Hi everyone, I noticed some members are doing therapy in the US through NOCD, that's awesome. Therapy is the way OUT! Paying for therapy can be a barrier. I had face to face, one on one therapy in Australia for about 2 years. I didn't have to pay much at all for this because of Medicare so I want to explain how to access affordable therapy to all the Australians out there! The Australian public health system is fantastic. ? I got specialist OCD therapy through Medicare. I have finished ERT and I'm pretty much fine now and have been for a good while. (Yes yah!) I'm also off Sertraline now for over a year. No meds anymore. I took 100mg of zoloft a day for 3 or 4 years. (I still get some general anxiety but I find mindfulness and meditation helps and I'm pretty much under control. A psychiatrist I saw in Japan where I live now recommended this book to me: The Mindful Way through Depression by J. Mark G. Williams. I learned about mindfulness and meditation from here, its all relevant even if depression is not a problem for you, it never really was for me.) First I was diagnosed with OCD by a psychiatrist. For me I was referred to her by my obstetrician. I told him I had bad anxiety after my first baby was born so they kept an eye on my mental health second time around. I told her about my obsessions. I didn't know it was OCD. Then my GP was able to give me a Mental Health Care plan which allowed me up to 10 visits to a clinical psychologist each year. You get 6 first then 4 more later. My psychologist was an OCD specialist and he was based nearby. Once I met my general Medicare threshold for the year I didn't have to pay any out of pocket expenses. None! Make sure your family is registered for the Medicare Safety Net so you can reach the threshold as soon as possible. The organisation Beyond Blue can give you information about Mental Health Care plans. By the way prior to being diagnosed with OCD my private health insurer Bupa also gave me free, local face to face, one on one psychologist sessions. I had free sessions for around 6 months. I got this through their new parent programme so also check out your private health insurance. At the time I was treated for post natal anxiety. All the best everyone.

Injapan

Date posted: 5y

I think this is a trigger alert: After my first baby I had intrusive thoughts that I would harm my baby. Very, very frightening. Paralysing. So that was harm OCD ? I told a counsellor at the time but like you said she just didn't really react. She taught me relaxation techniques. I supposed that was her training not to make a big deal? I was soo anxious, so she was trying to address that. I wasn't diagnosed with OCD until 3 years later after my next baby was born. Then my obsessions were not to do with the baby but more like contamination in my home. I told the psychiatrist who was a post natal specialist, that I couldn't stop thinking about spiders and this was bothering me (it was spiders and cockroaches, but I couldn't even say 'cockroach' at the time.) I told her because I knew my compulsions; cleaning, checking etc were weird. In fact I was prepared to go to heroic lengths to avoid all insects so it was super weird. I didnt know it was all related. She knew about my anxiety and previous intrusive thoughts. She spotted the OCD. Hurray!

Survivor ❤️

Date posted: 5y

Loooove to hear that you got the help you needed!!! What ocd was it that you had? I actually told my obygn about my obsessions but it’s like they didn’t really even actknowledge it .

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