OCD and depression

Anyone have everything hit at once? My Dr. And I are convinced I'm going through perimenopause and my hormones are out of control. It started out with anxiety attacks back in July, then my OCD kicked in, now at times I hit depression and it the lack of interest in everything is making me feel like my thoughts are real instead of just OCD. I feel numb because I'm afraid I'll discover the thoughts are mine and not my OCD because I can't feel any happy emotions right now and all the what ifs are just so strong. I guess I'm asking if anyone's had difficulty with the change and how they overcame.

Leslie44

Date posted: 2y

Try effexor. A low dose of 25 mg a day helped, and still helps, me feel okay/normal and gives me a better outlook. I'm 61. I started taking it at about age 45 though, before menopause. Also, staying active helps a lot. Getting outdoors.

Nica

Date posted: 2y

Yes, that combination is very common.

sylvy

Date posted: 2y

I have had all of those symptoms too for about two years I was crying every day because I was depressed. I didn't know I had OCD back then but I really felt like I flipped a switch in my brain. I couldn't stop thinking in circles. I thought I was having heart attacks but it was anxiety. I started seeing so many different specialists, homeopaths, acupuncturists, nutritionists, counselors, psychiatrist, hypnotists, herbalists, etc. I have finally calmed down but still have OCD especially before my periods and when stressed. I didn't take medication but I took herbs and homeopathic remedies. I keep thinking it will get better hopefully after menopause.

Schoolie93

Date posted: 33w

@sylvy Did you end up going on HRT?

sylvy

Date posted: 33w

@Schoolie93 Hi, no, I didn't go in HRT, apparently I was deficient in B12 and iron so I increased those and a bunch of other things my nutritionist helped me with. I've been taking flower essences for a while which feels a little like woo-woo medicine but I think it helped me. I don't wake up in the middle of the night in panic anymore so I sleep better and that helps alot. It took a long time but I feel like I'm in a calmer and better place now.

Schoolie93

Date posted: 33w

@sylvy So are you in full menopause now. I was deficient in iron and vit d and those can mess you up also. I finally got the iron up and vit d still working on. I did go on some HRT patch and progesterone for nighttime and I think it helps some but the anxiety is the worst part for me. I don’t feel like the HRT does enough for that. I know how it is waking up in panic. I’ve had a few times and so scary. I seem to be worse around the time I cycle. Were you like that? I hear menopause is supposed to be easier without all these hormone fluctuations we have . Thanks for the update. I’m so glad you’re doing better. This is a challenging time for sure. Hugs 🥰

sylvy

Date posted: 33w

@Schoolie93 Hi, no I'm still premenopausal. It's definitely worse around time of cycle. I get really angry also around that time. Sometimes it's better. Like you said it fluctuates. Hopefully it will all be easier soon. I hope you have happy holidays. 🤗

sylvy

Date posted: 33w

@Schoolie93 Thanks for checking on me

CherylJolley

Date posted: 2y

I’m going through the same thing… I am 50 and had a hysterectomy a couple of years ago. I have very high anxiety in the mornings especially, and my ocd thoughts and depression has been worse. I also have lost motivation for my job and find it a struggle to get things done around the house, as well. I am trying an increase in Cymbalta.

Schoolie93

Date posted: 33w

@CherylJolley How are you doing on your menopause journey? I’m struggling too

Aldxma.steph

Date posted: 21w

Hello everyone I need some advice

I don’t have an official OCD diagnosis, but I will be asking my doctor tomorrow if I can get referred to a psychiatrist to get an official diagnosis. The way I came to the conclusion that what I’m dealing with is OCD is because a month ago I just started having the most horrible disturbing intrusive thoughts that go against all my values and beliefs and attacking the stuff/people I care about the most. Mind you, I have never had anything like this happen in my life. I feel that I have always been someone with a peaceful mind and one of the worst intrusive thoughts I can ever remember having before this happened, was “what happens if I cut my finger right now” while I was cutting fruit. That’s pretty much it. After this whole horrible intrusive thought spiral started happening I was so scared because I have never had such awful intrusive thoughts like this that were the complete opposite of me, it just quite literally started out of NOWHERE, and that’s what was so scary and terrifying. It was like my whole life got turned upside down because of this and I’ve been mainly isolating in my room, feeling so much anxiety and dread and guilt/shame. I get four of the same thoughts and one intrusive image repeating over and over again even if I would not try to think about them, and it caused me so much distress and anxiety that I would be so anxious and cry everyday just thinking how I could ever possibly think such horrible intrusive thoughts like that. It’s caused me insomnia which I’ve never dealt with before and I went three days in a row without being able to sleep no matter how hard I tried (even while taking melatonin). Other days I struggle so much to fall asleep due to the intrusive thoughts being much more present at nighttime, and even when taking melatonin that doesn’t do anything because of my mind being so active and having so much anxiety. Is this what they call an OCD flare up? After constantly looking up all the symptoms of ocd (the more and lesser known ones alike), I noticed there were some symptoms of it that I displayed in childhood when the ocd could’ve been more dormant or mild you could say (skin picking), because once again I have never had such horrible intrusive thoughts like this out of nowhere and constantly repeating in my mind that felt like they were out of my control. I noticed that these intrusive thoughts started on the second day of my menstruation when I was in a lot of pain and was feeling very emotional/stressed. One of the things I’ve heard a lot is that during the menstruation cycle is when ocd flares can happen more often due to the increase in hormones during that time, and I wonder if that’s what happened to me? I’m also overall such a big over thinker and have been for as long as I can remember. I also have had anxiety and depression since middle school as well. Any insight would be very much appreciated 😭

Aldxma.steph

Date posted: 20w

Hello everyone I need some advice/insight please

I don’t have an official OCD diagnosis, but I will be asking my doctor tomorrow if I can get referred to a psychiatrist to get an official diagnosis. The way I came to the conclusion that what I’m dealing with is OCD is because a month and a half ago I just started having the most horrible disturbing intrusive thoughts that go against all my values and beliefs and attacking the stuff/people I care about the most out of absolutely NOWHERE. Mind you, I have never had anything like this happen in my life. I feel that I have always been someone with a peaceful mind and one of the worst intrusive thoughts I can ever remember having before this happened, was “what happens if I cut my finger right now” while I was cutting fruit. That’s pretty much it. After this whole horrible intrusive thought spiral started happening I was so scared because I have never had such awful intrusive thoughts like this that were the complete opposite of me, it just quite literally started out of NOWHERE, and that’s what was so scary and terrifying. It was like my whole life got turned upside down because of this and I’ve been mainly isolating in my room, feeling so much anxiety and dread and guilt/shame. I get four of the same thoughts and one intrusive image repeating over and over again even if I would not try to think about them, and it caused me so much distress and anxiety that I would be so anxious and cry everyday just thinking how I could ever possibly think such horrible intrusive thoughts like that. It’s caused me insomnia which I’ve never dealt with before and I went three days in a row without being able to sleep no matter how hard I tried (even while taking melatonin). Other days I struggle so much to fall asleep due to the intrusive thoughts being much more present at nighttime, and even when taking melatonin that doesn’t do anything because of my mind being so active and having so much anxiety. Is this what they call an OCD flare up? After constantly looking up all the symptoms of ocd (the more and lesser known ones alike), I noticed there were some symptoms of it that I displayed in childhood when the ocd could’ve been more dormant or mild you could say (skin picking), because once again I have never had such horrible intrusive thoughts like this out of nowhere and constantly repeating in my mind that felt like they were out of my control. I noticed that these intrusive thoughts started on the second day of my menstruation when I was in a lot of pain and was feeling very emotional/stressed. One of the things I’ve heard a lot is that during the menstruation cycle is when ocd flares can happen more often due to the increase in hormones during that time, and I wonder if that’s what happened to me? I’m also overall such a big over thinker and have been for as long as I can remember. I also have had anxiety and depression since middle school as well. Any insight would be very much appreciated 😭

FoolishMorta...

Date posted: 6w

Pregnancy exacerbating OCD

I'm roughly 2 months pregnant and I'm struggling so bad with OCD (specifically surrounding psychosis/postpartum psychosis, postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, etc). I'm so discouraged because I was sub-clinical for over a year and this pregnancy and the hormones are undoing all of my progress. And it actually seems so much harder than BEFORE when I was at a low point. It feels like the hormones are ruining my brain and making me lose my mind. I keep looking over my shoulder, getting intrusive images of scary hallucinations that I might start to get, i fear hurting myself or my baby, etc. Psychosis in pregnancy is 1 in 1000. That's not that rare. I feel like I just upped my chances of my biggest fear happening and I have so much regret and fear around that. I'm also a Christian and I'm relying on God so much more now than ever, but I'm afraid of that too because people in psychosis often have religious delusions and I can't tell if I'm slipping into that or if God is really just using this trial to pull me closer to him. I just feel so defeated. I feel like ERP just isn't going to work for me because the hormones are a whole different animal that "normal" people with OCD don't have. Like they're making me immune to ERP or that ERP isn't for people like me and I'm hopeless.

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