- Date posted
- 6y
- Date posted
- 6y
Yes take the step and talk to someone
- Date posted
- 6y
Some additional reasons OCD spikes: hunger, tiredness, generalized stress, hormonal fluctuations, caffeine intake, dehydration. Sounds like it’s time to be intentional with your self care. I had to start meal prepping so that I didn’t get hangry and eat junk which further triggered my symptoms. I have an alarm for when to both wake up and to go to sleep. I have to be strict with myself to ensure I’m getting enough rest. This also helps stop me from drinking coffee and eating sugar for energy. Test things out for yourself and see what works!!
- Date posted
- 6y
Trust me I’m right there with you, this whole week my pocd has come back to the main theme and it’s been a bad week, especially since I just started meds. It’s horrible. I feel good for an hour tops and like I can accept the thoughts but then I feel bad and feel like accepting the thoughts means I agree with them (I know it doesn’t.) but it’s hard and it loves to attack me in my sleep, or when I’m trying to fall asleep. I’ve barely slept this past week so trust you’re not alone.. I’m struggling too. All we can try to do is take it day by day. ALSO I’m in a super small town so I know how you feel about limited therapists in the area I think online is my only chance to properly heal.
- Date posted
- 6y
Isai: I'm so sorry you're dealing with that. I know exactly how you feel about it attacking you in your sleep or when you're trying to go to sleep. Mine loves to attack me when I'm trying to go to sleep. I think a lot of people suggest deep breathing and meditation, but my OCD tries to pop in images when I try to think of a calming place. :/ sigh. Then on top of that, you have dreams about it! And there's absolutely nothing you can do about that :/ I was OCD free for a year after doing 4-5 months of Exposure Therapy. So I know it works. But I switched anxiety meds, and yeah my life became a living hell. I used to only have the HOCD. But with that new med, that's when all the other sexual things started. Every single day I had a new fear. I got off the med and back on what I was on before. But the damage was already done. And that was in summer of 16, and I still haven't gotten any sort of grasp on it. I have the same trouble as you. 1. It's very hard for me to say "yes" to the thoughts and let those, any images, and whatever physical sensations be there. 2. Because I'm an over thinker, I get confused on how to let those things be there and kind of talk back to my OCD by "agreeing" with it ("You're right OCD! I'm a TOTAL lesbian! On top of that, I'm a lesbian who loves my mom, dogs, AND kids! Wow! I am just so gross! Gee thanks! But I'm gonna go about my day now! Thanks for those thoughts and images though! I appreciate that!") but not accepting it as true. It's hard for me to wrap my brain around agreeing but not accepting if that makes sense. It's been my biggest obstacle. And I'm trying a few therapists out online that can legally work with me in my state. But honestly? If I still don't have some sort of grasp on it by the summer? I'm really thinking of traveling out of state and doing an out-patient program somewhere where you legit see a therapist everyday for like 3-5 weeks but stay in a hotel or whatever. Only thing is my old therapist said it's good to have that break from your therapist so you go live life and experience things and learn to deal with flare ups so that you implement the tools given to you. But I'm so desperate at this point and feel like OCD has debilitated me so badly, I don't care if I have to see someone everyday for the rest of my life. I just need help. If I can get like a head start and get past that confusion between letting the thoughts be there but knowing that doesn't mean accepting them as true as well as learning to be "okay" with being uncomfortable with images, thoughts, and physical arousal, I think I would be set and just need that check in. But it's getting over that first hurdle that has been the hardest thing. :/ I hope you can find someone to help you. Have you looked on the International OCD site to search for therapists in your state and/or that can legally help you from out of state?
- Date posted
- 6y
Yes I’ve looked but the closet is an 1hr 30min away and I don’t think my dad would find driving back and forth that much ideal. So it looks like I’m stuck with online sessions.. because everyone seems to be telling me my current therapist has no idea what she’s doing. I just went through another practically sleepless night. This theme is so exhausting I just want some sleep and I get maybe 4 hours and it’s not consistent.
- Date posted
- 6y
WorriedDriver It spiked tonight after I still hadn't had any dinner by 10 PM. Entire car ride home, I felt physically aroused for absolutely zero reason and just generally bleh. When I got home, I went into the bathroom and cried and hit my head. I tend to try and "get OCD out of me" by pulling my hair or hitting my head :/ I'm so far into my panic that I just can't act rationally :/ I then ate food and felt a bit better afterwards. Now I'm feeling kind of depressed... I have a sleep disorder in which I'm constantly very tired. It's called hypersomnia. So it's very difficult for me to go to bed early or wake up and not fall back to sleep. I take stimulants to help me be awake during the day, but the downside is that those use seratonin. Our seratonin levels are already lower at night. You add the crash off of the stimulant, and I'm just a complete mess OCD wise. The crash makes me depressed, angry, and anxious. I'd been feeling better in terms of that lately, but my OCD has spiked dramatically. It sucks. Luckily, I don't like coffee or energy drinks. However, I do drink diet soda :/ sometimes I drink it because I'm trying to wake up during the day (I can still fall asleep on my stimulant). I'm trying to be better about not having those at night so that I'm not amped up and unable to go to bed. My problem probably is chocolate. Horrible. My body doesn't really do well with carbs, but I personally love them. I know I have to switch my diet soon to low carb. I did it before and felt better health wise. I don't remember if it helped so much with OCD.... Actually, when I did it, it was before I had "relapsed" with my OCD. So I can't really say if it did anything in terms of that. Maybe it WOULD help. Who knows.
