- Date posted
- 2y
Sad
Is it possible to even love life again? Or will this guilt/shame/depression be forever?
Is it possible to even love life again? Or will this guilt/shame/depression be forever?
It'll start to shift as you get into a good flow with daily ERP. You'll have times of day and full days where you feel more like yourself and not carry the active burden of your intrusive thoughts. You'll even sometimes have entire weeks where OCD is fairly quiet! There will be ups and downs... times where you're in an extended blip for a week or two, maybe. That's where I am. I have some good weeks, but right now I have a lot of big changes happening so I'm feeling unsteady and OCD is *thrilled* for this opportunity. Keep pushing! We can all do this, no matter what part of our journey we are in today š©·
@ReadyForImprovement Thank you for this. I seem to feel the best at night. I feel like this is pretty opposite to the norm for most people. Seems like morning until about 6pm Iām pretty uncomfortable in my thoughts. I just need to keep plugging away at ERP even when I really donāt want to.
@Anonymously0CD I'm exactly the same way! Our bodies generate the most cortisol (the "stress hormone") when we wake up, so many people find their anxiety worse in the morning. I seem to run out of the body chemistry that generates anxiety by around 4pm most days so my evenings are peaceful and I feel like myself.
@ReadyForImprovement It could also contribute to me taking my SSRI at 5:30pm. My therapist said itās kind of odd, but to embrace that time of relief.
@Anonymously0CD Interesting! I take my medication first thing in the morning. Your therapist makes a good point, it doesn't matter why, we should just appreciate it without analysis š„°
@ReadyForImprovement Iāve considered changing to morning. I just know what to expect with my current routine and am afraid to change š What medication and dose are you on if you donāt mind me asking?
@Anonymously0CD I'm taking Effexor these days. 225mg. It seems to be ok. I still have issues with OCD, of course, but I really notice the difference if I forget to take it... the next day, my brain is definitely reminding me that I missed a dose.
@ReadyForImprovement Iām terrified of missing a dose. I hear itās no fun!
@Anonymously0CD Oh don't worry, if it happens, you just take it when you realize it (unless it's too close to your regular dose, then just resume as normal). I don't experience anything dramatic. I just notice that OCD is chattier or I'm feeling jittery but not quite anxious... I feel off.
@ReadyForImprovement Okay that makes me feel better!
@Anonymously0CD Oh good! Sometimes I'll notice because my anxiety is spiking unusually (like not in response to anything)... then I'm like "oh yeahhhhh, i didn't take my meds". Then I take them. Nothing to write home about... it's just discomfort.
It will get better with time if you follow ERP. Itās a tough recovery process but itās worth it please look into ERP therapy.
@Anonymous I am currently in therapy. Just struggling with finding a good, effective script for my real event ocd
will i ever be free or is this all there is for the rest of my life
I know I keep talking about This but Iām too tired :( Iām really struggling and I donāt know what to do anymore. I feel like I might be the only person who experiences this in the way I do. Itās gotten so bad that during intimacy or self-pleasure, I feel like Iām acting on a thought ā like my body is moving because of it. Itās terrifying and deeply hurtful. The moment it happens, I immediately panic, try to rewind everything in my head, and ruminate to figure out what I was thinking at that exact second⦠but I can never remember. That makes it even worse. feel so lost and hopeless, like Iāll never be able to heal or move on from this. People tell me āitās just OCD,ā but it doesnāt feel like OCD to me. It feels like Iām the exception ā like no one else truly experiences it like this, especially the part where it feels like I physically responded to a thought. I know people say āothers go through this too,ā but my mind keeps saying, ānot like this, not this specific thing.āSometimes I just wish I could go back and relive those moments so I could be sure what happened, but I know thatās not possible. I feel so stuck in guilt and doubt that I donāt even know who I am anymore. Iām scared Iām a bad person and that Iāll always feel this way. Iāll never be free or be the same again everyday I live with deep depression
I would really appreciate it so much if someone took the time to read this and help me. I donāt know what to do anymore. I havenāt posted here in awhile. I had my OCD managed pretty decently for a year or so on medication, but I had to stop taking it, and after around 3-4 months, the OCD has become unbearable again. It used to be much more surrounding existential themes, eating, and others, not really real event/false memory stuff. But now itās gotten really out of hand and I donāt know how to do it anymore. Itās surrounding a time of my life a long time ago. It was a dark time. I wasnāt myself and I was going through a lot of things, and I did a lot of things I regret. I self-destructed, embarrassed myself, and wasnāt good to the people around me. I was able to get my mind off of it for a long time, even though I would still think about it a good amount. I was able to be in the present, at least moreso than now. But now that Iām off medication, the guilt has become my obsession again. I canāt move on. I canāt do anything without thinking about all of these memories. Iām obsessed. Iāve started hating myself again, so much so that itās hard to do anything anymore or believe I deserve anything good. The people around me tell me it wasnāt even that bad, but to me it was. To me, I failed myself, lost myself, and failed everyone around me. I canāt stop thinking about every person I said something wrong to or every time I screwed up. Iāve now started to convince myself I did terrible things I canāt remember, and that my mind just canāt deal with it. And thatās why I feel so guilty. Thereās nothing to really support this though. But Iām starting to really convince myself thatās true. Iām trying not to listen to it, because Iāve convinced myself I have hit people with my car before and havenāt remembered when I absolutely didnāt and I know I never have. I drive back over and over to check thereās no one, even though I never heard any bang or felt myself anything. I can convince myself of some crazy false memories. So I know that I shouldnāt listen. But itās hard not to when I have this guilt gnawing at me constantly. I come to conclusions that this guilt must be because I did something terrible that I donāt remember, even though I already think the things I remember were bad enough. But I would know by now right? If I did something bad I donāt remember? I donāt feel like this all the time. But itās a lot of the time. But maybe that should be reassuring, that I only start obsessing like this when I think to. The past haunts me though. And I can never be in the present. Iāve started to resort to some unhealthy behaviors to distract myself or help me work towards something. I am starting to hate myself so much and feel like thereās no way Iāll ever be able to get out of this loop. I feel like I just canāt do this anymore. Maybe I need to go back on medication. But I donāt know. I donāt really want to. But will I ever fix this without it? Why do I feel SO guilty, all of the time? I do all these things for people because I feel indebted to them, because I feel undeserving of everything. I feel awful about myself. I donāt know what to do. Does anyone else deal with this?
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