- Username
- Dil P
- Date posted
- 4y ago
Hi there! And welcome ?? I’m glad you got a diagnosis of OCD. That’s the first step and harder than most people think when dealing with mostly mental compulsions. The actual thoughts you’re having (like what they are saying, ie their content) don’t matter. The way we “know” that they are in fact OCD is by everything else you’ve written here: - they are unwanted and distressing - you respond with mental compulsions (ie ruminations, mental reviewing, checking, researching) - you’re worried these thoughts say something about who you are deep down and you’re obsessed with figuring them out This is quite typical OCD. Everything else you wrote (fear you’ll act on the thoughts, fear of judgment, anxiety, depression, numbness, loss of emotion, loss of stable sense of self) are all common complaints and symtoms. Since you got a formal diagnosis, I’m curious: are you seeing an OCD Specialist who is trained in ERP? This is the gold standard for OCD treatment and will go a long way in helping you recover. A few articles you may find interesting: https://ocdla.com/doubt-denial-ocd-5342 https://ocdla.com/harm-ocd-1-1982
OCD of Los Angeles has some of the best articles around. Good choice!
I wouldn’t know how to answer your first three questions because everyone has their individual experiences with OCD. Perhaps someone will provide some insight later, but as for your last question, yes, my doctor prescribed me Lexapro for my OCD symptoms. I discontinued it due to its side effects, but I’m considering to begin taking it again and just give a chance for the side effects to subside, which in most cases does happen. Why? What’s your experience with Lexapro?
1. OCD can include terrible intrusive thoughts. 2. I’ve seen a lot of people here question if it’s actually something more/worse than OCD as well as question if it’s even OCD. I’ve questioned it myself. 3. Numbness or feeling low often accompanies anxiety, like the ups and downs of that same negative energy coin. 4. I’ve taken Lexapro for years now. For me it really helps with intrusive, violent images.
Hey all! I just joined this app and wanted to ask for your thoughts and encouragement on something I’ve been experiencing lately. (*long post ahead*) I’ve had an OCD diagnosis for about 2 years now, along with generalized anxiety, depersonalization symptoms, and depression diagnoses since my teens (I’m 24). Been lucky to have great family and healthcare that have helped me get out of some very dark places. I’m currently on a very high dose of Prozac, a smaller dose of Wellbutrin, and have been in therapy pretty consistently since my late teens. Life is pretty good....I’m in grad school and am doing well socially and academically. I am moving out to another part of the country to do an internship for 10 weeks, starting this Friday. But with all of this great and wonderful stuff in life, I have definitely noticed my OCD getting worse, despite my meds and self care. I’ve been having more obsessive fears and doing the rituals and compulsions to soothe those fears. It’s taking up much more of my mental space than it had for the past 2 years or so. I think part of it is the big change of moving to a new place temporarily, finishing my first year of grad school, and going from being insanely busy to having a month of downtime that is just now wrapping up. I’m getting scared that things are going to get really bad again — so far I’ve been managing with mindfulness and acceptance, and reading up on tactics for managing intrusive thoughts and accompanying compulsions. But I am so afraid that things will get to be into the dark and horrible place they were in 2 years ago. My OCD has been really mild the past few years, since I started the meds, and to feel it flare up again is really REALLY distressing. It makes me scared that the meds aren’t working, or that all the thoughts and fears are real. I know this isn’t the truth, logically, but my OCD and anxiety are running with it. I’m just wondering if anyone else has experienced this (change-related flare ups and the fears accompanied by them) and has tools to manage relapse or flare ups. Thanks in advance :) :)
I got diagnosed with OCD a few months ago after getting plagued with intrusive thoughts last November. It’s been present in my life since I was younger but didn’t become truly debilitating until last November. I’ve been in therapy since May, and I started an SSRI. I’m a Christian, and I’ve struggled a lot with my faith since this started. I’ve had a hard time with ERP because I fear it’s not going to help and actually make things worse. I have also had a lot of emotional turmoil from family trauma and marriage issues. I’ve become so hopeless and numb and desensitized that I don’t know how to continue forward. I don’t feel like I’m able to talk to anyone about it because it’s taboo, so I feel like a fraud and like I don’t deserve to do things I enjoy or hang out with people I love. I do want to get better but I also have a fear that I don’t actually want to. I feel like my whole life is ruined and that I’ll never enjoy living again.
Hi all , please comment if you’re experiencing what I’m about to share . I am going through a very tough time with existential fears & very frightening thoughts to a point where the thought of myself sends me into a spiral. I ask myself “am I even existing right now as I’m typing this” “ how do I know that I’m not already dead or in a purgatory “how do I confirm that I even exist” what if I’ve already died and this is what death feels like “ nothing & no one around me feels real , I look at my kids & my husband & question their existence. I’ve also been suffering from severe depersonalisation/derealisation & I don’t know which one is triggering the other ! I also suffer from harm ocd where I’m forever worrying that I might lose control & harm my family whom I love to bits & I’m always battling the nightmare inside me that makes me believe that I’ve already hurt them but I just don’t know it … I’m on lexapro & have been for two years but I find that all it does is numb my emotions, I can’t cry & at times worry that if sharpens to someone I love , I may not be able to cry or show emotions . I am convinced that I’ve developed schizophrenia 🥲🥲 which has always been my worst fear! Or that I’ve gone psychotic without realising . I cannot see myself out of this hole & my brain had forgotten what being a normal person once felt like 🥲🥲. I was seeing a psychologist and he did ERP with me but sadly that did Not help so I stopped seeing him altogether & lost faith in therapy altogether ! Sorry this is a very long post but I just want to know that someone out there is experiencing the same symptoms and has gotten over it through ERP or other medication ? Because I feel like I’m the only one suffering from this debilitating illness and there’s no way out!
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