- Username
- lovemymum
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Hang in there. Things are really tough for me right now too. Sometimes I can’t work or I have to leave early and I just hate that. I get so frustrated and it’s really embarrassing when I have an anxiety attack and break down in front of people. Glad to hear you have some appointments set up. I just had a couple of appointments myself yesterday and I have intensive treatment coming up in a few weeks. This is so hard and debilitating...We have got to just stick it out and encourage each other when it all gets rough like this.
Lovemymum, I’m proud of you for seeking treatment. If you are able to, it might be helpful for you to write down a list of the situations that trigger your harm OCD and possible exposures to do in that situation, and show the list to your team. That might help you guys come up with a treatment plan.
Hi there! That’s a tough question but a really important one. Are you an inpatient or an outpatient? Who are your treatment providers, are there more than one of them (counselor/psychiatrist etc as you said)? What are your goals and what is motivating you to get better? If there’s an area of your life that your OCD is really preventing you from functioning in (work/school/social life/family life/etc) it might make sense to pick that as a goal and start thinking of actions you can take to get towards that goal.
Something I did while I was in treatment that really helped me was a personal values card sort by Miller, deBaca, Matthews, and Wilbourne. It helps you understand what’s important to you. If you can bring up what’s important to you to your treatment team, that might help you and them see eye to eye so you can create realistic goals that you will be willing to achieve.
In more technical terms, a treatment plan is often based off of a hierarchy of exposures (things that scare you) ranked from 1-10 or 1-100. You might want to start with the exposures that you encounter the most commonly or the ones that are the least triggering. If you have filled out hierarchies, obsessions, compulsions, triggers, etc in this app definitely show those to your treatment team.
EDMR therapy and exposure therapy
Carly, was what I said above helpful? Or do you need more advice?
I have harm OCD, and it’s often debilitating. It’s usually towards myself and those that I love. I currently have a psychologist and I’m seeing a doctor for the first time on November 14th
Hi all. I was diagnosed with OCD last year. I have had ups and downs with managing my symptoms. I went through rough patches where anxiety was really bad. Now suddenly I feel a bit better so I’m trying to keep up the effort to maintain this slight progress. My question is. How did you make the decision on if you should try medication or not? I am a very indecisive person.
Anybody here on medication for their OCD? I know everyone’s experience is different, and different medications work differently for different people, but I’m just trying to get a pulse on what to expect. I’m seeing a psychiatrist soon and I’m hoping to get some meds going.
Hi, I don't really know where to start but I was diagnosed with OCD around 2 years old so it's something I've been aware of my entire life and something I've been struggling to manage for as long as I can remember. I've never received OCD therapy but I had started going to an art therapist after a su*cide attempt for about 2 months in my teen years. When I was younger my parents didn't want me on medications or going through therapy as they felt it was "too intense" of a treatment for me, so I had tried many herbal and homeopathic supplements to help treat my OCD, though it helped with my vitamin deficiencies it didn't do much for my OCD. During my late teens, my primary doctor finally decided to start me on medications for my anxiety, depression, and OCD. I have been on Zoloft, Prozac, Wellbutrin, had been prescribed emergency Lorazepam and Xanax, and recently tried Paxil, but I just don't feel like any have helped. Over the years, I've basically struggled with every typical OCD symptom and it has only gotten harder and harder to get by. When I talk to my friends about it they tell me that these thoughts are normal and everyone goes through it but I feel like they're dismissing the degree to which my symptoms are becoming rather debilitating and don't really understand what I'm trying to since none of them have OCD themselves. I just feel so alone and that nobody understand, I'm tired of having these thoughts and I just want a way out. Does anyone have any tips for like medications or treatments that help? I just want to be normal.
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