at what point is it decided that a person with OCD needs medication? can you continue on with life without it?

I think that this is of course a very personal decision, one that really only you can make in conjunction with your prescriber. For me personally, it was me deciding that for me the benefits outweighed the risks. The medication helped me to be able to do the ERP that I needed to do to learn lifelong skills as well. I will likely need medication for the rest of my life and I am okay with that. There are many who will not need it forever and many who ERP alone will reduce their symptoms to a more manageable state. It really depends on severity and the person.

If it gets to a point where you can’t live your life without the OCD bothering you, you can consider trying out some medication. I personally am on medication and have been for quite a few months. Is it helping me? Not really. But it does help some. I feel like it doesn’t hurt you to try, especially since it takes about a month for an antidepressant medication to start working in your system.

I've been struggling with Pospartum ocd since my son was born 5 years ago, it hasn't been easy but I haven't taken any medication. I feel it's a personal decision, however it makes you feel. I'm trying to learn how to train or rewire my mind to not allow ocd control me without medication. It's not easy but it's up to you I'f you feel like you need it. It might help. It might also be good if you consider your therapist opinion.

It really depends on the person and their symptoms. Medication is prescribed based on the individual and how much you’re going through. You can certainly have a mental illness (or many) and not be on meds. I’m not on medication and I have 5 mental illnesses. But there’s nothing wrong or th being on medication for the rest of your life if it makes you live a healthy life.