I feel like I have every form of OCD or have gone through it at some point. I’m almost 9 weeks pregnant and my OCD is bad. I’m trying to avoid my compulsions but it’s so hard. What works for you? What techniques help you resist your compulsions?
I call mine “shapeshifting” OCD. And it definitely spiked during and after pregnancy- especially because they switched me from my regular SNRI to the “safe” SSRI. Thank god I found a therapist who specialized in PPA/ PPD who switched me right back to my SNRI. Now I think I’m in peri-menopause and my OCD is soaking again- I definitely think our hormones have something to do with it. Good luck
@MPC75 My Dr wants to switch me to an SNRI but I’m scared since I already have side effects on the SSRI. What were differences you noticed between the two types?
@OCDMM For some reason, the SNRI really calmed the obsessive thoughts for me in a different way than the SSRI’s. I also had less weight gain and other side effects.
@MPC75 Maybe I’ll be more open minded to it then, thanks for responding! I’m really nervous to change meds
The easiest way for me to convince myself to avoid compulsions is to know doing a compulsion means anxiety and my OCD getting WORSE, versus not doing a compulsion means anxiety and my OCD getting better. Always move toward recovery.
@Sunrise22 Sometimes my compulsion is to talk about what’s bothering to seek reassurance… the anxiety is so bad and debilitating… I know talking about it will make it worse but I still do it. And my anxiety will go away for an 1 Hr or 2 and then creep right back in. It’s such a vicious cycle.
@Crazylady It’s great though that you’ve already identified reassurance seeking as a compulsion for you. Can you plan for situations where you know you’ll want to seek reassurance? How could you handle those situations instead?
I haven’t experienced all themes, but I definitely have had a variety over the years…from existential, to Socd, to relationship ocd and now postpartum ocd. Pregnancy hormones are probably triggering a flair up for you and I’m sorry your going through that! Really really seek help and do everything you can with your mental health because you want to enjoy this special time in your life and be prepared emotionally and mentally for when baby arrives!
I’ve had all themes you can imagine throughout the years if that’s what you mean.
Absolutely. I've had OCD for basically my whole life, from what we can tell, so I definitely have had almost all themes you can think of. I think the only one I haven't had is SO-OCD... and that's presumably because I'm not fussed about sexual orientation. I'd be fine with it either way. My OCD can ramp up when I have hormonal shifts, so pregnancy might be one of the reasons your OCD is being a real turd. I'm sorry you're having a hard time with it right now 🩷 Resisting compulsions is hard. I agree with Sunrise22's point of view here about reminding yourself that doing compulsions will make things harder in the long term. I'm trying to use my non-engagement responses and reminding myself that the OCD and anxiety will likely pass on their own if I don't engage and don't fight them. Easier said than done, at the moment. You're not alone!
@ReadyForImprovement Thank you
I've dealt with several forms that just started last year out of nowhere. I had health anxiety for many years but not OCD unless it just went undiagnosed but anxiety went to another level out of nowhere. I'm sorry you're going through that.
I’ve had manyyy different themes. And sometimes I feel like they go away for a while and then come back strong. Hormones definitely play a role for me near my cycle so I would assume pregnancy would do the same
And I hate how my brain switches what I am obsessing about… so I think of one thing and it’s stupid but in the moment I believe it to be a real concern or the truth but the. Eventually my mind will switch to something else and that previous worry seems so stupid. Pregnancy makes it so “vicious”. I hate it!
