ChefT
- Date posted
- 3y
ChefTChefT
- Date posted
- 3y
Thank you for sharing your story. I’ve taken medication in the past, about 20 years ago and it did help. And j ageee 150% about therapy. I’ve been in and out since 6 but never long enough with one for it to really help. I start ERP with NOCD on wed and also have a therapist I will be working with weekly to get to the bottom of all my trauma that triggers my anxiety and phobia (I don’t have ocd). I’m so happy you found what works best for you. I want to do that as well and I know that medication isn’t always forever and sometimes it is and if it helps me to have a healthy and happy life along with working through all the things that got me to this place, that will be ok. Thank you so much for your encouragement and kind words and your blessings. God bless you as well and sending hugs back to you from Massachusetts.
siri siri
- Date posted
- 3y
the side effects are only a slight weight gain for the medication i'm using
kmecroz85kmecroz85
- Date posted
- 3y
Hey ChefT! I was there where you are and terrified of trying medication. So, I wanted to share my story and what I've learned personally. First, each person is different. Some people medication works for, others do not. Medication though isn't the singular answer. You must work through it by doing therapy. Therapy has been scientifically proven to help just as well as medication, if not better because there are no side effects. However, if your life is truly debilitated by your thoughts and compulsions medication combined with therapy is gold standard. Also, just because you decide to try medication doesn't mean you'll be on it forever. It could be used during your ERP sessions to make them easier to accomplish instead of having such fear that you avoid the exercise altogether. Second, medication is not a one size fits all. If you try it and it works for you, great! If it doesn't - that's okay too! Just because prozac works for someone better than sertraline, doesn't mean you'll have the same reaction. Just know that you've got to give yourself grace and stop comparing to others. Third, healing is not linear. Healing is a lot like chutes and ladders. You'll take steps forward and have a week where you fall a few steps back. Again, give yourself grace. Fourth, medication won't make it go away completely and make you have your old self back. It's a bad thought pattern to wishing to go back to your old self. You need to learn to really love and accept yourself as you are now. The challenges we face in life make us truly stronger and able to handle the things that will come our way in the future. For example: I always used to wish I could go back to the old me. Once I realized that was a compulsion for me (and feeding into my abusive, negative thought pattern about myself) it made me realize that I don't need to be my old self, but be a better self and use this trial to forge me. I'm not broken or consumed by this fire, if anything I come out stronger (just like when swords are made). I use this now to help others and educate. Once I changed my mindset to that, I no longer wish for the old me, because the old me wasn't an advocate for this. Once I did that, those feelings fled. Lastly, I tried prozac 20mg caps once daily. I stayed on for almost 2 weeks and had a horrible time. The intrusive thoughts were worse, I had tremors, I would sweat so bad my phone wouldn't recognize my fingerprint. Now, I'm not saying this would happen to you, just sharing my experience. After that I decided to quit and leaned into my choice. When my OCD creeps in and tries to make me second guess my choice I stand firm and remind myself it's MY CHOICE. I remind myself that the feelings and thoughts are intrusive and go against who I am. I remind myself they are just thoughts. I hope this helps you and hope that you find the answers you're looking for. You are so strong and I definitely recommend therapy. ERP is SCARY but has helped so much. You can do this! Whatever you decide, remember it's your decision. No one else has a say or can take that from you. God bless you and I know you'll make it through your journey. It takes a while but remember to always give yourself grace. Hugs from Ohio 🤗
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- 23w
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avantika 🪻
- Date posted
- 19w
Rant...
I just feel like therapy isn’t working… like I get to talk about myself and understand myself… but I’m already incredibly self aware. My therapist thought I was like 5 years older than I am… and she gives me such basic strategies that do absolutely nothing for me. And a psychiatrist prescribed me with Zoloft… but I don’t know if T want to take medication. I’m scared of side effects… and I’m scared of getting better… I’m scared of letting my guard down. I know it will make me less cautious which makes me less likely to push myself to perfection like I currently do, which I can’t have happen. Every time I talk to my mom about it, she’s always like “Let’s talk about this some other time, I’m busy with other things”, and then never remembers. But in the rare moments we do talk about it, she treats it like I’m signing up to be a drug addict. I also feel very guilty for spending so much of my parents’ money- therapy… medication… etc… and also the idea of my being unlovable is so deeply engraved in my brain… I genuinely, truly believe it. No therapy or medication can fix it. I can’t change my mind. My therapist tells me my misophonia is not a “deal-breaker” and that someone would be lucky to have me as a partner… but then why hasn’t anyone ever liked me? My own FAMILY can’t stand me. How do I believe something I know isn’t true? That’s even harder to accept than me being unlovable. I can’t see someone loving me. And it is so incredibly exhausting to seek love,e I know I cannot have. My sister says, “It will get better with age…” It has only ever gotten worse. To the point I don’t want to get better. It has reached the severity where I feel more safe and successful with anxiety. My past 3 birthdays have been me wishing for therapy. And now I have therpay- and medication, the potential key… and I refuse? Am I too deep in? I cant get out, it’s too late. How did absolutely no one notice how much I had and have been hurting? Why did no one listen to my cries or worries? I feel really depressed and hopeless right now. It takes so much effort to get up every day… I’m so tired.
OCDMM
- Date posted
- 17w
Lonely and struggling
OCD can be so isolating. I’m in a health anxiety spiral and struggling at work. I feel like I am failing everywhere and feeling very alone. My support system is tired of hearing about my fears, health wise and work wise. I find myself crying a lot. I don’t particularly enjoy doing anything anymore. I feel like I just can’t get comfortable in my skin or my head sometimes. I’m not sure how to else to describe it. Like nothing soothes me or makes it better. Even sleep is bad dreams and waking up anxious all night. I’ve always felt different from everyone else but when I’m on meds I can fake it better and I feel more connected. I want to go back on SSRI’s but I’ve been dealing with health issues and the meds exacerbate them so am delaying for the time being
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