Hi guys and gals, this is my first post here. Let me introduce myself. Sorry if this is a bit long. I have a question to ask, but I want to give the context. If you read it, I thank you for your time. I was (mis?)diagnosed with OCD a few years ago. Since then, that diagnosis has been discarded by three different psychiatrists and two psychologists, one of them being a specialist in OCD treatment, after several personal interviews and a battery of tests. Yes, I did do the ink stains one, but I did probably seven others. They all, however, agree that I have an anxiety disorder with OCD-like traits. So, it's not really OCD, but I exhibit many of the same symptoms, although not all of them. I want to say that in the last few years I have gained a lot of respect and sympathy for people who struggle with their mental health, especially those with OCD, because I can relate so much. If I have, in their words, "only traits of OCD", I can't even imagine what it feels like to have full blown OCD. I'm on a ton of medication and even then, on my worst days, I could spend up to 5 hours doing rituals and mental checking. It was hell, and some days it still is. My compulsions are mostly mental. I would say about 95% of them are mental. I seem to have in the physical realm only one obsession, and it's with symmetry. But I can go days, even weeks maybe, without actually feeling that urge. Mental compulsions, however, torment me every day. I have decided to treat myself. All the professionals I have visited over the years refuse to treat me like you would treat a person with OCD. I know they have their reasons, but I feel like I need treatment. I am under CBT treatment but I feel it's not specific enough. The obsessions bother me so much, and they depress me. A lot. They tell me, literally, to "not give importance to your thoughts". I think if there's a group of people who understand how ridiculous that sounds it is you guys. So decided I would buy a few books and download this app, to start. I have taken the first two tests and aced all the questions (yay me) and I am somewhat familiar with the concept of ERP, but I wanted to know if you or someone you know is in the same place, that is, mostly mental compulsions or OCD-like traits. A combination would be ideal of course. I guess what I want to know is what can I expect, what my prognosis would sound like and if ERP is worth the initial anxiety spike in a case like mine or if I should stick with more "basic" CBT approaches. Thank you all

eternalblue

Date posted: 5y

i am in a similar situation, i have comorbid GAD and pure OCD, so all my compulsions are mental (reassurance seeking, checking, ruminating etc) except self harm ones sometimes. i've had harm and responsibility, sexuality, body image, "just right"/perfectionism and mental illness itself as themes. my symptoms are a combination of the two disorders and i often cant tell where one ends and the other starts. i've been in therapy for three years and my psych said ERP is not appropriate for me rn because it's too early and every exposure attempt makes me have self harm episodes and they never get better, so it isn't worth the risk of self harm that comes with the initial spike. i tried CBT but it wasn't appropriate for me because i felt like i was lying to myself and had to debate every single "cognitive correction" to exhaustion, because to me if i could find a way to refute those thoughts, then i couldn't believe them at all (so basically, it made me fall back into rumination, debating and checking compulsions). so i'm giving ACT a try, it's new compared to other therapies and more focused on learning how to let the thoughts be, and i think it could work better for me than the others, and maybe after getting a little better at controlling self harm i can start ERP. so it's a matter of trial and error, and seeing which kind of therapy works best for your own individual needs. if you don't feel ready for ERP just yet, it's worth it to try CBT before, see if it helps and find some more tools to cope before going into ERP. i hope this is useful, best of luck on your recovery :) comorbidity is complex and can make it hard to just go for the typical treatments. you might need a mix of therapies.

Ale

Date posted: 5y

Thanks! I was recommended Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life by a professional, and If I recall correctly, it was written by the originator of ACT. What has prevented me from reading it or other ACT materials is a combination of prejudice, ignorance and denial. For the little I have researched, and mainly for the first part of the name, it's about accepting things as they are. Right now, I'm more of a "this needs to change" attitude. Always been. Not ready yet, I guess. Thank you for your input and good luck in your journey

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