Do any of you women have this experience?

Hi everyone, I’ll try to be brief. I am a 32 year old woman who has battled with intrusive thoughts since I first menstruated when I was 15. I get religious and sexual related unwanted thoughts. I have Been on and off the same SSRI since I was 18. So that’s like 12 years total that I’ve taken SSRI’s. It has saved my life because I was seriously thinking about leaving this world since I figured no one can live like this. What I wanted to ask is if any female gets the same symptoms I do before and after their period? Before my period I get really bad PMS and the worst intrusive thoughts. During ovulation I am great, then after ovulation I get anxiety and feel panic attacks wanting to creep in but they don’t. Maybe it’s because of the SSRI doesn’t let me go into full panic but I noticed this pattern. I noticed this pattern because I keep a log in a period app and noticed that I wrote things like “anxiety” before every period and after ovulation.

Username: anonymouss444anonymouss444

Date posted: 22w ago

when I'm menstruating and if I get thought, I tend to leave it cause I don't have any energy to sit through and manage it, but then it leads to rumination. after cycle ends, I try to sit with thought but till then, my rumination has become worse and difficult.

Username: AnonymousAnonymous

Date posted: 22w ago

Have you asked your therapist/psychiatrist/doctor about PMDD (pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder)? My psychiatrist thought that’s what I have because I struggle severely on and before and a couple days after my period. Feels like I’m great for 2 ish weeks and then it’s the end of the world the other weeks during the month on my menstrual cycle.

Username: BrianapauBrianapau

Date posted: 22w ago

@Anonymous Yea! They told me I could have PMDD. Same! When I was not on SSRI’s I was “myself” for like 2 good weeks then my period starts coming around the corner and freaking hell is happening. Intrusive thoughts, heart pounding like it wants to come out of my chest, trying to ignore it but that makes it worse. Giving into the fact that this will never go away and I start to cry and panic even more. it’s a horrible cycle.

Username: AnonymousAnonymous

Date posted: 22w ago

@Brianapau Yes this happens to me too. You are not alone! It got so bad for me that I’m getting off of my medication. I didn’t think I could do it anymore. I’ll see how things change coming off of it. May be worth it to stay on but I just couldn’t do it.

Username: ocdistheworst

Date posted: 6y ago

Most days I feel very trapped and depressed due to my severe ocd and specifically my intrusive thoughts. Did SSRI’s help anyone with intrusive thoughts? My brain tells me I did terrible things in the past, and it can be very exhausting and debilitating. I don’t want to live my whole life like this.

Username: samanthasolmar

Date posted: 5y ago

Does anyone get “intrusive feelings”? I’ve experienced intrusive thoughts and urges, but I’m noticing intrusive feelings too. I’m about to start PMS-ing and I’m having weird depressed feelings like “I hate my life, everything sucks, maybe i want to die”. I have suicidal OCD and it seems like this is what my brain gravitates towards when I’m under stress. Even though I DO NOT want to die by any means, my brain throws these thoughts at me and it’s so scary bc I feel like maybe a part of me actually wants to do it. Idk why I feel depressed and shitty about my life when really I don’t want to be you know?? What do you guys think?

Username: hannie

Date posted: 5y ago

Does anyone like get extra anxious about an intrusive thought because you think to yourself “nobody else has probably had this thought.” “I must be crazy.” Idk those thoughts always seem to make my anxiety worse. I also have a fear of losing touch of reality and believing in crazy thoughts, if that makes sense? TMI but I also notice that my OCD is worse when I’m on my period. Can anyone else relate?

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Do any of you women have this experience?

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