I’m pretty hopeless right now. I’ve been hyperaware of swallowing and saliva everyday for a month and a half. I’m trying to accept it but I can only make it a few days at best. I’m considering meds again after I just got off. Can anyone give me some hope? Even if I could accept I feel it would take so long to get results id never make it
Have you read Dr Michael J Greenberg's article "Treating sensorimotor OCD (AKA somatic OCD)"?
Yeah I still have some trouble distinguishing attention because my attention is naturally there all day since I’m so aware
Yeah man, I recovered like two weeks ago after having it for a month and a half. OCD takes something that we would otherwise not care about and makes us think like it's the worst thing in the world. I experienced this first hand. When I had breathing OCD I wasn't phased at all by swallowing because I thought it would not be as bad as breathing but then when I had swallowing ocd I started thinking that the breathing one was better. I also constantly compared myself to me pre OCD past. In reality, this is a trap. These are just thoughts, they don't apply in the real world, I know it sounds weird for me to say but you aren't actually annoyed by the swallowing but by the anxiety that OCD pressures you to feel about it. It wants you to think it's unnatural, annoying, it will ruin your life. So remember that as much as it feels like it you are not annoyed by the swallowing, you are annoyed by the anxiety of it staying forever. Vicious cycle fr fr
Hey would you be willing to talk further your comment really hit home with me especially since I’ve had it a month and a half
@Anonymous Yeah sure I'd love to discuss So, I was stuck on manual breathing and swallowing for around this much. I tried to avoid meds and psychiatrists like the plague and thankfully I was successful in that department, even though it probably caused more anxiety during the process. First, your target really shouldn't be to get rid of your manual swallowing, that will just be a consequence of it no longer annoying you. Your target is to live each day like it will persist, it will stay forever and you are certain of it. And right now you are probably panicking because you really want to get rid of it and it feels impossible to live with it. I've been through that, I know it feels 100% real, trust me it really isn't and if you reach the point of doing the action without feeling any anxiety about it it will literally just stop being annoying and you will be asking yourself what all the fuss was about. Then it will gradually become less and less common. Also, very important, do not let OCD debilitate you. Do literally everything you used to do when you didn't have it to prove to yourself that even if it stays you can live your life the exact same. Remember, OCD feeds on you thinking the worst possible scenario, so just say "yeah probably that will happen. so?" and it's literally over.
@melenegrigori I’m on the verge of crying at work thank you so much everyone has told me the same thing but this hits home because you obviously recovered quickly but the thing is I was on vacation last week and did a good job of letting it be but it never really subsided, im lucky if I get minutes of “relief.” Does it just take time and I’m not being patient? I don’t wanna go back on meds I’m considering but worked hard to get off of it. I’m also really bad with reassurance so maybe that’s why I didn’t see anything? I’m trying to keep that forever mindset but it’s so hard. I’m also annoyed by the clicking of my ears by manually swallowing all day but I know I just have to catch the worry and keep living but idk why I haven’t seen more glimpses of hope. The fact you had it for a month and a half and I’m right there now is so inspiring so I’m hanging on your every word
@Anonymous I know this sounds difficult now but genuinely it will get easier and easier as you go along: stop making it your goal to stop swallowing, make it your goal to stop being annoyed or anxious about your swallowing. The day I felt liberated wasn't when I didn't recognize my swallow for an entire day (and that day did come eventually) but it came when I spent my entire day being aware of it but genuinely not caring. From then on everytime I entered the OCD app I saw all these people talking about Somatic OCD like it's something "hellish" and "horrible" and I genuinely did not understand it. Did it go away eventually? Yes but that wasn't so important to me anymore. Being patient also isn't hard because your core fear isn't that it will last long: if you learnt today that this will last 4 years it would go away tomorrow but no, the reason it stays is because of the fear it will stay forever. Disarm that fear, prove that if this stays forever nothing bad will happen and your life will be the exact same. Relief isn't the times where you stop realizing you are swallowing. It's the times you realize you are swallowing and your anxiety at that moment is 0. Also keep in mind that your anxiety levels will come in waves. It will increase for a while then decrease for a while, but the decrease will be bigger than the increase so you will eventually reach no anxiety.
@melenegrigori So if you had it for a month and a half like me how long did it take to recover like you are back to normal? And my fear is kind of it’ll last a while but mainly forever yes. And what I don’t understand is I haven’t felt very anxious with this but I guess I am since it’s bothering me but it freaks me out it’s been everyday for a month and a half not much of a relief is that normal? There are times it’s been subdued and it started out as coming and going 3 days here 3 there. I really don’t wanna go back on meds so holding off I’m actually trying cbd for a little support
@melenegrigori I’m also awful with reassurance so I’m thinking about deleting a lot of things
@melenegrigori And did u have the clicking when swallowing lol I hate that
@Anonymous I'd say stay off the internet about this as much as possible my man, even this app if you're not doing actual therapy which I couldn't do because I'm broke. I had deleted this and only re-downloaded this after I had recovered to see how yall are doing. There's a lot of negativity about this, you know what I mean? It's just a bunch of desperate people seeking reassurance because their brain is telling them they are in danger. Now this next part might be a little reassuranc-y, but personally it would help me a lot if someone said this to me while I was going through it. You are not in danger, your brain is just telling you that. The swallowing sensation is not annoying, your brain is just telling you that, something you will understand once this obsession has passed. No matter what happens, eventually you will just get used of the manual thing and it will become just another event of your day and stop being a concern. Also the clicking is whatever didn't really notice it until now lol
@melenegrigori Are u totally recovered? Is the awareness gone? Like did u just really commit and then it faded id like to know ur timeline but I’m sure u won’t provide haha. I’m only asking cause I was on vacation last week and took it basically with me everywhere and saw not much progress. My thing is max i usually make it 3-4 days before I cave and go back to reassurance and worrying. But shouldn’t I still be seeing some progress if I’m accepting at times? I guess I’m not consistent enough? Again since u exactly had it a month and a half id like to see ur timeline. It’s been constant for me for a month and a half
@melenegrigori Did u get a chance to see my last message sorry I’m desperate
Hello, Yesterday I’ve suddenly had problems with swallowing and my anxiety. like im scared of choking and would have a panic attack every-time i try to swallow food or water. Is there anyway to treat this?
Hey there everyone, first I would like to say I am very grateful for every single one of you on this platform and it feels so much better knowing that I can be heard. I’ve been hyperaware of my swallowing for 1-2 month. I feel like I have so much saliva in my mouth and I have to swallow and swallow. I feel the urge to swallow even I don’t NOTHING in my mouth, so I just swallow air. This has been really overwhelming and I feel like I can be so easily latched to other body part of my part. For example, I was conscious about my blinking and breathing for a few days, and now I get so anxious when I heard a weird sound my ears make after each sentence I speak. Is this somatic ocd or health concern ocd? I am so helpless and having a hard time to shift my attention. Does anyone have any suggestions or just words of encouragement would really help me at this moment. I REALLY appreciate your help. 💗🙏 Thank you !
I know everything im dealing with is OCD. I have accepted that, but I just feel down. I don’t want to live the rest of my life like this. I just want to be free from this horrible illness. Any positive stories and recovery journeys will help. What did recovery look like for you? I used to be so happy, I miss it so much. This feels like it’s taken everything from me. How do you just live your life despite how you feel? Any hope will help!
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