- Username
- Fighter1
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 4y ago
if you truly resist your compulsions, ALL OF THEM, avoidance, self reassurance, etc, and keep not doing compulsions, then ur ocd will basically be nonexistent in a few months. But its very very hard to resist compulsions at first,, and many people do not get treatment or get diagnosed,, so thats why its considered chronic. But if you truly give up all ALL COMPULSIONS then you can recover!
Maybe think of it as like an alcoholic who has remained sober for years and years. They have to keep managing it by not drinking, whether that means continued meetings or therapy or that if once they have the skill set that they can just rely on that themselves. š¤·š¼āāļø OCD is a chronic illness; but itās manageable. And if it does resurface after years of success, itās easier to fight because itās more recognizable and skills are already known to fight it. Even if there isnāt a cure right now, you can get better
I would disagree with this! In alot of cases it can go away for many years or even for a lifetime if persistent erp treatment is used and all compulsions are stopped. It won't be an everyday fight, alcoholism and addiction often is.
@Dianaaa I respect your opinion though, there is just a lot of proof that it goes away for many years or even for decades or lifetime. Even before treatment I would have months without high anxiety and I have severe ocd...hopefully this puts a more positive spin on ocd than you even realized!
@Dianaaa You say, āit can go away for many years or even a lifetime if persistant erp treatment is used...ā Thatās exactly my point in comparing it to alcoholism, which can be in remission for years, decades, the rest of oneās lifetime by persistently not drinking.
@ARTnotOCD yes but often alcoholics are bombarded with urges to drink daily. They may not drink for 30 years but it is a daily desire to drink. It is an ongoing battle dailyyyy. What im saying is with effective treatment ocd can go away and be absent from daily life for many years. The urges and anxieties will be completely absent for many months, years or even life. I think thats the difference :)
@Dianaaa Maybe I see alcoholism in a more hopeful light than you do. While Iāve seen alcoholism and addiction seriously hurt, Iāve seen OCD also. Iāve also seen many family members thrive as ārecovering alcoholicsā, just staying vigilant enough to not drink. That gives me hope that I need for them, and it gives me hope in staying vigilant in dealing with my chronic issues.
@ARTnotOCD My brother is a recovering addict as well as my ex-fiancee an alcoholic. They describe their journey as their urge to drink or do drugs can be daily, while those who recover from ocd can experience relief and no urges for months or years or even forever. People who are recovering addicts have described to me it is a daily battle
@Dianaaa I know a lot of alcoholics doing well with few urges, so happy to be where they have gotten that they never want to look back. I also know when I am in a period of remission, I am aware that my brain could re-flare and I must check myself if/when it does, like an urge to drink that must be fought.
@Dianaaa Alcoholism and addiction has lots of hope! They are just different diseases so they have different recovery rates and relapses etc
@Dianaaa Yes but see they still have urges. Doing well with urges means they still experience urges often š My point is ocd can forreal go away for a long time and not resurface as often as addiction based behavioral diseases
@Dianaaa Nope āDoing wellā āwith FEW urgesā means the opposite of āthey still experience urges oftenā.
@Dianaaa Maybe it all depends on what kind of OCD you have. When I am doing really well for long stretches and even feel like OCD is a non-issue for me, I still get intrusive thoughts and still enjoy when something feels right, even get the urge to help make something be even. My success is measured by how little I respond to those urges, how little the OCD is affecting my life. And an alcoholicās success is also measured by how little they give into those urges, whether they feel the urges everyday or hardly ever.
@ARTnotOCD Yes I just disagree. I have many addicts who I am and was close with and I've noticed lots of differences with recovery of addiction and recovery of ocd. They all say that them and in their groups that still experience urged weekly even though they are doing well. Have you been through recovery yet though? Im glad sometimes u don't experience anxiety but I have been recovered for a while and it is different than my brother who has been in drug recovery for a while.
@Dianaaa I just have to say, Iāve really enjoyed our conversation. Even if we ultimately donāt agree, or just have had different experiences leading to differing conclusions, I absolutely appreciate a civil and kind discussion. I hope my part has held up to those standards for you. I feel like I have had periods of recovery, yet intrusive thoughts and images are a part of life for many, even without OCD. I know in most texts, OCD is considered āchronicā, and it doesnāt take much to fall down a peg with it, just giving in to any compulsion. The great news is that with this cyclical illness, once you learn the skills to fight it, any reoccurrence is easier to both recognize and fight.
@ARTnotOCD true! I respect your opinion. I just think that depending on the individual, recovery and remission have longer periods compared to others! but with each compulsion we resist our ocd grows less strong
I don't know. I think I've always had tendencies, and my current struggles with it were triggered by the birth of my son a year ago, following 2 miscarriages. But I feel like the high stress, lack of sleep, exposure to specific germs the doctor told me could kill my baby, then exposure to them again a couple months later, then the pandemic, all coupled with sleeping only 3 hours a night for a year has been the perfect storm. When my life wasn't so stressful, the ocd was so minor it was just a very slight annoyance. So I think it can ebb and flow with the stresses and circumstances of life.
Not from my therapist but Iāve heard OCD can basically go into remission. So thereās chances it can pop its head back in but knowing the tools of ERP you combat against it
But of course, i don't want to give you reassurance that it can always be cured. There is definite hope that it will be cured but it takes hard work! Try and accept the possinility you could be cured or not be cured...
Does anyone else ever have this fear that maybe they are gonna be stuck with this illness forever? I keep getting mixed answers so I never know if OCD really can go away or not and even though I'm doing alot better now with medication, I sometimes get really sad and start thinking that I'm always gonna be like this and that I don't want a life with OCD
Everyone says to me when I say, I have ocd i hate my life, that many people live with it, but everyone that I meet with OCD is miserable and barely surviving, so aren't we all just doomed with a chronic condition ? I mean even "recovered" people say they still struggle with it so honestly, whats the point? Im being a realist. Opinions are welcomed. Maybe I am missing the bigger picture
How detailed can thoughts be? Can it make you question if it even is OCD or just denial? I have talked to friends and therapist in the past and they have said based on everything you've told me you aren't what you think you are. And it felt like a weight had been lifted. But doubt creeps up saying "you are a pedophile, you are just in denial!" And that feeling comes in my gut followed by intense anxiety. I've heard OCD can make you question who you are as a person and I think that's what is happening now. I'll get a thought like "even if you are one, its not that bad" the I think but I don't feel like one and I've talked about this with mental health professionals in the past and they have agreed based on everything I've told them, then my mind claps back with but what if you are? It is a back and forth I get so exhausted having. I know I have to be ok with never knowing but it is hard to not want an answer because of the fear you may become your thoughts one day.
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