advice please.

@Chlover612 it’s just hard, i feel like im gonna lose my mind because i haven’t recieved any relief at all. i have dpdr 24/7 and thats a job in itself…i thought that was the worst thing ever but i learned to live with it by changing my mindset and using distractions in a healthy way..like if i had a whole day of feeling off and fake i could go home, watch videos, calm down…but now i can’t even do that. my brain feels like it’s hijacked and it can’t even wander off anymore like a normal brain. its running 24/7. i tell myself it’s only been 3 weeks and that it is irreversible but i told myself that a couple days in as well and it’s already been 3 weeks. i just don’t see myself being able to continue to live like this. maybe it’s so hard because i feel like this is one of my first OCD spirals? i was only diagnosed with GAD and never had an obsessive spiral like this. i’m just so scared, but i appreciate your response. i appreciate you for the advice you given me yesterday as well, i screenshotted it. :)

@Teee As someone who only recently got diagnosed with OCD myself and I’ve had it my whole life… you are not alone. I had my first extreme mental break a year ago due to too much stress and anxiety, and honestly I’m still recovering from it. At the time I really was considering in-patient help because I thought I’d never be ok again, and that my brain would never shut up ever again… but that turned out to not be true. Starting medication was one of the first saving graces - then starting ERP has begun to help too. Accepting that my brain IS wired differently, and that I’m NOT neurotypical was my first step to recovery. Accepting that I do have disabilities, and that I’ll always experience some struggle was HAAARD. Like I thought what do you mean it’ll be like this forever? The key is that yes the brain is wired differently and that is kinda “forever”, but there’s ways to work around it. Situations change. Thoughts change. Environment changes. There’s resources. I can use my thought processes to my advantage. I can help others who struggle too. I’m a better person and I am less judgmental and more kind because of my struggles. It’s given me so many learning opportunities and I do love to learn. I have learned to make my brain my b*tch. The OCD is not who we truly are.

@Chlover612 you are truly an angel. 🩷 but yes, acceptance is very hard when it comes to things like these. i experienced it when i first had to accept anxiety and dpdr and having to be okay with a possibility of living with it forever…it took months. but when i finally did, i felt okay. somehow this feels even worse because the one thing that helped doesn’t anymore. i NEVER knew the freedom i had before dealing with this disorder, nor did i know the suffering it could cause so i truly don’t think ill ever be the same, even if i was to go into remission. you truly never know what someone is going through - especially because a lot of this is mental. i am seriously considering medication because although i was able to think myself out of anxiety a couple years back, maybe this is my brains way of saying i need a stepping stool now and that’s okay. what medication worked for you? did it lessen mental compulsions? as far as checking, monitoring etc. or did it just mainly help your emotional response to the ocd overall?

@Teee I can relate to this so much. I feel alone but it sounds just like what I’m going through

@yankees i’m so sorry! this is so scary for me so i know it is for you. i’m here for you though, this is so exhausting on the mind!

@Teee I'm 58 and always thought I had an anxiety disorder. Just got diagnosed with ocd a year ago. Knowing what it is helps because traditional talk therapy can make ocd worse

@Anonymous true, i consider this my first OCD spiral though! like i don’t remember having a “theme” before this or even really dealing with OCD in the past so it’s bit hard to navigate. i don’t have any other themes to look back on, im obsessing over this out of nowhere. i do have anxiety, and dpdr though and i would ruminate a little about that but not to where it would disrupt my daily life. i wish you luck in your recovery! i plan on starting ERP soon

@Kim27 im looking to try both. congratulations on your achievement! it’s definitely inspiring and reminds me that suffering isn’t forever.