- Date posted
- 6y
Isai I'm so sorry. I completely feel you. My old therapist that led me to that one year without horrible OCD just is sooo flaky. I love him, but it's impossible to get an appointment with him! It wasn't like this a few years ago. But after I relapsed, his business definitely changed. He is truly the only one I know where I live who understands and effectively treats OCD. But how helpful is it if you text, call, and email and he reads it but doesn't respond? It's so frustrating feeling like there's only one person who can help you but that person is just so scatter brained in terms of running his business that you just feel helpless. I basically texted and said if he knew of other therapists to let me know their names cause obviously he's very busy and he finally responded saying we could meet every other week. It's a start but I wish I could see someone more often. I looked on the IOCD site, and the only other therapists registered on there are in the northern part of my state lol. Yippee. Is your current therapist helpful at all? Or does it seem to just be talk therapy or reassurance? If so, I agree that you somehow need to find someone else. I personally think in person therapy is better (at least for me in my experience), but if you can't find anyone close by, online is better than nothing. The IOCD site has great ideas on what to ask potential therapists when you're having that first consultation to see if it feels like a good match. The tips they have are really good, and I'd definitely go look those up and ask them if you decide to look for a new therapist. You definitely need someone that truly understands OCD and how to treat it (Exposure and Cognitive Therapy). I'd also ask if they've ever treated someone with your subcategory of OCD.
- Date posted
- 6y
I’m sorry to hear that sparklypaws! That must be so irritating to have proper help right within your grasp and feel like they don’t notice how much you really need the help. It’s kind of early for me to tell, everyone on here seems to think she isn’t going to help but I want to give her a chance you know? She’s only had one session with me so I’m going to interview her more at this next one and I’ll see from there. I talked to my father about it and he said to give it a try that maybe I can at least take something away from her that’s useful and if not we’ll find someone else. Just sucks, I really want that human contact that’s part of my problem that makes my ocd so severe at times I think. I have no. Routine. I do nothing all day, I’m trapped in the house. So I’m gonna try to get my license soon because it’s time, I’m 21 and I need to start getting out I’ve just been scared.
Related posts
- Date posted
- 25w
I’m really struggling with something related to me ocd, and I would appreciate kind and supportive advice. If you can’t relate or don’t think anything you have to say would be helpful, I kindly ask pls refrain from commenting this is a really sensitive topic for me. Recently, I’ve noticed a pattern that feels something extremely new and distressing. The first time it happened I remember telling myself before self pleasuring that I am in control no matter what thought comes into my mind because I wanted to prove to myself that these thoughts are just from OCD and I know who I am and an intrusive that came out of no where, and i suddenly felt an intense fear that I was acting on it. In the moment I genuinely felt like I did. And afterword, I panicked and started questioning myself. This SAME FEELING has happened three times in a row each time, the intrusive thought was unwanted and random, and completely against my morals most recently it involved pocd and it feels even worse because it generally felt like I acted on it the thought in the moment while I was self pleasuring the panic doesn’t hit until afterwards when I stop :/ I start thinking that maybe I generally made a mistake and I’m now just realizing that it’s wrong because it generally feels like that :( but when I actually think about it again goes against my morals and values doesn’t make sense it feels incredibly real, and I can’t seem to shake this feeling off that I may have acted on it I’m terrified because I never wanted these thoughts in the first place. And I definitely didn’t choose them. If I had known, I would’ve had these intrusive thoughts I wouldn’t have self pleasured in the first place but it’s extremely hard to convince myself that this may be OCD because I feel like I have no other reason to believe that I didn’t act on it :/
- Date posted
- 18w
Idk if this post is even worth it but it seemed like a normal day for me, called off work due to the weather so I get to just stay home and play games all day. Easy day besides dealing with the constant and unbearable battle with my intrusive thoughts/feelings. Took a shower and I just had constant thoughts, (heart palpitations are pretty constant) ended up breaking down and bawling my eyes out. I was diagnosed with HOCD and ROCD about 2 months ago and since it's just gotten worse. It feels as real as it can get and after talking to my girlfriend about the anxiety attack, it feels even more real. I have no desire or enjoyment from what comes from my brain, and at this point I'm on my knees begging the big man upstairs for my old life back, how do I go from being obsessed with women (sexually and emotionally) to pretty much doing a 180 overnight (with the obvious anxiety and worry behind it. No real desire obviously). I'm just at a loss, I've done a little ERP and it seemed to help with the brain fog but besides that, everything that it does to someone, I have. And again there's the doubt I even have OCD and I'm in straight denial. It just sucks.
- Date posted
- 13w
I need too know that I'm not insane, really. I am 16 and for the past two weeks, this has been completely ruining my health and happiness. I only recently came out as a lesbian like 3 months ago after a lot of confusion about my attraction since I used to think I liked men. At first, I felt so sure that I liked women, but lately, I've been having these unwanted thoughts about the possibility of liking men. I never used to feel this way, but now, every time I look at a man, my brain obsessively fixates on it. It forces me to imagine kissing him, loving him, things I don’t want, and then tries to convince me that I do. It’s painful. The thought of this fills me with fear and anxiety, leading to panic attacks and breakdowns. I don’t want these thoughts. I hate them with every fiber of my being, but I’m terrified that one day I’ll act on them and somehow like it. I used to think I liked men, but back then, I was in a very unhealthy space in a time of escapism and something deeply parasocial. I’ve only ever liked the attention and validation a man could give me, but these experiences are somehow treated as further proof that I’m "bisexual." I’ve never been in a real relationship with anyone, which makes my brain constantly challenge me—telling me, “You don’t even know what love feels like.” It won’t shut up. It keeps obsessively trying to make me prove that I’m a lesbian, testing my reactions and questioning my certainty. Is this normal?
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