- 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
i donāt know what changed, but in the past 1-2 weeks something switched in my brain and now i am obsessing over every mistake Iāve ever made, and i firmly believe the guilt i feel is justified. i am a pathological liar and iām realizing i may have lied about more things than I ever intended to. i think i tricked myself into believing some things and now I feel awful that Iāve lied to myself and others about so many things. my mind is a mess and i canāt even tell what is a lie and what isnāt anymore. i also feel like iāve been taking advantage of my boyfriends family who has financially supported me for these past few years, because i had convinced myself and everyone around me that my physical health & mental health was worse than it actually was. i never meant to take advantage or hurt anyone, but i can definitely say that i became complacent and comfortable living these past few years without having to worry about work, school, or really anything. i think i used ānot feeling wellā as an excuse to not do anything because i was too afraid to leave the house and function in society. i feel so awful and disgusted by my behavior and the guilt is eating me alive. i even feel bad using my phone because they pay for it, and feel bad being in my apartment for the same reason. i feel like everything about me is a lie and theyāve been paying for and supporting a person completely different than they thought. maybe iām not who I portrayed myself out to be at all. iāve felt so disgusting and so awful i can barely stand it. this morning i woke up feeling like i was suffocating, my chest hurt so bad and i felt like there was absolutely no way out. i really felt like i was dying. other than the lying, iāve felt awful about things i did as a child where i didnāt know any better, or i even feel bad about my own thoughts and emotions that I have no control over. my mom says iām being too hard on myself, and that i canāt help that i lie, but i donāt believe that. i think i deserve to feel this way and that iām not being hard enough on myself. i lied and took advantage and therefore i deserve to suffer. i caused people to worry for me when it wasnāt necessary, when i was fine. i deserve to feel so guilty that iām nauseous, i deserve to feel ashamed. i feel like i donāt deserve to eat or feel better, even though i desperately want to. i feel so guilty and so shameful i literally canāt function. i want to escape this feeling so bad, i want to get out of this guilt thatās keeping me from moving on and improving myself. i acknowledge that i have a lying problem, that itās a mental illness, but i am ashamed of it and feel disgusted that iām this way even though i canāt help some of it. i truly donāt know what to do or how to have compassion for myself. probably a good idea to share that my dad is a pathological liar and never received help, and iām pretty sure i learned this behavior through him. not to mention all the stuff i did as a kid that i feel bad about, or the fact that i feel bad about things i canāt control. and i even feel bad about finding certain things funny. the guilt is killing me and i donāt know how iām ever supposed to become a better person if iām so sure that iām undeserving of ever feeling better. in my head i truly feel like im a monster. i feel like iām having a crisis because iām realizing i lied about a lot of things without even really realizing it. or i deceived myself into thinking things. and Iāve lied about things for sympathy, for attention, to make myself seem more interesting, or to make me seem less pathetic than i actually am. iāve lied about some serious things, and iāve lied about things that donāt matter at all. i donāt know how to keep living. i want to go home to my apartment and be in my safe space, but i feel disgusting being there when iāve taken advantage of my boyfriendās family, even though it was never my intention. no matter what I do and where i go, i feel wrong. because iāve done so many bad things and i canāt forgive myself. i feel so morally wrong i canāt stand it and i donāt see things ever getting better. i feel like Iām going crazy and i feel so alone. i canāt escape this guilt no matter what. and i feel overwhelmed because I know this isnāt something that can be fixed quickly. am i ever gonna be able to live without shame ever again? am i ever gonna be able to do the things i love again? the things that brought me comfort? nothing brings me any comfort, and i spend all day in bed or sitting around doing absolutely nothing because i canāt distract myself. i canāt stop thinking about all the things iāve done no matter how hard i try. i obsessively read and look up online things to try and find reassurance. i feel like iām going crazy. and i just feel so sorry. to everyone. and iām so extremely ashamed of my behavior. i canāt stop obsessing about the past, the present, and the future. donāt i deserve to feel this way when iāve lied and done bad things? even if it wasnāt my intention, or if itās a result of a mental illness? donāt i deserve to feel debilitating guilt when iāve been a bad person? even though i know i never had any bad intentions, i donāt think it matters. am i gonna feel this way forever, where everything i do or everywhere i look, im reminded of the the things ive done?
I pleasured myself to my intrusive thoughts while I was high as a teen and it felt so real like I genuinely wanted it and leaned into it, it genuinely felt like I enjoyed it and desired it but Iām not sure if I misinterpreted a groinal response and false arousal for desire and did it I donāt even want that stuff in reality nor do I seek it out but I feel like it stains me forever and I cannot be loved or accepted or be a normal human anymore and that my life is over, I donāt know what to do, it felt like it was automatic and it all just happened and then I āsnapped backā into reality once it was done and it all hit me like a truck. Does anyone else know if this is a thing or if theyāve had similar experiences? Please help me it feels like Iām dying here. I want to die
will i ever be free or is this all there is for the rest of my life
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