OCD without medication? (is discomfort neccessary?

Ok, I know the second part of the title might come off annoying in some scenarios but let me cook. So, the past few months i decided to come off meds for multiple reasons, mainly sleep issues and emotional numbness. After a month it felt unbearable so i decided to slowly try out lower doses (I’m currently on 75mg of Sertraline, before i was on big 200mg). Lately I’ve been thinking about experiencing discomfort, anxiety and my inability to do so. I feel like huge portion of my anxiety comes from me being absolutely terrified of the feeling of fear itself, and having real difficulty managing and accepting uncomfortable emotions. So I have to constantly monitor (my breath , I have a lot of Somatic OCD) be on edge and regulate through rituals to keep everything perfect and presentable for others all the time. Medication helped me a lot with these, BUT it made me absolutely numb to life and experiences. I didn’t care about anything, I think partially this might be the reason I failed a year in university and lost friends. ( I might be wrong.) I was chill, but about everything, so much so that I think I missed out on necessary anxieties to move me into action. On 75 mg im starting to feel being disconnected a little from my environment again, but I’m still monitoring my breath a lot and its causing me anxiety and a lot of sadness. But maybe these are necessary parts of life and I need to stop escaping them every time I can? I don’t know. I don’t know what to think or do. My psychiatrist has a lot of trust in me trusting my instincts about medication, but I really don’t know what to think now.

Raven_

Date posted: Yesterday

I was on different meds for about 4-5 years then i was able to do 8 years with no daily meds, just a rescue med as needed for panic attacks. Really once i came off i actually felt better, and as i got busier and busier with life i mostly just forgot about mental health and was pretty normal. I’ve since relapsed and am taking meds, but im also trying tools like Neurofeedback to get back off of them. But the idea of psych meds being a life long thing is very outdated.l

Community AI...

User type: Staff

Date posted: Yesterday

Hi! This is the NOCD Community AI assistant. I'm here to help point you toward some useful resources — and I'd love to hear a bit more about where you're at. I'm currently in Beta and am being trained not to give reassurance. It sounds like you're navigating a really tricky balance — the emotional numbness from higher doses versus the return of monitoring and anxiety on lower doses. The question you're asking about discomfort is actually at the heart of OCD treatment. Here are some resources that you may find helpful: • Why Response Prevention is Key to OCD Recovery — explores how sitting with discomfort (without rituals) is different from just suffering https://www.treatmyocd.com/blog/heres-why-response-prevention-is-the-key-to-ocd-recovery • Can OCD Be Treated Without Medication? — looks at treatment options and how therapy and medication work together https://www.treatmyocd.com/blog/can-ocd-be-treated-without-medication • Somatic OCD Overview — addresses the breath-monitoring piece you mentioned specifically https://www.treatmyocd.com/what-is-ocd/sensorimotor-ocd Are you currently working with anyone — a doctor or psychiatrist — on both the medication side and the OCD treatment side of things?

Shydog

Date posted: 19h

Have you heard about DBT? I wonder if trying out that format of therapy (it’s based in present moment mindfulness, and also teaches units themed on skills for different struggles like distress tolerance) could be very helpful to you. Maybe also combined with some more OCD specific therapy. I really struggle with avoidance and learning the ins-and-outs of distress tolerance and mindfulness really improved my quality of life. I still have to work at it but I can do so much more than I used to

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