Ocd and sleep

Also, melatonin use every day could cause insomnia, so if you’re taking melatonin every day, I’d cool it for a week, then start taking it Monday through Friday exclusively

I like your bio you seem like a strong person. Can you give me tips what helps you with your symptoms ? I have ptsd and anxiety and ocd as well. Do you think exercise really helps ?

@NrseKris I think exercise helps astronomically. Not only does it make you tired, it makes you want to eat, helps greatly with your self image, makes you more resilient in the sense that “one more rep, one more mile” equals “I can do this” in other situations. I’m not saying to go start running for 5 miles and go to the gym twice a day, but start small and look for those tiny changes. In my case, it was veins in my hands, or arms. It could be something like “I can make it up the stairs easier now” if you aren’t in great shape, or tightening your belly. Other things I do to keep myself happy are genuine hobbies. Growing up my only hobby was playing video games with my friends. After I had my first major battle with depression, I became an alcoholic, withdrew from the entirety of my graduating class, which left me with only two (best) friends. They have lives with incredible value and also have a group of friends that aren’t me, so I spent a lot of time soul searching and finding things that make my heart beat. I found out I love to go fishing, even though I hate catching fish because I feel bad for hurting them, I still find solace in standing above the water and watching the clouds reflect off the surface. I still play video games, though not nearly as much as I used to, I like to read now(which if you told 18 year old me that, I’d laugh), I stopped drinking, stopped smoking for the mental clarity sobriety grants you, and found even more hobbies(which are all listed on my bio). I don’t mean to come off like I’m happy, or fulfilled, because I certainly am not. I miss a lot of people, and I find it hard to leave my house a large portion of the time. I really appreciate you asking me, Kris. As even talking to other people is an exposure to me. Are you a nurse? That’s awesome if you are!

@NrseKris I have a hard time keeping my replies short 🙄😂

@Thomas A. I need to start getting more into exercise, I stopped due to a surgery in January and then since my anxiety was so high I was having palpitations and scared to get my heart rate up and now I’m still having a lot of anxiety I just read and YouTube a lot to learn how to help myself . Idk if I’m depressed or not I’ve never really been a depressed person but I have a huge fear of it I’m scared of getting depressed and not snapping out of it or hurt myself or something it’s super scary. I start my first session of ERP tomorrow. I’ve also cut out alcohol because the hangovers were terrible and led to worse anxiety and sometimes panic attacks , and I cut out caffeine for now. All my friends do is drink and party so it’s hard to be around them. And yes I am a nurse which is even more stressful and a single mom of a 6 yr old boy so it gets tough. Thank you for responding I don’t mind chatting with others who understand I actually enjoy it

@NrseKris Well, I’m Thomas. Don’t be a stranger, I want new friends, but it’s hard to make any when I feel so weird about them potentially not understanding me. You sound like an absolute badass though, a nurse, a warrior, and a single Mom. I hope your surgery did what it was supposed to and healed well. I definitely feel the next day panic attacks from hangovers. It’s one of the main reasons I stopped drinking. I recently just got over a 3 year long depression, and now I just deal with some anxiety and a lot ocd 🤣. I hope ERP goes well for you tomorrow! Post a comment after your session. Part of my ERP is putting myself out there and actually talking to people, so this kind of stuff helps me so much. Sorry for replying backwards, I was always told that I only reply to the last sentence of a paragraph and wanted to make sure I covered all my bases 😂.

@Thomas A. Yea I don’t talk much to my friends about this stuff cus I feel like they wouldn’t understand, I like talking to people have been thru it and understand it. Thank you 😊 I think I just had too much on my plate that led to this “relapse” in anxiety/ocd. Have to remind myself I can get thru it again even tho in the moment it is hard, glad to hear you’ve overcame some of your struggles ! That gives hope! Yes we can be ocd friends lol 😆