my new psychiatrist was very adamant and persistent about knowing the exact content of my intrusive thoughts. i refused to tell him because it made me uncomfortable. is this normal??
@hamiam, As anonymous says above, I think this partially depends on what you’re seeing the psychiatrist for. If the psychiatrist is leading your ERP (exposure and response prevention) therapy then it may make sense that they would need to know so that they could set up the right exposures. In my opinion only, generally speaking, with any doctor it’s best to be as open as possible So they get the full picture. With that said sometimes doctors are not the right fit and it may be appropriate to look for a new one. It is important for you to feel comfortable, As this is your recovery. I’m not sure if you’ve already asked the physiatrist why they want to know this information. if you haven’t, perhaps ask them specifically why. Therefore, you can get a better understanding of what they’re looking to do with the information.
I think two people you have to be as clear as possible is your doctor and your therapist, I know it’s uncomfortable but they need to know what type of thoughts you are having to see what route to take. Ocd and anxiety has many different categories. I’m sure they have heard it all before. Again, if this is just for medication I don’t think you necessarily have to specify but if this is your erp doctor then you should be open
But your question says psychiatrist so just as long as u are letting your regular therapist know about ur thoughts then I don’t think ur psychiatrist need to know the extend too much I agree
This can be such a difficult question to answer. I think that they need the information to make a correct diagnosis. I would caution that it is important to ensure that they are very much aware of OCD and the sub-types, taboo themes, etc. You could ask them some questions to see and ensure that they are. I would say don't be afraid to ensure that they really understand OCD-https://www.treatmyocd.com/blog/how-to-find-an-ocd-therapist
Happy Tuesday friends. Question for you all: I have recently started ERP therapy (about one month ago) and I feel in a way it has helped. But I also notice that I feel the thoughts I do have are SO intense that I feel like I’m gonna explode and then I’ll cry and get upset but then feel better after having a “freak out”. Does this happen to any of you guys? Also, I told my therapist yesterday some of the exposures we had been doing made me uncomfortable. Like really really uncomfortable. She made me feel a little bad about not doing it and stated this would prolong my progress if I didn’t do it. I’m not sure if I should push my self to do this exposure because she told me to or to stick up for myself and move at my own pace. Thanks everyone.
Told my close friend about how I think I have harm ocd and showed a video describing her experience with it so I wouldn’t have to share mine. Told him how when I see the number 22 I get paranoid that I’ll harm someone, and he gave me advice to go to a psychiatrist then left me on read after we were having a conversation prior. I’m so scared to open up to people about it and now I don’t think I will again.
Last night I had a fucked up intrusive thought/urge about harming my partner and I'm spinning out today. I let them know I had an intrusive thought and was struggling with compulsions around it and future repercussions, but did not tell them exactly what the thought/urge was, which they accepted. Do y'all share details with your partners about harm ocd? How can we healthily ask for support from people we are having horrible thoughts about?
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond
