fine. i had to cos i couldn't keep it up anymore. it was affecting my studies and everything else around me. Link to comment
Cognitive_Canine Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 it could go either way, people who do it themselves deserve a medal cos it's one of the toughest things ever. while suffering from it and even now i think people take some things for granted like their mental health. i had to get help, cos i couldn't help myself. my hat goes off to sarey for doing it her way. if you don't feel comfortable doing exposure therapy that's fine. i had to cos i couldn't keep it up anymore. it was affecting my studies and everything else around me. I think you are equally strong. Don't sell yourself short. Asking for help is one of the hardest things that people can do. In the end, it's reaching recovery that's important, not how you get there or what setbacks you meet along the way. Link to comment
getupkid82 Posted January 26, 2009 Author Share Posted January 26, 2009 I think you are equally strong. Don't sell yourself short. Asking for help is one of the hardest things that people can do. In the end, it's reaching recovery that's important, not how you get there or what setbacks you meet along the way. thanks debaser wolf, yeah i am recovered now. for how long i don't know. stress can bring it on. but if it ever comes up again i'll be ready to deal with it cos i know how to. and i would love to help people through it as well. Link to comment
hockeyboy Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 I have it..slightly...but have always had it. I remember doing some things (repetitive behavior) when i was really little and didn't understand why i was doing them. It's not really bad though and doesn't really affect me to much at all so I just deal with it and somewhat try to fight it. Once in a while it annoys me, but for the most part I've just accepted it. Who know, maybe I'll see a dr about it someday Link to comment
crosstownTraffic Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 I am not sure I have it to large degree, maybe a little bit. How does it manifest itself? I always thought OCD ppl were excessively NEAT, but I'm excessively sloppy, not dirty sloppy but just disorganized as heck. I do remember one time, i was going on vacation. My friend offered to take me to a/p and I couldnt' remember if i turned off my coffee pot. I had her take me back home and checked the coffee pot, but as I was leaving, i wasn't sure if it really WAS off, and asked her to go back again! I think I did that one more time.. I often lose things though.. I think I'm more AHD-ish, but I AM compulsive about some things... Definitely a perfectionist though. Won't even THINK about starting something unless I am sure I can do it right! I don't know what they call that? Link to comment
top bloke Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 Obsessive complulsive disorder tend to happen more to intelligent people. I think the stress for being perfect at something catches up and they typically wash their hands alot in fear of germs. And also are afraid of being near children..I know 2 people with ocd and they are doing fine now.Medication helps alot and down the track you can cope alot better. The thought gets stuck in their mind and they cant get rid of it.It typically has a feeling of dread attached to its symptoms. Then they finally replace it with another thought.After a while they realise the thoguht is not real and they learn to push it away because they have grasped that it is just a silly thought . They thereforee gain power over these thoughts and get back to a more normal life.. These people if they are in your family need a massive amount of love and patience. Cheers to you guys with ocd as I have a good idea what is happening and do not think for a second that you are alone in this illness.It affects alot of people..god bless and keep faith..it will get better.I promise Link to comment
hockeyboy Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 Obsessive complulsive disorder tend to happen more to intelligent people. I think the stress for being perfect at something catches up and they typically wash their hands alot in fear of germs. And also are afraid of being near children..I know 2 people with ocd and they are doing fine now.Medication helps alot and down the track you can cope alot better. They medicate it with pills? I always thought it was just therapy for some reason. Link to comment
getupkid82 Posted January 27, 2009 Author Share Posted January 27, 2009 They medicate it with pills? I always thought it was just therapy for some reason. yeah i was put on anti depressants to help slow down the thoughts so to speak. i'm not on them anymore thank god. they made me feel emotionally numb. Link to comment
sarey Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 I would not recommend medication to deal with OCD. Not as a first option at least. Link to comment
hockeyboy Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 well, for someone like me, how would they treat it then? really mild case...really only do OCD things when I get nervous for the most part Link to comment
getupkid82 Posted January 27, 2009 Author Share Posted January 27, 2009 well, for someone like me, how would they treat it then? really mild case...really only do OCD things when I get nervous for the most part if it's only mild i doubt they'll put you on anything. you say you only do ocd things when nervous. stress can bring it on so probably exercises that help you deal with these situations. there are alot of things you can do to help yourself. when you feel the ocd coming on just say to yourself, stop, and find an activity or something to do to take your mind off it. easier said than done i know. Link to comment
top bloke Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 The 2 people I know are taking avanza. It has helped immensely. Especially in the beginning stages when it hits the hardest. I hope this post helps Link to comment
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