- Username
- js94
- Date posted
- 5y ago
Great advice! This is a very difficult disorder. It’s like our brains are just out of control. Just try your best and limit your drinking. If you drink with the goal of trying to stop the thoughts then you will continually drink too much. Remind yourself you can’t stop them and just try and be with the fact they are there. Maybe a few drinks will help a bit, but more than that and you could just be setting yourself up for more when the alcohol wears off. I have been exactly where you are and it is heart breaking. Hang in there! The NOCD community is with you. You will get better.
Oh, and the feelings of anxiety are horrible, but try to remember that nothing bad will happen. It’s just false alarms. This takes practice on a daily basis for me.
Hang in there! Just give it another 24 hours until you start to feel better. I can relate to the pain you feel and it is awful. Can you back off your drinking so that you are able to start feeling a little better? Not saying you have to quit, but perhaps just moderate. This technique is called harm reduction, and it may be worth a shot for you. Intrusive thoughts and OCD is very difficult to talk about and you are correct that most likely an addiction center will not know how to treat properly.
Ask some good questions if you decide to try inpatient.
Every time I try to quit or not drink as much I just get extreme anxiety and intrusive thoughts
I am sorry that is happening. If you are drinking a lot then the alcohol is definitely making this worse. You may have to get through some intense anxiety before it starts to dissipate. Do you think that is possible for you? Do you go to AA?
I've been to a few AA meetings but then I get intrusive thoughts and start to drink again. I only feel normal when I drink beer i know it's not good but I'm miserable without it.
How old r u teddy? Do u drink alcohol too because of your ocd ?
I am 41. I went through a time where I was definitely drinking too much due to OCD and anxiety. I ended up getting sober for 2 years. I do drink again, but I have to be very careful. Yes, the drinking does take away the thoughts at times, but I know it’s just a break and that I have to stop drinking and back to feeling the anxiety. There just isn’t any other option. I really can relate with where you are and my heart goes out to you. Try and focus on getting through this day without drinking too much. Think that is possible?
Have you thought about Antabuse? If you take it you cannot drink for at least a week. If you do you will get extremely ill. It may be an option to get the alcohol out of your system.
I'm 24 and I've self medicated with it since it started when I was 19. Are you are any medication? I'll try to limit it today . I've thought about taking a shot or something to stop drinking so that could be an option. But I just can't stand sitting with the anxiety.
Also, you don’t have to tell your therapist the details of the sexual thoughts if that’s too uncomfortable. You can just say “I’m having intrusive sexual thoughts that upset me” and leave it at that. Your treatment will probably be the same whether you paint the full picture or not. There are people out there who know exactly what you’re talking about, HOCD and everything else.
Just wanted to vent a little bit. My OCD has come back terribly in the past few days. I feel like whenever I start talking to a girl I like, my HOCD and ROCD ramps up. I’m getting to the point where I don’t even want to talk to anyone, female or male. I don’t know what to do. Nobody around me even understands what I’m going through or treats it like it’s not a big deal. I have a young daughter and I feel like I can’t take care of her. I can’t hold a job, a relationship, friendship or anything else of value. I can’t afford a therapist and I’m slowly starting to lose my drive to live and I don’t know what to do. Any advice ?
My parents threaten to kick me out all the time because of my severe OCD. Each time they do I come back worse with new compulsions. They say I'm crazy for my OCD thoughts which is like, duh, does not make them feel any less real. Sigh. So tired of this life. My dad said he wished I was never born (just now), that I'm killing them physically with my panic attacks (I can't help it) and he said I'm the reason they smoke. I feel guilty and just want to die at this point. He also said he'd hit me if I'd not stop crying. They almost seem to think I like doing my washing compulsions and I can't stand it anymore. I feel alone in the world, even when so many of you struggle too, the fact that my once loving family is falling apart and that I feel so lonely in their company... it is tearing me down. OCD on its own is enough. This is too much.
Hi All - This is my first time posting on this app. I am 29 and have been dealing with OCD since I was 10. I managed my OCD well from ages 10-18 due to many reasons (I’ll keep this short). At 18, when my OCD was in one of its worst forms, I went to a residential program to get better. However, I only got a small percent better. I carried on with my severe and extremely debilitating OCD. Somehow, I graduated college with honors, maintained a social life, and had a great relationship with my girlfriend. Not long though, from the ages of 18-25, my OCD got worse and worse over time. I was never fully committed to ERP therapy (only in residential and with two or three of the countless therapists I saw over my life). It was then at age 26, my therapist, parents, and girlfriend demanded I need to take time off my master’s program and go into a virtual intensive outpatient program. My relationship of 5 years was on the line. Unfortunately, I did not try hard enough and the IOP only helped so much, due to my inconsistent work. My girlfriend at the time left me, causing a huge scar that I am not over. This was two years ago in 2022… Fast forward after that, I have done more intense therapy and my second trial of a residential program in March of this year. I felt I also did make gains, but right when I came out in May, the compulsions came right back. I feel hopeless and helpless in my life. My parents don’t know what to do with me. All my friends and acquaintances are moving on with their life while I’m 29, have no job, am just getting back to grad school with extreme difficulty, have small hobbies/activity/stimulation due to OCD avoidance, and lastly, crippling OCD. I don’t know who I am anymore and don’t know why I haven’t had the strength to pull myself out of this 11 year OCD prison. It’s eating at me alive and I know people have said they felt similarly to hopeless and helplessness, but I don’t…unfortunately.
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond