Substance Abuse and OCD

Does anyone else use substances to escape your OCD spiral? A few years ago I never would have dreamed of it, until my OCD flared up during 2020. Now I use cannabis to calm my brain down which is dangerous for me as its 50/50 it'll calm me down or make me panic or will push me down the existential rabbit hole. Alcohol is a big one for me, too. Was asked to admit I was an alcoholic this year. Unfortunately, also a symptom of my OCD. When the guilt and paranoia is this extreme, I'd rather take the 50/50 chance than still in this deadly cycle. I might delete this if it causes me too much paranoia, but this is my first post here and I'm happy to meet all of you.

Username: AnonymousAnonymous

Date posted: 6w ago

I am happy that you took the step to share this information it seems like this was a big step of bravery on your part. I am glad you are here and getting the help that you deserve. I too have struggled with abusing cannabis as a well to numb the intrusive thoughts. It has been difficult quitting but I have slowly realized through erp therapy that I can sit with the emotions and instead of doing what OCD wants I choose to sit in the awareness of it and I look at what the core fear that is motivating it. When the cravings come up try to sit with them without trying to solve or fix them. If you find yourself becoming overly obsessed with them and your anxiety spikes examine what you are doing in that moment because it is probably a complusion.

Username: GenerinameGeneriname

Date posted: 6w ago

I truly appreciate your comment. I struggle with accepting compliments thanks to chronic guilt due to real-event/false-memory, but having someone say I'm doing a good job made my night.

Username: m00sem00se

Date posted: 6w ago

I'm a binge alcoholic and besides potentially genetics, I do it to shut my OCD up. The down side is that it becomes 10x's worse the next day, so it's never worth it. I'm currently going through a big personal event, so I'm struggling with not abusing alcohol at the moment. However, some things that helped me finally reach my drinking goals for years were 1. Try not to count the days since you've been sober (if that's your goal). Instead, track how many days you've met your goal. Relapse is a bittttchhhh, so the more times you can avoid feeling like you relapse, the better. Plus, meeting your goal for x many days is more impressive than how many days since you last met it. 2. Find a community and lean on them. This is why I'm struggling, bc I have not found once since a related app closed. But this is huge! Tell ppl when you're struggling. Sometimes you'll lie to them just so you can abuse a substance, but sometimes they'll see through their lies and help you. Or they'll just give you guidance that you need to hear and you won't want to abuse it. 3. Be kind to yourself. This is unfortunately common and you are doing the best you can. OCD is one of the most debilitating mental disorders, so you being here is a huge accomplishment. 4. This is the hardest, but when you feel like abusing a substance, just sit. I choose not to distract myself. I choose to just sit in silence, observe what I'm feeling, and fight the feeling until the next day. You might want to do something different if you choose to do this, but this is the hardest but only way I got through it. We're all here for you and we're glad you're here.

Username: GenerinameGeneriname

Date posted: 6w ago

Make me panic AND push me* :')

Username: Sway_04

Date posted: 25w ago

My OCD Story

Hey all, I was recently diagnosed with OCD and MDD a few months ago. I’ve been experiencing symptoms for the past 11 months though. I used to be a person who would downplay depression, reasoning that if someone is depressed, they should be able to snap out of it. This year has taught me the truth behind how debilitating mental health conditions can be. My OCD has been absolutely tearing my life apart. For the past year, I’ve been coping with excessive guilt over past and recurring mistakes, my anxiety of which has recently been causing me panic attacks and throbbing headaches. I’ve also been coping with feeling unnatural sexual attractions, to those of the same sex and to children, which contradict the values I hold at heart. At one point, even simply shaking someone’s hand would cause sexual arousal, due to my hyper-vigilance surrounding physical contact. My OCD and depression nearly led me to take my life a few months ago. There are no words to describe the amount of pain I’ve had to endure. My thoughts and feelings have been absolutely tearing my life down, bit by bit. I feel like I lost who I was, and like it’s impossible for me to know who I am. This isn’t me. Over the past couple weeks, I’ve been feeling constant sexual arousal, it’s so easily triggered now. I don’t know if it’s because of the OCD, if it’s a result of the SSRI I’m on, or if it’s just a product of me being a young adult—Or maybe a combination of all of the above, but it’s debilitating. How easily I get aroused causes me so much guilt. There is a girl in my life that I love, but it doesn’t help that I get aroused around her because of the simplest of things. It’s not what I want for us. I want to be able to hone in on my self-control. I can’t help but constantly compare who I am now to who I was just over a year ago. My happiness has suffered, and my endurance is draining. I know there is a long road of insight and recovery ahead of me, this is just the beginning. If there’s anyone who can relate to me in any way, feel free to let me know. Comfort begins with feeling understood.

Username: iwanttogetbe...

Date posted: 24w ago

Humbling myself

I was on a walk with my mom today and she said something that stood out to me. While on the subject of addicts, she mentioned how addicts will delay their recovery by refusing to admit that they have a problem with substance abuse. Addicts will sometimes lie to themselves about their health status and compare themselves to other recovering addicts, then say “at least, I’m not like those guys” Btw, my mom has been in health care for over 20 years. So anyways, this made me think of my own OCD journey. Although, I am mentally in a better position than I was months ago. . I still try to remember to continue working on myself and my habits. I catch myself thinking, “well, at least my thoughts aren’t as extreme as this person” as I read some posts. Then, I try to use it as an excuse to not continue engaging with this app or therapy habits. To me, this is a behavior that I need to address. I must not forget that I downloaded this app like everyone else did. I downloaded this app to overcome OCD. How does this have to do with what my mother said? I don’t abuse substances, but I do observe that I am addicted to stress or reassurance. . As an addict to my OCD tendencies, I chase the feeling of relief. I chase the comfort of rumination. Like those in denial of their addiction, I lie to myself about my status. Even though I am doing better, that doesn’t mean I must quit what was helping me. My symptoms might go away and hibernate for a while. It’s up to me to maintain my good habits so that I don’t reawaken the bad ones.

Username: LenaForever

Date posted: 21w ago

Drug OCD

I am always worried about medication/drugs and I am so anxious about whether I might be under the influence of something or not. has experienced anything similar? I have derealization and panic attacks and I am so so tired of worrying about whether or not I am “feeling” real or if something I ate had drugs in it. I am so sick of doing compulsions and living in constant fear!!! I tell myself that it’s fine and that derealization is just my body’s natural coping mechanism and even though I always fear for the worst nothing bad ever happens but I just can’t get it through my head!!! It’s so frustrating!!

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