advice please

in a month i am going to be seeing a psychiatrist. I have actually been feeling better since this flare begane like 12 weeks ago but still not good. I just dont really know what to say to a psychiatrist. Should i tell them my symptoms in the same way I told my therapist? Im also feeling anxious because it jsut feels like im doing these things to myself and im making myself feel bad and like its my fault. I feel very uncertain and its actually made it harder for me to talk with my therapist too so i feel like im not making the most(or anything really) out of our sessions. Idk what i should tell the psychiatrist. Heres my plan Tell psychiatrist: i have frequent and distressing thoughths about time + age + change + things being new vs old I usually check age and count times from specific dates. Count weeks. Compare ages and dates. Pick skin and pull hair to distract myself which sometimes lasts for hours. Tell about physical feelings stomach aches, vomiting, chills tell about crying. How it used to be everyday and a lot and at almost anytime for around a month or two but now its only occasionally. Used to be very panicked but now mostly anxious and sad. Mood is very up and down. Sometimes i feel hopeful and even jovial but sometimes i feel awful and sick. Also i might want to mention that i feel very dependent on my parents right nwo. I dont know if that's important but ive gotten really dependent on them lately because i feel bad. idk if i should tell them more like how sometimes it made me kind of feel suicidal because i dont feel like that now. Please give advice on how to approach this. It was hard to find a psychiatrist that allowed 17 year olds where i live so Im not really sure on what to expect since it was really difficult to set this up in the first place also should i tell them from when i started having these feeling. Like specifically these feelings came a week after my 17th birthday. But its more like they got worse then. Like the first time i started having these behaviors and feelings i was aroung 10-11 but within those past years it jumped from time/age to different worries (but still kind of in the same realm of what they currently are) But idk if i should becuase the only time it was even close to this bad before was when I was 13 or 14. Also idk if i should mention some other things i struggle with that might not be OCD related. Like i have really trouble with focus and reading as well as visualisation and also verbal articulation. I also tend to like space out for a while. And also when i feel more overwhelmed or anxious its really difficult to talk in general or if its too loud sometimes it makes me cry or feel like i need a physical release like squeezing my self or hitting myself or squeezing something in general. I feel like those are relatively normal things though lol. Even my fixation on age feels really normal its just an issue that it is disruptive to my life. Anyways sorry its so long but id really appreciate advice.

Anonymous

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 1y

I think you should tell your psychiatrist exactly what you typed out here. This is your current story and that’s what they need to know. If it helps copy this into a note on your phone and take it with you. Sometimes when I’m nervous or anxious I forget things that I think might be important.

lonelytype

Date posted: 25w

Help appreciated

Its been around a year now that ive struggled heavily with intrusive thoughts. I haven’t noticed it in my other years, aside from when i was a young kid. I want to get diagnosed with OCD or try to see what my therapist will say. Ive been summing up the courage to speak about this for months now and i have an appointment on the 26th. I feel like im ready to finally talk about it will someone, yet one thing is holding me back. The doubt. I started struggling HEAVILY with OCD symptoms around march of 2024. I mean rumination, compulsions, shame, disgust, etc. It was one of the worsts points of my like and it cared on from January-Late august of 2024. I was literally in distress everyday of my life. I had constant intrusive thoughts that would go away, and unbearable anxiety. Yet around september hit they started getting EASIER to mange. (remember that, they didnt go away, i just wasnt as effected) I was quite happy i could live a little without pain and that carried from Sept-December 2024. But then January hit again, and everything just seems to flow right back to me. I cant stop thinking about how i used to feel, the pain i was in. Everyday my brain wants me to remember the anguish i was put through. I finally decided i will talk about this to my Therapist. My only doubt is that, everything is much easier for me to deal with, and my anxiety isnt as strong. I still have intrusive thoughts and suffer with performing compulsions, but i dont ruminate anymore. That should be a good thing but my brain tells me that means my feelings arent valid, and i dont have OCD cause things are better. Im sorry for this long read, i just need to get this off my chest. How do i talk to my therapist about wanting to get an evaluation, when most of my main hard aspects in OCD are in the past? (AKA the past i suppressed and shut down)Any help is appreciated. 😕

