Relief from intrusive thoughts

Hi all, 20 year old daughter has OCD and has had increasingly worse intrusive thoughts as the years go by. She went through a very low point a few months ago but has come out the other end. She had weekly therapy at that point and increased her meds, sertraline. She is attending therapy monthly now. When she went through the bad patch she was prescribed valium which gave her such relief. She had a break from the intrusive thoughts at last even for a short time. She wants her doctor to prescribe it again. She is so upset that they won't prescribe it again. I can see why they won't as the last thing she needs is an addiction on top of OCD. I am not sure how to help her. She is finding daily life hard, even though she is doing so well. She is amazingly strong. But she just wants some relief from the thoughts. Any advice?

Will L

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 17h

I can relate with intrusive thoughts. The trick with them is to limit the compulsions both mental and physical. There is an emotion fueling the compulsion and intrusive thoughts. once you feel the feelings there will be relief. Being mindful and catching all this is hard. Here is an example I have faced for context: I am nervous I will loose my job so I ruminate (mental compulsion) and go down a rabbit hole that I think that my life is ending and I pick my nose (physical compulsion) instead to make the feeling go away. A counselor suggested an exposure where I abstain from rumination and picking. When I stop myself emotions emerge. Then the exposure begins and it is hard! Keep doing that until the emotions pass.

newbie1971

Date posted: 15h

Thank you so much for your reply that all totally makes sense. Great advice thrre. She is attending a therapist who is going through ERP with her and it is definitely helping. But I think sometimes it's just hard and she wants that quick temporary relief...

dianajt30

Date posted: 17h

It’s so beautiful to see a mother on here asking for advice. It really shows how much love you have for your daughter. My mom died in 2017 and I would love to have her support during my struggle. I can understand her wanting that medication again. All she is really looking for is that relief. Maybe switching from Valium to something else that can still help might be better?

newbie1971

Date posted: 15h

Thank you so much for your lovely message and I am so sorry that you lost your Mom 🥺. Yes, she is going to the Doctor next week to see if there is anything else not as strong she might be able to take. OCD is such an awful thing for anyone to go through as people on here know only too well. Thanks again xxx

Anonymous

Date posted: 17h

My doctor wouldn’t prescribe it to me but I had a bad panic attack the ER prescribed me some.

newbie1971

Date posted: 15h

That is when my daughter was prescribed it as well. She was in a terrible way. I hope you are feeling better now. Thanks so much for your reply x

Anonymous

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 12h

While the Sertraline will lower the volume on the thoughts, she probably likes the Valium because it has immediate effects. Unfortunately, like all benzodiazepines, it has the potential for abuse. And it won’t help her long term with the OCD. You may want to look into Buspirone (Buspar). It is a medication that has been around for a long time and is FDA approved for Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I was originally prescribed it as an adjunct medication to counter side effects from Sertraline. It is a very clean drug that is not addictive, though it takes time to build up in your system so may feel less effective to someone who’s been on a benzodiazepine. Might be worth asking about to help with anxiety.

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