- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 2y
Is OCD curable without meds?
Anything for it to never ever come back
Anything for it to never ever come back
There’s no cure for OCD or any mental illness. That’s hard to hear at first but it’s the truth.
@Nica :( I can’t live w this … I want to be normal and not have to think I’m crazy
It'll never not come back. Even with meds. You learn to deal with it through ERP. So you don't get worse. It's not always gonna be this bad if you put the work in.
@OCDliestoyou So with ERP… I can still get flares of the same theme… I’m confused :( ugh what’s the point of erp then
@Anonymous It will flare up, that's just how it works. The point of ERP is to show you how to handle these situations and thoughts.
You will always get intrusive thoughts. Even people without OCD get them. ERP teaches you how to not react to them like people without OCD do.
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@jocd I haven’t done meds and I’ve had four relapse. What do you do about the anxiety? Mine is giving me extreme sadness and guilt
@jocd It’s the urges that are hard. My brain is telling me that my thoughts won’t calm down till I act on it
I’ve had OCD since being a child in different forms, I haven’t had a flare up in years and honestly thought I would be able to handle it if I did. I was wrong this is the worst I’ve ever felt and I can’t see it ending
@sazMar Question- did you do ERP?
Why are some people saying they have been OCD free for years? And I don’t want to rely on drugs for the rest of my life. This is my fourth flare up and I want this to be gone. The anxiety is unbearable. I can’t do anything
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@hdbandns I have my first therapist session this Friday
You learn from each relapse. ERP is a practice and in the future you will use what you've learned and the skills you've developed with ERP to not take the bait. I have accepted that it's possible that I will have relapses in the future. Life is hard. However hopefully they will be fewer and farther in between. The more I'm afraid of a relapse, the more I try to push thoughts away and end up doing compulsions. So i try to not fight it and use ERP. I do not use meds and probably would only use them if I personally found myself unable to function day to day. Everyone is different and should consult their physician/therapist.
@laurend9209 it makes me hate myself. Why do I have to be so crazy with a defective brain. Seeing my sister so happy I can’t function. I’m 24 I wanted to start dating and get married. Now I’m scared to have kids due my flare ups. My Brain is telling me why live with this crazy disease when you can just kys and be torture free
I am doing it without meds! ERP and I also take a supplement called NAC which is known to help OCD (but it isnt medication — it’s a vitamin) I still have OCD try nudge its way back in but I can realize when it’s trying and I just ignore it. I have felt the best I have in YEARS.
@Anonymous How long have you been doing ERP? And have you had any flare ups
@Anonymous I did ERP daily for about 45 mins each day for about a month and a half. It SUCKED. But it really, really works.
@Anonymous Does erp cause any flare ups in the future? And are you doing this urself. Can you share some for harm ocd erp and suicidal erp
@Anonymous I wouldnt say ERP causes flare ups. I think it’s a tool to use when you can feel it coming on again. You acknowledge the thought and sit with the anxiety until it passes. I had a Nocd Therapist help me. I had harm/suicidal ocd too — I would do worst case scenarios and imagine what that would be. I would google some exposures for harm ocd — there’s some good tools online. Best of luck. You got this!
@Anonymous Sitting w the anxiety is the worse part… as in walking in the train, working,I can’t. That’s when I feel like I’m gonna lose control and I have these intense urges that is telling me that if I act on my horrible intrusive thoughts, that’s the only way my mind will become Calm
No I’ve never had treatment as I’ve never had an official diagnosis of OCD just anxiety disorder. My doctor has changed my meds from Citalopram to proxoetine and I’m due to start therapy on the 17th May
@sazMar Is ur therapy ERP related?
I don’t know until I have my assessment
Does anyone who has OCD NOT TAKE MEDS? Is it possible to not take them and manage life in a way that is productive. (Not really sure what word to use here but I think you all get the idea)
Has anyone had success treating their OCD without medication and solely ERP or non-medicinal methods. I have pretty severe OCD and just about every sub-type, but I’ve been on various meds (SSRI & SNRIs) for going on 8 years and have never found one that truly relieves me of symptoms. I’m looking to see if it’s worth continuing with the side effects I experience (mostly mild) or if there are alternatives that could work for me. Low key tired of constantly changing meds in an attempt to find something that works when maybe medicine isn’t the route for me…
I don't have an official OCD diagnosis, although I am near enough certain I have it after a long year of distressing intrusive thoughts and compulsions that have strongly affected my life. Unfortunately though, I do not have the opportunity or the finances to get checked or go to therapy for a good few months at least. Due to this, I have taken it upon myself to teach myself techniques to tackle it and to reduce and not engage in compulsions, as I did not want to take the risk of getting even worse before being able to get help (and desperation lol). For the first time in the past year I feel like I'm finally making some progress in getting better since incorporating these techniques into my life as my symptoms have become more manageable (minus the obvious bad days) at the time being. Is self-recovery actually possible? Has anyone managed to recover without a therapist's help?
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