Aldxma.steph

Date posted: 24w

Hello everyone I need some advice

I don’t have an official OCD diagnosis, but I will be asking my doctor tomorrow if I can get referred to a psychiatrist to get an official diagnosis. The way I came to the conclusion that what I’m dealing with is OCD is because a month ago I just started having the most horrible disturbing intrusive thoughts that go against all my values and beliefs and attacking the stuff/people I care about the most. Mind you, I have never had anything like this happen in my life. I feel that I have always been someone with a peaceful mind and one of the worst intrusive thoughts I can ever remember having before this happened, was “what happens if I cut my finger right now” while I was cutting fruit. That’s pretty much it. After this whole horrible intrusive thought spiral started happening I was so scared because I have never had such awful intrusive thoughts like this that were the complete opposite of me, it just quite literally started out of NOWHERE, and that’s what was so scary and terrifying. It was like my whole life got turned upside down because of this and I’ve been mainly isolating in my room, feeling so much anxiety and dread and guilt/shame. I get four of the same thoughts and one intrusive image repeating over and over again even if I would not try to think about them, and it caused me so much distress and anxiety that I would be so anxious and cry everyday just thinking how I could ever possibly think such horrible intrusive thoughts like that. It’s caused me insomnia which I’ve never dealt with before and I went three days in a row without being able to sleep no matter how hard I tried (even while taking melatonin). Other days I struggle so much to fall asleep due to the intrusive thoughts being much more present at nighttime, and even when taking melatonin that doesn’t do anything because of my mind being so active and having so much anxiety. Is this what they call an OCD flare up? After constantly looking up all the symptoms of ocd (the more and lesser known ones alike), I noticed there were some symptoms of it that I displayed in childhood when the ocd could’ve been more dormant or mild you could say (skin picking), because once again I have never had such horrible intrusive thoughts like this out of nowhere and constantly repeating in my mind that felt like they were out of my control. I noticed that these intrusive thoughts started on the second day of my menstruation when I was in a lot of pain and was feeling very emotional/stressed. One of the things I’ve heard a lot is that during the menstruation cycle is when ocd flares can happen more often due to the increase in hormones during that time, and I wonder if that’s what happened to me? I’m also overall such a big over thinker and have been for as long as I can remember. I also have had anxiety and depression since middle school as well. Any insight would be very much appreciated 😭

Aldxma.steph

Date posted: 23w

Hello everyone I need some advice/insight please

I don’t have an official OCD diagnosis, but I will be asking my doctor tomorrow if I can get referred to a psychiatrist to get an official diagnosis. The way I came to the conclusion that what I’m dealing with is OCD is because a month and a half ago I just started having the most horrible disturbing intrusive thoughts that go against all my values and beliefs and attacking the stuff/people I care about the most out of absolutely NOWHERE. Mind you, I have never had anything like this happen in my life. I feel that I have always been someone with a peaceful mind and one of the worst intrusive thoughts I can ever remember having before this happened, was “what happens if I cut my finger right now” while I was cutting fruit. That’s pretty much it. After this whole horrible intrusive thought spiral started happening I was so scared because I have never had such awful intrusive thoughts like this that were the complete opposite of me, it just quite literally started out of NOWHERE, and that’s what was so scary and terrifying. It was like my whole life got turned upside down because of this and I’ve been mainly isolating in my room, feeling so much anxiety and dread and guilt/shame. I get four of the same thoughts and one intrusive image repeating over and over again even if I would not try to think about them, and it caused me so much distress and anxiety that I would be so anxious and cry everyday just thinking how I could ever possibly think such horrible intrusive thoughts like that. It’s caused me insomnia which I’ve never dealt with before and I went three days in a row without being able to sleep no matter how hard I tried (even while taking melatonin). Other days I struggle so much to fall asleep due to the intrusive thoughts being much more present at nighttime, and even when taking melatonin that doesn’t do anything because of my mind being so active and having so much anxiety. Is this what they call an OCD flare up? After constantly looking up all the symptoms of ocd (the more and lesser known ones alike), I noticed there were some symptoms of it that I displayed in childhood when the ocd could’ve been more dormant or mild you could say (skin picking), because once again I have never had such horrible intrusive thoughts like this out of nowhere and constantly repeating in my mind that felt like they were out of my control. I noticed that these intrusive thoughts started on the second day of my menstruation when I was in a lot of pain and was feeling very emotional/stressed. One of the things I’ve heard a lot is that during the menstruation cycle is when ocd flares can happen more often due to the increase in hormones during that time, and I wonder if that’s what happened to me? I’m also overall such a big over thinker and have been for as long as I can remember. I also have had anxiety and depression since middle school as well. Any insight would be very much appreciated 😭

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