Does anyone here know about the effects of trauma on an OCD mind, i have severe childhood trauma but my psychiatrist isn't equipped enough to deal with trauma and I can't afford another one. I have OCD since last 15 years or so, Lately thx to medication my ocd decreased a bit but depression is increasing rapidly. Anyone know any resources online or otherwise for trauma.
Emdr therapy is amazing for trauma. I had complex trauma and it worked for me. The traumas also triggered the themes of my ocd too 🤷♂️
Hi, is it okay if I ask, but how has it helped you? I've been looking into EMDR therapy for trauma, but I'm worried it won't work for me. A lot of my themes are tied to the trauma I experienced as a child. I've heard good things about EMDR, but I haven't seen anyone explain the specifics. I'm just curious, but it's fine if you aren't comfortable with sharing anything! :)
@nae nae It's good that you asked, and I'm more than happy to answer. It works on eye movements like when you dream when you sleep. There are several approaches to it that may be tailored to your current mindset. Some of it felt like I was dreaming while awake, others were just trauma slipping away, committed to memory. People talk about reframing the event or memory but I feel its healthier to remove the frame altogether. My mother is an emdr trauma based specialist therapist and one version of emdr which she told me about amazed me. She said you can do it without even talking about the trauma at all, which means you don't have to open up to the therapist with it, only yourself. I feel like that's a huge breakthrough. I figured out the cause of my ocd was when I was 6 and almost accidentally killed my brother. Was an accident and I knew that but I lied about it and that triggered my moral scrupolousity. Emdr helped hugely with that, and erp. I was taken advantage by an older man when I was a teen and I'm at the stage in my life where I could quite comfortably sit down with whoever they were and figure out why they ended up doing that to prevent people going through what happened on both ends. Healing is true justice to me. These events had multiple traumas. One event does not always equate to one trauma as portrayed in films
@Wolfram I'm glad you had such a positive experience with EMDR therapy. It's so different from any therapy I've ever done, but I'm willing to give anything a shot at this point. This was definitely very helpful. Thank you so, so much for the reply! 🤍
@nae nae Let go of expectations with it before you do it and be open, I'm sure it will help. Good luck on your journey
@Wolfram Thank you! :)
Hey Wolfram, can you please tell me is it possible to perform EMDR on our own, from like yt cuz I can't afford therapist rn and what would say is it better to start only with EMDR or with ERP Thx
@N0tMe I have no idea if you could do it on YouTube tbf. I haven't got an answer for that. Maybe a bit of both would help? A guide/ therapist would be best when doing either for the first time. If you don't know the cause of your ocd though, maybe emdr but as long as you start somewhere you'll get some kind of result.
@Wolfram Thank you
My first OCD therapist said 100% of her clients suffered from childhood trauma. Are you able to switch to a therapist who specializes in both trauma and OCD treatment?
Sadly no I'm not able to get a therapist only a psychiatrist that's why I asked here. I have a plethora of other illnesses too and I have good reason to believe almost everything is connected to my childhood trauma.
@N0tMe Look around and see what you can find. If you find anything useful please share so I can pass on if anyone else has similar struggles. Stay strong 💪
I think we should put this in perspective. It's not the trauma that causes OCD, but trauma can be a trigger for an OCD episode if we have OCD. Trauma doesn't cause OCD. There are millions of people who have experienced trauma but have never had an OCD episode. It's because they don't have the OCD malware in their brains. For people with OCD, however dormant, recalling a trauma event can be the trigger. This is why I always encourage my OCD friends to seek help from a trained OCD therapist who uses ERP therapy. Once you learn the tools, it's much easier to get past the OCD episode and get on with your life.
@Steven55! While you are correct (for example my sister has the same trauma as I do if not worse and does not have OCD), both of my OCD therapists have specialized in ERP and EMDR so there is a connection to trauma and OCD. We pay more attention to fringe thoughts that others would pass over. Because I have OCD, which is a thought disorder, I grew up believing that if I did anything wrong, my parents would beat me and then god was going to kill me. My sister did not have this same perception, even though she got beatings WAAAYYYYYY more frequently than I did and we were raised in the same culty religion.
There is so much free stuff on youtube
From personal experience and years of therapy yes in the most interesting and bizarre ways at times as well
1. Fear Factor Podcast 2. OCD and Anxiety Channel 3. Dr Tracy Marks videos 4. Nathan Peterson Books and Online Courses and YTD Channel
Thank you
hello everyone. my ocd targets a lot of things, including trauma. i just have ocd specialized therapist not talk therapist so i don’t really get to unpack much. I went through a lot of trauma and also seggsual trauma. if anyone is okay to hear what i have to say and give me advice that would be nice :( thank you
Hi everyone. I haven't posted on here in quite in some time. I'm hesitant to post but I'm battling some things that are compounding onto each other. I've had ocd since 15 I'm 30 now..I feel it's still there but much better than years ago. Currently though I'm really struggling with depression and trauma too. Atleast I believe it's trauma and my psychiatrist saw some indicators. Long story short I was in a relationship with a narcissist and I'm still recovering. I feel my nervous system is still kinda on fight or flight. I've learned that our bodies very much stores trauma. Alongside this I'm pretty critical of my appearance and my self esteem is not so great. I've been putting myself out there more and socializing but I can't shake this feeling of being stuck in an endless loop. It's hard to tell what to tackle. It's difficult for me..I don't know if ocd treatment is for me or more so trauma based therapy. I think there is some overlap..any advice or feedback would be appreciated. A side note I've done ERP in the past and I've been to treatment centers such as mclean. I feel like I need a community because I feel pretty alone but I'm having trouble putting one foot in front of the other.
I feel like after years of living in survival mode from various back to back traumas, I don’t know how to turn off my brain. It’s always in some sort of overstimulated cycle of overthinking, rumination, self checking, and seeking reassurance. I know there will be more peace after treatment. But just hating like I’m stuck in always feeling like I’m waiting for the next shoe to drop when so many shit things have happened to me early in life. How am I suppose to be excited about what’s next?
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond
