I was referred to CAHMS and the referral went through fast because of the severity how much my OCD affects my life. With my GCSEs coming up I need to get some help. We were supposed to see a doctor but they were called out to an emergency. Instead I saw a practitioner. I was mostly open about my OCD in the first appointment but we then we had some issues where she told my mum somethings about my OCD which were not required or that she was unaware of. This made me feel uncomfortable. I have had x4 1hr30 sessions with her. So far I have talked about some of my obsessions and intrusive thoughts to which she said that I just need to think less about. I often do things in 4s or 16s so she recommended I do them in 4s. I asked her what the structure was to be and she said that she’d do 3/4 more mindfulness sessions and see if it had helped. I need more than that but don’t know how to tell her that. Part of my OCD (like for most sufferers) is to think overly about other people’s thoughts and feelings. How would this make her feel? Etc When I explain my obsessions she takes notes and when I ask her to give me some coping mechanisms/ strategies she seems lost. She writes notes and says that this is a lot for a brain to go through, that I must feel tired. It’s no fault of her own, just lack of expertise in the area. She has particular interest in mindfulness - not anxiety and related disorders. I feel like she maybe does not want to admit this and is just continuing. I went for help but I am not receiving it. I want to get better, feel better but that might be months before she realizes it’s not helping. I want to speak to somebody else but the only person I have seen at CAHMS is her and I feel uncomfortable expressing this with her. Sorry this is long but does anyone has any advise on how to deal with this situation? What to say, suggest. Like I said, it causes me great distress if I help myself at others’ expense.

I have a question My OCD has felt almost invisible the past few weeks and now that is starting to stress me out a lot. Right now I am at a point in my treatement where I was asked if I would like to take medication. I told my therapist this week that I would like to try the medication based on how miserable I feel in during OCD flare ups. But now my brain always tells me that I only go throught this treatement etc. to seek attention and that I am just dramatic and should be ashamed of myself for wanting to take this medication. So now I am doubting if I should take the medication or not. Any advice?

Hi everyone. I'm feeling kinda scared because I have to wait a whole month to start ERP therapy, but I feel like I need to start doing exposures now because the longer I wait, the more anxiety I get. It just feels like the OCD monster is getting worse. One thing that helps me is asking one person about an obsession I have...asking a person that I trust, and then doing an exposure after I get the "ok" to do it. I feel like I do need 1 reassurance and then I can go ahead and do it. I know i'm not supposed to ask for reassurance at all, but i dont think you're supposed to do ERP on your own right? Does anyone have any suggestions for what to do while waiting for therapy? PS-the reason there is a wait is bc she's on vacation. After she's back we will meet regularly.

Hello! I am really looking for some advice. I have been struggling with OCD for a few years now and it drastically affects my daily life. I am going to give a quick run through of my OCD, and then the current situation I am in now. So for almost 2 years now my most prominent themes of OCD have been getting sick with the stomach bug (emetaphobia) and watching someone die/ having to see large amount of blood or do CPR on someone (I just graduated nursing school). Last year I stopped eating out, wouldn’t touch any of my food with my hands, would wash my hands until they bleed every day, bleached everything I touched when I was in public etc… I would have these major panic attacks all the time and the thought of getting sick hasn’t left my head 24/7 for 2 years. I was unable to complete my nursing school clinicals due to panic attacks each time I was at the hospital afraid someone would die and get these terrible images in my head. I didn’t sleep ever, barely graduated. I did ERP after school and was able to make up the clinical days I missed. Got to a point where I was eating again, felt like I was able to get my hands clean just by washing them. I have been doing exposures every day, and have accepted that getting sick will probably happen at one point and I am okay with it as long as I am at home when it happens. So locking myself in my apartment for 48hr every time after I could have been exposed to the stomach bug is major progress for me and I have been overall doing much better. Fast forward to now: It’s time for me to start my new job on a med/surg floor in a hospital. This week I have made it through a few days of orientation with panic attacks day and night but I am doing it even though I am petrified. I don’t feel ready for this big of a step, being exposed to both of my biggest fears constantly. Today at orientation the girl sitting next to me told me she had been vomiting all day, and continued to run out of the room a vomit the rest of the day. I now am 90% sure I am going to get sick and feel as if I would rather die than continue this amount of stress and anxiety I have felt from just a few days of being on the job. This is my BIGGEST fear and it’s coming true and I don’t know if it’s worth putting myself through this every day at work to just be having constant panic attacks and be miserable. I know with OCD you have to face your fears but I have been pushing myself and trying so hard and I don’t feel like it’s worth it to work this job. I would also feel incredibly guilty for quitting on the first week, but there are a million other nursing jobs that are not in a hospital. I think this is too big of a step for me right now but I wanted to see what others think. Any advice at all is so appreciated!