In addition to having mental illness and taking paroxetine (generic for Paxil) for 7 years, my educational background is in preventative/primary healthcare (but I’m not a doctor). In my experience, being on an SSRI has taken just enough of the edge off of my anxiety so that I can perceive it as separate from myself and address it more effectively in therapy. And that’s exactly what medication is intended for. If a doctor tells you differently, you can find a different doctor. Medication can help you feel more like yourself and will better help you do the work in therapy because no medication is a cure for OCD or generalized anxiety or any other mental health condition. The best way forward for all of us suffering from OCD is to participate in behavioral interventions and re-conceptualize cognitive distortions in ERP and CBT.
My understanding of the research is that for OCD, an optimized course of medication is to take an SSRI at a high dose for a comparatively short period of time while you’re working through ERP. Once you reach some stability and maintenance, you can lower your dose or come off of it completely. I’ve been on a low dose for as long as I have because no one figured out I likely have OCD and I definitely haven’t been treated for it until now… even so, it has been essential to me living with some quality of life. I never imagined I would be on it for this long, and I was hesitant at first too because of health related fears and the potential experience of withdrawals when I (hopefully one day) get off of it. But I know a good doctor will reduce your dose slowly down to 0mg so you will have minimal withdrawal symptoms.
Given that health concerns is one of your prevailing OCD subtypes, I wonder if you would consider working on trying medication as an exposure with your therapist? Just a thought, because medication is definitely not for everyone and might not be the best way forward for you. Anything is okay! You’re in control of your healthcare and mental health journey!