- Date posted
- 5y
- Date posted
- 5y
I am not a doctor, so please yake this with a grain of salt, but you might be dealing with what I am dealing with. It's called OCD with psychotic features (or OCD with poor insight). To break it down, people with OCD and high insight can rationalize that what they are experiencing is the brain playing tricks on them. But people like me, with poor insight, can't quite make that rationalization and end up thinking something "beyond" is causing it. Like I feel that either the "universe" or my "higher self" causes weird situations or strange coincidences to specifically cause me severe ditress. But, don't fret, because there are certain things that can help this situation. "Insight therapy" or augmenting an SSRI with an antipsychotic has been very beneficial for these populations. Are you still seeing a psychiatrist and how about a therapist (one who specializes in OCD)? Here is an interesting article: https://www.verywellmind.com/ocd-and-insight-2510632.
- Date posted
- 5y
Thank you! Yes, I’m currently seeing one. It’s been extremely helpful. When I was really young, I was diagnosed but they never explained anything about it to me. They basically handed me Zoloft and sent me on. So when everything popped up, even though I KNEW the worries weren’t realistic, I couldn’t stop myself from worrying. It wasn’t until I started medication again that I could finally calm down some. Thank you again!
- Date posted
- 5y
Sorry I don’t have anything helpful to add other than that I can relate to the experience you described happening to you 6 years ago. Especially the convinced you’re going crazy and in the “early stages” part. Sorry to hear it’s come back for you :(
- Date posted
- 5y
@infiniteloop yea man ur brain goes thru phases and sometimes it produces way more anxiety or intrusive thoughts then u would like but eventually it starts to fizzle out. I have the same issue so don’t worry, I’ll be feeling great for like a week or 2 and then out of nowhere it’s like this uncomfortable anxiety hits me. But I always tell myself “hey you were feeling really great last week”, so ik that it always will go away and eventually I’ll be good again. So don’t stress so much and know that it’s normal, plus people without OCD have good and bad days so your really no different. Keep staying positive!
- Date posted
- 5y
I personally am about to augment my SSRI (fluvoxamine) with an antipsychotic (aripiprazole).
- Date posted
- 5y
That’s good that you were able to quickly recognize your trigger or your “type” of OCD. Just remember to stay calm and that if the thoughts flare up just acknowledge them and know “it’s just ocd” another thing is if you start to feel doubt or unsure it’s another sign of OCD, so if you’re thinking about checking if somethings wrong with you don’t. Hope this helps man. Best of luck.
- Date posted
- 5y
Thank you. I actually needed this right now. I opened this app because everything was totally fine today, and then, just like always, my brain tries to find a problem and attach itself to it. I’m just trying to let the feeling roll away, but it’s hard. Maybe it’ll get easier with time.
- Date posted
- 5y
Someone liked my comment on this post earlier today which brought me back to re-reading this. How’s it going for you now, 3 weeks on? :)
- Date posted
- 5y
My current obsession is starting to ease up, which I’m thankful for! I’ve been having to allow the fear to come on without acting on it (checking, googling), and it seems to be working, albeit slowly. The fear is still there, but it’s easier to get distracted by daily life and move on. Thank you for asking!
Related posts
- Date posted
- 19w
I’m new to treatment and only realized I have OCD a few months ago. I went through a tough and abusive marriage and ended up getting divorced. I had my first panic attack several years ago and ended up needing to go on Lexapro. This helped me significantly and allowed me to leave my partner. Several years later and I decided to stop Lexapro because I thought I was good to go. I’m in a very healthy relationship, have a great job, friends/family, go to the gym and have a wonderful life. It’s been about a year off the meds and I’ve had some panic, but I’ve been able to manage it. For some reason, the last three weeks has been really difficult for me. I have different spirals and different thought processes: what if I’m schizophrenic? What if I have a deeper mental disorder? What if I hurt someone? What if I need to leave my partner? What if I end up becoming so depressed that I end up hurting myself? My brain just goes from one what if to the next and once I conquer one, the next one pops up with even more intensity. I started taking NAC and inositol and I’m taking saffron during the day because I really don’t wanna go on back on medication but sometimes my thoughts scare me and I’m convinced that I’m not gonna get better and I know that’s just the OCD loop, but I’m wondering if this resonates with anyone else!
