Saying my intrusive thoughts

@Lasse1987 Hello neighbour. Nice to meet fellow European.

@Lasse1987 Thank you🙏

@Zoë_84 Ah nice to meet you Zoë. Where are you from?

@Lasse1987 I'm from Germany, so your downstairs neighbour.

@Zoë_84 I know I’m seeking reassurance, but it’s so hard cause I’m obsessed literally every second every day like I’m never relax. This is so hard, like I have nothing in my life anymore. I’m only 16 and I feel like my life is over. And reassurance is the only thing that help a bit. Like i feel in a horror movie 24/7 and want to throw up.

@OrMsB I totally understand. Years ago, I'd "confess" my intrusive thoughts to my mother every evening and she'd give me reassurance. It was a vicious circle and the reassurance didn't solve anything. Are you seeing a therapist who is specialized in OCD?

@OrMsB Are you not on any kind of medication? What cured me of any obsessive thoughts and anxiety completely was simply 50mg Sertralin. A common SSRI type medicin.

@Lasse1987 An SSRI got rid of your OCD with the need for you to do ERP?

@Zoë_84 No ive never done any therapy more than perhaps a single session or two. Maybe my ocd was a bit unusual in that i had no real compulsive behavior or rituals etc.

@Zoë_84 Yes, im trying to do erp but it’s kinda hard for me

@Lasse1987 No, I want to but I’m scared and my parents are against it

@OrMsB Your parents should seriously reconsider that position. Your the one suffering, not them.

@OrMsB What are your parents concerns? There are no known long term effects of SSRI. My father has taken them for around 20 years and i have taken them for 12 years.

@Lasse1987 That I will have to take them for life

@OrMsB Yes, and then? I mean.. no OCD for life.

@Lasse1987 The problem is that I’m afraid it’s not going to work

@OrMsB It might not work. There are no guarantees, but i would strongly suggest that you look into the scientific studies on OCD treatment. Together with your parents, and then come to make an informed decision based on the available evidence. Not a decision based on emotions or anything like that.

@Lasse1987 I will , thank you

@OrMsB I hope you get rid of this pestilence as soon as possible. Dont spend 20 years like i did before you take action. Life is way too short for OCD.

@Lasse1987 Side effects*

@Lasse1987 Ah, okay. When I first took an SSRI my OCD was gone for two weeks, but then it came back. It felt like my brain found a work around. But it's great, that SSRIs worked so well for you. ☺️

@Zoë_84 Ah, too bad😞 How long did you take it?

@OrMsB I can totally relate. I tried OCD many times over a decade and I never had been able to fully commit to ERP till I found an awesome therapist in 2021. The thing is, I only did ERP for POCD in sensu on a very small scale, but I really jumped in head first in regards to my Magical Thinking OCD. For the latter ERP worked great and me nearly constantly doing ERP against my MTOCD spilled over in to my other OCD forms and I gradually started to do more ERP against my other themes. It is hard, but worth it. ☺️

@OrMsB My parents, especially my mother was against me taking SSRIs, too. I didn't want to take them either, at first, but they can really help to take the edge of it and help you to cope better with doing ERP. Moreover, if they don't work and/or you experience side effects, you can always switch to another SSRI or stop taking them (but please only do that together with a psychiatrist, as one should never stop taking SSRIs abruptly.) It is your decision, of course, but I'd suggest you talk about the option of taking SSRIs with your therapist and, if you have one, with your psychiatrist.

@OrMsB Well, if they don't work, you at least tried. And there is more, than one SSRI on offer, so you could try a few (after one another, of course)

@Lasse1987 A few months, then a tried another one, but they never really helped me much. I think I took one, that stabilizing me a bit, but I wanted more, so I tried something else, which didn't help at all and when I went back to my stabilizing SSRI I didn't work anymore. No I take yet another SSRI against my depression and the side effect is that it takes the edge off of my OCD a bit.

@Zoë_84 Ok. So the full effect of SSRI comes after between 3-6 months of consitent daily intake. I noticed this aswell. Maybe talk to your doctor about the SSRI called Sertralin "blue fish". Id be surprised if it didnt reduce the symptoms alot after 6 months of consistent use.

@unknown userr How did you got rid of it?

@unknown userr For me to, but I have to be stuck on every thought and hope it pass, and when it pass it pass to another