Menstrual Cycle & OCD

Question for the women in this group — has anyone else noticed their OCD getting significantly worse at certain points in their menstrual cycle? I’ve noticed that my OCD tends to spike the week after my period, sometimes it’s the week before / during, but there seems to be a pretty noticeable hormonal pattern for me. What’s especially frustrating is that some weeks I feel like I have a lot of control - I can recognize my thoughts, practice my ERP responses, and actually see that it works. Then I’ll have a week like this where my mind is racing and the thoughts feel so much more intense, and it almost feels like I’m back at square one. I’m already on an SSRI and my OBGYN suggested trying birth control pill, but I’m hesitant because I’ve had a bad experience with it in the past. Has anyone else experienced something similar? If so, have you found anything that helps during those weeks? I’d especially love to hear from anyone who has dealt with the hormonal/cyclical aspect of OCD and what worked for them.🩵

al01

Date posted: 17h

Hey! 1,000%. I was put on a non-hormonal birth control called “Slynd”. It’s progesterone only. It helps some, but I have health OCD as one of my themes, and so of course my OCD has latched onto any irregularities in my cycle or bleeding as my body has been adjusting to it. I’ve been on it for 4-5 months now. I still have pretty intense anxiety/panic attacks before, during & after my period while my hormones are rebalancing. I’ve also had 4 pregnancies (only 2 of which were successful) and my youngest is 2 & still breastfeeding on and off, so that also creates a bunch of hormonal issues. I am prescribed 125mg of Zoloft and have been on that dose for just under a year. I wish I had more advice. I’ve been thinking about asking my OBGYN about HRT (hormone replacement therapy). It’s rough out here. Hope you can get some more feedback on this thread that we can learn from!

Hobbit

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 15h

Yep! I literally am just wrapping up a big pms swing. Things that help me: (1) tracking my cycle. NOT to reassure myself about my health, but simply to know when I’m heading into PMS and I can anticipate my OCD flaring up. (2) give myself grace and space. If I can simplify my schedule/to-do list and give myself a little more time for rest and doing things that fill my cup, I find it helps a lot (3) self-compassion. Being extra kind and gentle to myself. Acknowledging it’s hard, and that’s okay it’s hard. (4) gratitude practice. NOT to get rid of the feelings, but to remind myself that there is more than what my OCD has latched onto. (5) mindfulness / meditation. This helps me notice what’s happening and not fight it (which only makes it worse) (6) moving my body. Any kinda of exercise helps me feel more grounded and centered and strong (ex a walk, stretch, yoga, swim, bike, dance, anything!) (7) reframing the situation and thinking of it as an opportunity to practice all my ERP skills on “hard mode.” Different things work for different people. When I remember to use these tools, I’ve found they’ve helped me. Cheering you on friend! ❤️

AJ 🧚

Date posted: 4h

absolutely!!! my luteal phase is the WORST for my ocd. really something I wanna look into. my rocd gets intense during my luteal phase, and im a whole new person during and after my period.

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