- Date posted
- 15w
Hi everyone! I’m feeling better today. I had a really bad flare yesterday, my husband really helped me calm down and fall asleep. However, if you have health OCD I feel like you probably shouldn’t read this post unless you are in a good head space. I do not have health OCD. So, I’ve been dealing with a lot of symptoms and health issues that have led me to alot of doctors visits, I have several different doctors that specialize in specific things and now go to an internal medicine doctor. My doctor thinks I have an autoimmune disease, so I’m running alot of tests for several different autoimmune conditions. My OCD has been dormant for a while. I would still deal with it sometimes, but it was way easier to manage. I’m not medicated for OCD. However, I do use arthritis cream and was prescribed muscle relaxers, I have not yet taken the muscle relaxers. So I had a really bad OCD flare last night, specifically Relationship OCD. My husband has just seen parole and I’m super excited for him to come home, but my OCD was trying to convince me otherwise. I also have a new nephew that was born on the 22nd. So I am out of state and was watching my niece for my sister in law. A lot of exciting things happening at once. I’m assuming that triggered my OCD. But I’ve been swelling in my face and dealing with a little bit of body pain as well. Autoimmune diseases come in flares like OCD. I have done some research on autoimmune diseases so I can know what I need to do in order to keep it under control if that’s what I do get diagnosed with. I learned that some autoimmune diseases are linked to OCD, or can even cause OCD because of inflammation in the brain. & It gave me a glimmer of hope honestly. Could my OCD have started because of an autoimmune disease? Could I get better by treating it? My OCD didn’t kick start until I was about 19. I am now 23. I did have symptoms of OCD at 17 though, I went through a period of time where I was compulsively praying and in a cycle of intense anxiety. So I probably had it since I was 17, but I don’t know. My symptoms of autoimmune disease didn’t start until about a year ago, but it could’ve been longer. I couldn’t get rid of a UTI I had for MONTHS & didn’t know why. I had to see a urologist, I was 21 when I kept getting UTI’s. I had to get a procedure done, I had pus build up in my urethra that was almost completely blocking off my urethra. I do not know how the infection got that severe.. especially because I took antibiotic after antibiotic. I felt like I’d get better for a few days, then boom…UTI symptoms once again. So.. that could’ve been the start of autoimmune symptoms. With an autoimmune disease, your immune system is pretty trash. You don’t fight off infections or illness as easy as others. I remember how I’d get sick after everyone else in the house would get sick, but I’d get it so much worse and have the illness for much longer than everyone else. Surprisingly enough, I never got COVID. My whole family had it & I didn’t get it. Unless I did and just didn’t have symptoms. Anyways, I never thought I would say this.. but I hope I do have an autoimmune disease that caused OCD so that I can treat the autoimmune disease and keep my OCD dormant for as long as possible. I forgot what it was like to deal with OCD.. it was so bad lastnight, I remember feeling that type of anxiety and it’s the worst.. 💔 If you took the time to read, thank you! I seem like a charity case lol.. I never thought by 23 years old I’d be like this.
- Date posted
- 12w
I will preface by saying I am not diagnosed OCD, as I can't afford to see therapists or psychiatrists at this time. But given the things I've gone through, I'm pretty much convinced it's what I'm dealing with. I never really saw it coming. As a kid I always had health issues. Sick all the time, spent a lot of my very young years in and out of hospitals. In recent years as I've become an adult, health anxiety started creeping in. I spent my teenage years depressed, anxious and suicidal, both passively and actively. I engaged in self destructive behaviors in an attempt to end my life quicker. I left a toxic home environment and began my journey to improve my life, as I have a significant other that I want to stay on this planet for. I began lifting weights and exercising, eating better, and attempting to improve myself day by day. I didn't even realize it happening, but over time I started caring more and more about my health. Avoiding certain foods, making my diet stricter, and ensuring I did the right things. While it was good for my body in the short term, long term it seems it really affected my mental. As I started to feel better, I noticed that the times where I wasn't feeling 100% were very stressful. I'd start to worry about developing diseases. Diabetes, appendicitis, cancer, any number of rare and deadly diseases i could discover on Google. It got worse and worse as time went on. I'd spend money on things to test my body. glucose monitor, thermometer, supplements to ensure I was healthy. mental compulsions began (which i didn't know where compulsions at the time). Well, it all culminated at its peak in the last few months. Every minor bodily symptom, no matter how normal or common or frequent, became a life threatening warning. Constant googling, ruminating, checking and reassurance seeking, which at the time I didn't know was what I was doing. Then, at the end of May, I did get sick. And suddenly all of my obsessions and compulsions solidified themselves as real and premonitions that were true. I started spiraling. Avoiding social events, or anything that was outside of my room. Barely managing to go to work some days. Bringing my compulsions to work as well, sneaking them in when I could. Every day was anxiety riddled. I became exhausted. Sleeping for 10 hours, waking up still tired, coming home having no energy to do anything. It convinced me even more that I was getting sick again. I was getting suicidal again and contemplating it very often. I then noticed my Instagram feed getting filled more and more with OCD related posts and ads, I guess i was unconsciously finding and engaging with them. They described exactly what I was going through, and still am going through. I'm on day 4 of my recovery after learning some ways to help myself. I'm catching my thought patterns, learning to allow the uncertainty, and avoiding my avoidant tendencies. I removed the batteries from my compulsions and put them out of sight. I still am learning my mental compulsions and how to deal with them. I'm engaging with the things I would avoid now despite how I feel. I'm still riddled with anxiety and the OCD thoughts are very loud and frequent. But I'm feeling more in control and like I can handle the thoughts better. I'd love any advice people can give as well. I want my life back.
Be a part of the largest OCD Community
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond