- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 2y
Can Depression worsen OCD and vice versa?
Just as the title asks. Feels like the only "joy" I feel comes from my intrusive thoughts, which is nonsense.
Just as the title asks. Feels like the only "joy" I feel comes from my intrusive thoughts, which is nonsense.
Yes, mental illnesses play off one another. So does stress, so that’s why decreasing stress is important too.
Easier said than done, unfortunately. Just feels like I'm always anxious over the slightest hint of a trigger, which only increases stress.
@Anonymous Everything is “easier said than done” in a sense but it needs to be said so you know what/what not to do to feel and get better.
I feel like that is happening to me now, my depression and anxiety make my OCD flare up so much
I think it’s a mixture of anxiety and depression symptoms. The literal second I had my first obsessive thought, every bit of joy/happiness/excitement/drive for life/libido left me. Instantly. My theme uses that loss of feelings to prove the theme as true. And I’m off to the races. I’m my opinion, not enough is made of how the symptoms of extreme anxiety and depression influence OCD. And how we start to use these symptoms as ‘proof’. It’s horrible.
I feel like something like that has happened to me. Like I don't even know who I am or what I like anymore. From there, OCD fills in the blanks. I hate it.
@Anonymous Yep exactly the same mate. I think it’s a case of we have been doing this for so long, letting fear and anxiety fill the blanks for so long, that it blurs our idea of self. From what I’ve read with regards to recovery stories. They all have similar things: 1) they say ERP is the key. 2) they say it’s incredibly hard and have set backs 3) once they realise they make progress, their normal self returns slowly. It’s a compulsion for me thinking this way, but it makes me feel better knowing.
@gp I'm trying to refine how I perform ERP, so it's definitely a process. I only try to perform it once a day at a set time to prevent it from becoming a compulsion for reassurance. Again, it's a process.
Yes because I have major depression disorder due to how long I’ve fought my ocd thoughts . They feed one another and it’s screwed up but it’s true . Anxiety and depression go hand in hand and when ocd comes in they all throw a party
At least I know I'm not alone in this. Any tips on how to deal with it?
@Anonymous What are your main struggles?
@KMOR Whenever I see a child or child-like character in a video game/movie/etc, I get anxious because I feel like I am "attracted" to them, especially if they have a design/trait that I like or have a "mature" design to them. That would be the biggest one I'm trying to tackle right now.
@Anonymous So you have pedophilia ocd ?
@KMOR Yeah, that and what I believe to be "Pure" OCD, as I am constantly trying to argue away intrusive thoughts or otherwise hoping they become "acceptable". There are others, but that's the big one for me right now.
@Anonymous I know so many mamas that struggle with this. Are you a parent at all? The best way into this exposure is sort of realizing our brains take a minute to realize what we’re looking at whether it be in real life or virtual
@KMOR I'm actually a male, and although I don't have any kids of my own, I do have three nieces and a nephew which my intrusive thoughts like targeting (especially my oldest niece). My triggers mostly come from video games (namely Zelda and Pokémon), which I play a lot on my free time, so triggers are constant. That's the part that I'm confused about, since shouldn't seeing triggers more often make me accustomed to them, not more sensitive to them?
@Anonymous Depends ! So genuinely your therapist will start therapy off by showing you homework of triggers then get heavier triggers towards the end as you improve . You don’t dive into a pool of water instantly until you know you can at least stand in it first without drowning
@KMOR Well, I mostly talk about what's bothering me at the time while working out ways to refine my therapy. Thing is I don't try to actively look for images of kids (too creepy), especially since they come up naturally as is whether it be video games, TV, or movies. However, I feel like I may try to avoid or simply ignore these characters as much as possible, which probably makes it worse when I do see them. But at the same time, I don't want to keep looking at them and letting my OCD run rampant; that feels like something highly unethical and immoral.
@Anonymous That’s understandable so do you work with a therapist now?
@KMOR Yes I am. When I started over a year ago, I was meeting with her once a week. Now it's once a month. I want to try and handle this on my own. But now it feels like every time I see/hear of a child or child-like character my mind races and I become super conscious about my body. And if I react in a way that I deem "inappropriate" or "immoral", I linger in it to try and get a better answer.
TLDR: The title. I often feel rush or excitement and curiosity about my OCD thoughts, and I am not shy of it. Do you have experience like this? I think I often feel a lot of excitement when I start to engage with some obsesive thoughts and when obsesive episode starts for me. Like I often find the idea or image very interesting and I am curious about it. But often there is a neat line between excitement and anxiety. Also often it may at first start with excitement but after a while I may feel anxious or traped of being in the loop and then also being anxious about the idea itself and possibilities or ruining things I care about or loosing them. And those aspects can come in various successions or sometimes multiple at once. I encountered some materials about people enjoying their obsesive thoughts but it was usually something else. They had this obsesive fear of possibly enjoying those obsesive thoughts. But I have it different. I know I do have this excitement, rush and curiosity. I know I may somewhat like them. And I do not shy away from that. Also sometimes enjoy compulsions, even lone compulsions without link to obssesions. Like I very rarely need to organize stuff or order them or place them perfectly, but sometimes I just get into it and it is more like I find it fascinating and funny that I can try for the impossible precision and I can feel urge to do it for nonsensical amount of effort. (But I am usually very messy, disorganized and careless about organizing physical stuff) The ocd is still very debilitating and taking a lot of time. And the OCD is still very anxious and sometimes desprate-like experience. The excitement about the ideas might be a good thing because maybe I might accept them better or perform some kind of exposure through it but it may also reinforce a loop. But it is fact that I sometimes enjoy my OCD thoughts, invite them, await them at smallest glimpse. It is just mostly matter of fact. And I am curious what this might mean for me and my OCD and for how I can work I'm with it and interact with it's what changes and options it gives. I am 30 year old and I struggle with OCD from at least 15 years old. I got myself officially diagnosed quite recently and I am on waiting list for a therapy. I have mostly pure or predominantly obsesive OCD but I still go through many mental compulsions and compulsive behaviors. I experienced many subtypes of OCD although not so much of the more traditional ones. My first subtype of OCD was a kind of meta-ocd. I remember how I like the character of detective Adrienne Monk. I liked the character. I did not have it formulated for myself at that age but he was so sensitive, fragile, perceptive, clever and a sort of inventive. The ocd seemed fascinating. Although his neuroticism regarding his environment would be total pain for me, since I was and I am a very messy and disorganized person. But I still vibed with him and sympathized with him. I felt interest and curiosity in being possibly sort of like him. But I felt fear of it as well. I feared I was like him or that I would have ocd. I feared performing rituals and I would sometimes perform them,.sometimes as the relief of confirmation sometimes as examination, sometimes as a sort of exposure therapy before knowing what exposure therapy was. I just had this conflicting fears, obsessions and compulsions about the prospect of having ocd. That was when I was around 15 years old. But through my whole childhood before that, I was already focused a lot on managing and controlling my own emotions to keep away from disappointments. And I was very socially and romantically anxious and had sort of low confidence or fear of low confidence. So those were childhood experiences that were not yet obsessive-compulsive like but which were on the way there. Also know that it is very probable I have some form of ADHD. My mother and siblings have it diagnosed. And I exhibit almost all classical symptoms despite being conflict-averse and diplomatic and therefore considered well behaved child. But doing some less serious and shalower testing with one psychology consultant, I scored way higher and clearer on ADHD test than on OCD test. I also just love novelty, and experimentation and exploration. And I may sometimes engage with obsessions and compulsions out of procrastination. Also my obsessions and compulsions are often chaotic, I often encounter dilema where I don't know what course of action would be compulsive and what would not. Or I am not sure If I am exposing myself and getting familiar with unwanted thought or if I am actually just fulfilling some other compulsions. Like if I am not turning exposure into another obsession. Like anything can become anything. And honestly? I probably do. And why not. Yes I am sometimes perfectionist in the most nonsensical ways. Thanks for reading through this whole thing and paying attention to what I had to say.
i think i might be struggling with depression. can depression make ocd worse? because lately, my intrusive thoughts have become so intense that even trying to sit with them doesn’t help. i hate that i can’t even go one full day without giving in to a compulsion. the horrible, blasphemous thoughts are so overwhelming that i sometimes feel like giving up and just believing them—not because i actually want to, but because I’m so mentally and emotionally exhausted. what scares me most is that my feelings feel so twisted now… like i’m starting to like or want these cruel thoughts. it’s terrifying because i feel like i’m becoming the kind of person I never wanted to be—a cruel person, even an enemy of God. and i don’t want that at all. i'm just scared i’m changing into someone i’m not.
I see a lot of “general” advice on here from people who have conquered their OCD, and i dont often find that advice helpful. How do i identify compulsion when OCD is bad? Its a whirlwind. Nothing makes sense. I’m pretty sure i have something in addition to OCD but modern science is not good enough yet to let me know. At times like this I need medication. I am weening off Zoloft to try Clomipramine or maybe Vyvanse. I’ve been on Zoloft for 6+ years so decreasing is causing quite an uptick in symptoms. I feel very impulsive lately, i say and post things i dont mean to and it causes interpersonal issues and doesn’t represent who i really am. Is it impulsion or compulsion? I’ve asked this before and only got textbook answers, not personal anecdotes (what im looking for). What does ADHD and RSD feel like? I think i have both ADHD and OCD, even though scientific models show these having opposite activity in the same areas of the brain, leading one to wonder: how can someone have both conditions simultaneously? Science contradicts this but also acknowledges a large population of people who have comorbid OCD and ADHD.
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