Can you develop PTSD after having a severe OCD episode? I had a really traumatic episode a couple of years ago that I am still trying to work out and I have a lot of smells/songs/tv shows that trigger me because it was all at the time I was really ill and struggling. Is this a thing? Can you get help for it?
No what you experienced are flashbacks that will only last until you are better
I don't think you can develop PTSD from that. Clinically, someone develops PTSD after witnessing or directly being involved in a traumatic event. There is a list of what is considered a "traumatic event." I know all about this when I went through the process of getting diagnosed for PTSD. The severe episode of OCD is giving you flashbacks, but it does not sound like you were harmed or experienced a life-or-death situation. Nevertheless, the flashbacks you are having are still really scary! Of course, therapy and medication may help. If you were in ERP therapy, you would probably be advised to accept the flashbacks and the triggers. When they happen, you don't react and just "ride them out" without any sort of reaction. The less attention you give them, the less power they'll have over time. If you were in CBT therapy, you would probably be advised to use grounding techniques (see, hear, taste, touch, smell) to ground you back in reality, or to distract yourself until the thoughts passed. Two very different techniques. Personally, CBT did not help with my flashbacks or other PTSD symptoms. In fact, they made them much worse. ERP has been helpful, but I still get triggered all the time. I'm just learning to accept that I will get triggered, and when I do, I let myself feel uncomfortable because I know the threat is no longer there and my mind and body just thinks it is. When I don't have a panic attack or react, my mind is like, "Well, shit, that was no fun since she didn't get upset. Let's move on to something else." Keep going, you'll get through this! It's a process.
I was thinking this the other day! During my ERP I had to think of a time where I was really poorly and it really triggered me
I'm going through exactly the same. I don't want to be discouraging, but it definitely makes my erp harder because of the intensity of the life/death-association. Still I believe that every trauma can be overcomed by doing the exposure work and experiencing safety and confidence in the long term.
@Anonymous What do you mean by the life/death association?
Actually I had OCD from PTSD
I see this a lot having looked it up but it’s not what I’m searching for!
Generally I am better but I have a lot of anger and anxiety that seems to be coming from now where and I’m just wondering if it’s all underlying from not having work through the past trauma of that episode
Are you doing complete response prevention? I've noticed that angering at my ocd can actually be a mental compulsion in order to fight the anxiety, as weird as it may sound.
It’s not anger surrounding my OCD, it’s just general anger
(TW- Please don’t read if you have ocd relating to one off/random medical events) ^ ^ ^ ^ okay so this is something I’ve been confused about for YEARS and completely sped up my ocd symptoms, I had a one off seizure a few years ago, it wasn’t a major one but enough to have family take me to the hospital afterwards, I don’t remember anything whilst it was happening and I was unwell at the time too. I did all the tests and nothing came back, even tested for epilepsy but I don’t have that. No one has been able to give me a reason and that set off my ocd since mine is mostly based around things I cant see hurting me or others (contamination ocd) or me making the wrong decision (rOCD, real event etc etc) (no clue I had ocd at this point though, only got diagnosed last year) I know they can be stressed induced too but I remember not feeling that stressed that night and not much was going on… Is there anyone that’s experienced the same thing?? Could it be OCD related at all?
i currently am getting over my period and have been having a horrible flashbacks from some real events. it’s a amalgamation of all of the horrible things i did as a child/young teenager. all of it associated with p0rnography + sexual activities i did. i was exposed to sexual activity very young and it lead me down a dark path. i’ve had OCD forever it seems. it’s hard because i can see that i’ve had OCD symptoms since childhood but i constantly doubt wether or not my actions where because of OCD or something i genuinely wanted/was attracted to. i can’t seem to differentiate the two and it’s scaring me. i’m worried i was genuinely into the kind of stuff and it’s constantly flashing in my mind the last two days of things i compulsively did years ago. to be absolutely clear it has been years since i’ve even thought about those taboo things or saw anything of that sort. i’m talking 5 or 6 years give or take. it still feels like yesterday. in recent years i’ve completely pulled away from p0rn and now find it and s3x a lot less appealing. but every so often i get these intense flashbacks on things i did or saw or thought and it puts everything on hold. everything im interested in gets but on the back burner in fear of my intrusive thoughts being thrown into the mix. currently experiencing that now. im mortified of ruining everything i love because of these stupid thoughts. does anyone have any advice or experience with this specifically and have any tips???
I feel like after years of living in survival mode from various back to back traumas, I don’t know how to turn off my brain. It’s always in some sort of overstimulated cycle of overthinking, rumination, self checking, and seeking reassurance. I know there will be more peace after treatment. But just hating like I’m stuck in always feeling like I’m waiting for the next shoe to drop when so many shit things have happened to me early in life. How am I suppose to be excited about what’s next?
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