ching
- Date posted
- 5y
nicehazardsnicehazards
- Date posted
- 5y
I’ve been on SSRIs for 11 years. Prozac, Wellbutrin, Zoloft, Effexor. For me, while these drugs helped in other areas, they did not help my OCD. I know this because I was on medication during some of my worst episodes. I used to have severe “just right” OCD which shifted to contamination. Mindfulness and awareness helps the best. Be aware of intrusive thoughts and the emotions they produce. You need to change your reaction to these emotions. Breathing is very important and you need to focus on it until you over come the emotion. Brief everyday meditation helps and sitting meditation helps more, even if it is only 2-3 mins. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has helped me accept and manage emotions, which I gave you a brief glimpse of above. So everything so far has been about accepting and managing the discomfort. But if you really want to diminish the pain, you need to use Exposure Response Prevention (ERP). I know you want to use therapy as a last resort. I was the same way. I wish I reached out earlier instead of waiting 18 years. The best option is to see a therapist for this treatment. Exposure is already extremely discomforting and hours of hard work everyday. Without a therapist it will definitely be harder but not impossible. There are resources available all over the web. ERP focuses on doubt and uncertainly. It is not about managing the discomfort like CBT helps you. It’s about building a tolerance to pain. I don’t know the details of your just right OCD but an example might be something I have experienced…
nicehazardsnicehazards
- Date posted
- 5y
…You remove books off a bookcase to dust. When you put them back, you must put them in a particular order. Not only that, but the spines have to be flush. Also, as you are putting the books back, each one has to feel just right when sliding in and when you remove your finger from the book. If it doesn’t feel just right, you have to repeat the compulsions. You may even have to remove the books and start over. Intentionally replace the books in a manner that create discomfort and anxiety. Set a timer (you can use the NOCD app) for 20 minutes and sit with the discomfort. You can just sit there or you can go do other things. Sitting there may create more anxiety but either way you cannot give into the compulsions, whether mental or physical. Instead you must think about doubt and uncertainly while you bask in the pain. Think about what might happen if you don’t give in to the compulsion (maybe I will never feel right, maybe I will feel like this for the rest of my life). 20 mins for the exercise. If you fail, reset the time. If it takes more than 20 mins, keep the timer running. The app is great for this. Do it everyday. Deliberately do things in a way that will make you feel discomfort and set that time. That’s what ERP is about. I am almost done with my ERP and I have seem extreme improvement after 18 years. In terms of natural remedies apart from mental exercises, psilocybin mushrooms have been shown (in at least three studies does by significant organizations) to dramatically reduce the symptoms of and has even been reported to fully cure OCD. Unfortunately, legality is a barrier and I can not recommend anybody to circumnavigate the law. Ketamine has also shown significant results but it isn’t natural like mushrooms. Both psilocybin and ketamine work to increase the serotonin in a different way from Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs). The methods of increasing serotonin is different in SSRIs vs. psilocybin although scientists don’t know how exactly either work completely.
ocdillustratedocdillustrated
- Date posted
- 5y
Can you elaborate on why you're hesitant to try therapy? It's your choice what treatments to try, but opting out of therapy and medication is choosing to forgo the approaches with the best odds of success, so it's worth exploring the barriers
chingching
- Date posted
- 5y
Therapy would be too overwhelming for me right now as I’m finding it hard to accept I have ocd. I’m still in the process of trying to make myself comfortable with this as usually I’d just ignore it and pretend I don’t have symptoms. Overall, I’m one of those people that hates help and would rather fix it on my own which I’ll admit is not always a good Idea. I’m also closed off to medication as I don’t want become reliant on it to make me better
ocdillustratedocdillustrated
- Date posted
- 5y
@ching Kudos to you for joining this app then! You're grappling with uncomfortable experiences by choosing to be part of an OCD community
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