- Date posted
- 6y
- Date posted
- 6y
Ahh ok I see. Well thank you! Also, irrelevant, but I went to Canada recently and it was really nice ?
- Date posted
- 6y
Yes exactly! I just don’t know who I’d be. And I don’t know if I’d take my happiness for granted, in the same way that I did before all this crap started.
- Date posted
- 6y
I pretty much experience this exactly. Where you know you want to feel better but then have this feeling that you don’t, because you identify with it. I think it’s another way that our ocd latches into wanting to feel certainty and fear of the unknown: at least we know that we have ocd. This is one feeling that I really struggle with in recovery, but I try and remind myself that my ocd does NOT make me feel good. I think thought replacement helps the best: rather than thinking “I don’t want ocd to go away because it makes me feel unique and that scares me” think of it more as being proud that you can use your ocd as an advocate for mental health and helping other people. These are just some ways that make me feel better about the feeling, rather than trying to find out what’s wrong with me for having it. I hope it helps:)
- Date posted
- 6y
That did help! I would love to advocate for mental health / kill the stigma around keeping it silent in the future once I’m better. And to get better, I’ll have to ditch OCD at some point! I guess it’s just that I don’t even have certainty about whether or not I have OCD so I often feel like I’m faking it for attention or to be unique (even though I’ve told very few people).
- Date posted
- 6y
Ok thanks, that’s helpful to know! I don’t have veryyyy bad physical symptoms so I don’t think medication would be necessary for me but ERP is definitely important.
- Date posted
- 6y
From my understanding, a psychiatrist (at least in Canada) mainly just prescribes meds and diagnoses, whereas a therapist is usually there for talk therapy and CBT, but usually can’t prescribe meds.
- Date posted
- 6y
Very honest of you to say that, Eden. It’s a bit different for me: I just can’t imagine myself not being... well, myself. My therapist makes a differentiation between my OCD and me, but I just don’t know who I am without it! Too many years suffering from it... I wouldn’t know how to live and be another person. I told her, and she says it’s absolutely normal.
- Date posted
- 6y
I have had some form of anxiety for as far back as I can remember. Some periods of my life, I was able to function normally, but for most of my life, anxiety has been in the forefront. I am not sure who I would be without it, but I am certain I would have made more of my life-better education, better job, more exciting life experiences, etc
- Date posted
- 6y
(I haven’t yet been diagnosed)
- Date posted
- 6y
I’ve had the same experience where I questioned whether I even had OCD, until recently when I was diagnosed. If you can, it may give you some peace of mind to have a diagnosis (as it did for me!) because it makes it easier to put the thoughts and habits into perspective. I had one appointment with a psychiatrist and she was able to tell me with certainty that I have OCD, and these people are professionals and see it every day, so they know what they’re talking about! Of course your brain will still try to tell you that it’s not OCD, but I’ve noticed that the further along you are into recovery, the easier it is to recognize the textbook symptoms of OCD. I’ve also had the same feeling when I tell people that I have anxiety and OCD (that I’m looking for attention) but more than anything, if they’re the right people, they will believe you and be there as another support.
- Date posted
- 6y
Me and my mum have been looking into therapists recently so I can finally get a proper diagnosis because, like you said, I think that’s what I need right now! Dumb question but what’s the difference between a therapist and a psychiatrist? Should I see a therapist in order to get properly diagnosed?
- Date posted
- 6y
A psychiatrist can prescribe meds, where therapists usually cannot. Some psychiatrists also act as therapists, and others just prescribe the meds and that is it. If you have a psychiatrist who will also help with ERP, you don't really need a therapist imo.
- Date posted
- 6y
haha some parts of it are beautiful!!
Related posts
- Date posted
- 24w
I feel like I’ve had a lot of different categories of ocd. Some categories stick with me more and are repetitive. I’ve been doing well with mental health - not having anxiety stick around. When the physical feeling of anxiety sticks around, every thought is horrible, but when the feeling of anxiety is gone the obsessions don’t really impact me. If I can keep anxiety at bay, my life is good. I’ve been doing well lately, although this week I was scrolling through tictok and watched a video about someone in a coma and wondered if I was in a coma right now and didn’t know it. I had a panic attack for about 15 minutes. Anxiety, sweating, etc. It didn’t take ahold of me and it quickly lost its impact on me. It still shook me and I was just like “wow” where did that come from. Now I am staying away from social media. Is that avoidance? Should I make myself keep watching social media? Many ocd problems have come from social media or watching a movie or show that triggers something and then spirals. I am limiting what I watch, which I believe is good because I shouldn’t be watching that stuff anyway. What do you think?
- Date posted
- 23w
Whenever anyone starts to feel like their thoughts are less triggering or they feel a moment of happiness/ relief OCD tells you that you want the thoughts back or you actually like having the thoughts and maybe thats just the person I really am? I feel like im going insane😢
- Date posted
- 22w
I am FINALLY starting to (somewhat) recover from this last existential spiral, which admittedly, was probably the cruelest my OCD has ever been to me. Only thanks to you all. You were all able to provide me with kindness, understanding and support… without the kind of reassurance that feeds OCD, of course. When I downloaded this app, I was genuinely terrified. I was so scared that I was permanently doomed to the endless whirlpool that is the thoughts produced by my own brain and that life as I knew it was over, that I would never be happy again. For anyone who might be feeling that way right now, your OCD is LYING to you! Whatever you may be going through, it CAN get better. As hard as it may be right now, HAVE FAITH! Get up and do that thing you want to do in spite of the fear and discomfort. Take the fear with you like a whiny, unwilling toddler and do it anyway. Watch the movie, read the book, order that takeout you’ve been craving, bake the cake, wash the dishes… Please do it anyway! It will be hard at first, I won’t lie. But the OCD part of your brain, like a toxic partner, WANTS to win. It wants you to give up on those things that you love, all those things that make you happy so that there’s no space for anything but itself. Don’t let it win. The more you push yourself, the more you rewire your brain to realize that as much as it may feel like, the obsession doesn’t matter! Thanks to you all, even without therapy (YET - I’m starting that journey on Tuesday because there’s still a lot to unpack, and I know that OCD won’t just magically go away), I was able to get a basic understanding of ERP and learning to sit with discomfort and how to live life in spite of it, rather than letting it take over my very being. So for that, I thank this community. I think I would be in a very different place right now if it weren’t for the people I’ve met here who truly understood my experiences. I hope you have a wonderful day. Please don’t give up. You deserve to be happy, no matter what your brain is telling you ❤️
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