@Crazylady That basically sums up how mine works! I obsess about something until some new shiny fear comes along and then obsess about that. I’m sorry you’re going through this. I wonder if there are supplements that are safe during pregnancy. I’ve tried L-Theanine, NAC and inositol which help some but I have no idea if those are safe when pregnant
I recently was diagnosed with postpartum ocd/ depression/ anxiety it’s by far the hardest thing I ever had. As an adolescent I struggled with depression/anxiety/ & self harm I didn’t realize back then that self harm was a compulsion for me. Anyway recently ocd has been attacking my baby along with my loved ones or even strangers. I feel horrible about it & feel insane I have panic attacks very often. I do my best to remind myself it’s ocd not me. I am genuinely the kind of person that is disturbed by road kill & cry over new all the time. I didn’t have these intrusive thoughts until my baby was 4 months (he’s now 6 months) because of a stupid true crime case & then it spiraled. I believe the only reason it’s doing all this is to have me feel like I am a villain & evil. It causes me to wonder if I have psychosis (like my mind purposely thinks the worst to try to convince me of psychosis) I am aware that’s not how it works. I am doing everything possible to overcome this sadly my insurance is Medicaid & it doesn’t work on here to find a OCD specialist. I move in 10 days to a new state & my insurance will be cut off for some time. I recently started Zoloft so I’m hoping it helps me until then. I want hope from other moms that have gone through similar experiences… this feels so exhausting & endless I wasn’t like this a few months ago. All I do is pray for things to get better I read the Bible to ease my heart & try to trust God that this to shall pass.
I’m wondering if this has happened to anyone else… I’m 28 years old. I was diagnosed with OCD when I was very young and it took a while, but I overcame it. I haven’t had any compulsions in 20 years. I’ve had some horrible things happen in the past, but nothing brought back my OCD. The only thing I struggle with is overthinking and making decisions. Im about to take a sabbatical from my work for a year to travel because the last year of my life has been by far the happiest and most confident iv ever been. I went to see a therapist a couple weeks ago who was an OCD specialist, I just wanted some tips and tricks for decision-making while I’m on my trip. She warned me that my OCD might get worse before it gets better, but I thought that she just meant with decision-making and overthinking. They have this program set out that I didn’t really wanna do but she told me it works really well so I decided to try it. It’s two sessions a week and the first two sessions were sort of just talking about my old OCD and doing questionnaires. I really related to some of the questionnaire questions, and the therapist was actively telling me that I definitely had OCD the whole time which made me feel bad. After our second session, my OCD came back full swing like when I was a child. I cant stop thinking about doing compulsions every waking second. It’s been two weeks. I’ve been to her several times and nothing is helping, I’m resisting the urge to do compulsions as much as I can and I feel like I’m fighting for my life. Nothing is helping and I’m burning out. I wake up and cry everyday because of how uncomfortable and out of control I feel. I never thought this would happen and im so mad at myself for ruining my trip. I feel like I’ve ruined my life tbh and even if I do get better, I’m always gonna be bothered by the constant fear that even at the highest and most happy points in my life it could just come back at any second with no warning signs.. I thought I knew how to deal with it and had the tools, but nothing is working this time and its ruining my life. Today I asked about cancelling my trip altogether, and I might be going on medical leave. Has this happened to anybody and do you have any tips for me?
I’m going through a really bad flare up. I developed ocd many years ago when I had my first child. Postpartum ocd. I suffer from harm and pocd. At first I had mostly mental and some physical compulsions but the physical faded away pretty early on and i’ve just done mental compulsions since. My ocd was in remission for alot of years and if the ocd would pop up now and again, I was easily able to shrug it off and not engage. A few years ago I went through a stressful time in my life and the ocd came back to stay. At first it was bad but then it got better and has been pretty mild until now. It’s been really bad this week and the physical compulsions are even back. I never thought it would ever get this bad again. My ocd is making me doubt who I am and how I feel. I know it’s all ocd and not real or true but the ocd makes it feel so real that I can’t easily dismiss or disprove it. The more I try to disprove it the more real the ocd makes it feel. I’m really struggling and don’t know how to get back on track. I don’t have access to a therapist because there are no ocd specialists near me and my insurance doesn’t cover online therapy. That’s why i’m reaching out here. Has anyone been through a rough relapse? How can I get through and past this??
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