- Username
- Snuggle š¤
- Date posted
- 3y ago
Iād argue that itās like being an alcoholic. Itās an addiction of sorts. Youāll always have OCD but with work, you wonāt necessarily always be a victim of it. I say this because I improved my OCD by leaps and bounds over the years but after a year of quarantine I definitely backslid. Because you have a history of these thought patterns/behaviors, itās very easy to engage them again. Giving in just a little too much to the tendency can result in a loss of momentum and if you experience some type of trauma it will definitely bubble up. But I do agree that with the right tools you can come very close to living as if youāre OCD free! Things that have helped me battle my OCD outside of therapy (therapy is important) - a healthy diet - keeping my body moving throughout the day - an early morning routine - having some type of creative outlet (painting, jewelry making, playing an instrument etc.) For me itās like all this energy is stored in my brain and I need to get it out in other ways. Feeding myself fresh foods gives me the best kind of energy to expend physically. It did wonders paired with cognitive therapy/ERP.
I think you can get close to cured but it's so important to remember it can come back because if it does and you're not prepared, it can be really destructive. like someone can recover from depression but they still need to be aware if they slip back into symptoms
Right, I think it can be super helpful to accept that it may come back, and that we have to keep up with doing the tools and techniques weāve gained to help us.
I get what youāre saying. I agree that you can get to a point where OCD isnāt an issue anymore. Iāve been there. But usually when we are looking at chronic it refers to long lasting and recurring, which OCD is. Bouts of OCD can last for years. Iāve gotten completely better and then so much worse so many times. I think itās important for people who are better to still recognize they have OCD because it does comes back. Itās recurring. It may not come back as much as it did when it initially happened, but it comes back. Thatās what makes OCD so hard and āincurableā. When you think itās done, itās not. I do think it helps patients and therapists to be more hopeful about treating OCD and reaching a place where it isnāt an issue anymore, but idk I think itās good to know that it can come back too and be prepared to use the tools you learned in therapy to cope.
Iād say becuase OCD is a neurological disorder Iād consider it chronic, but thereās a lot of people who can get to points of having no active symptoms. The predispositions in the brain donāt go away, so doing therapy, and gaining tools to help can maybe get it to a point where it feels cured I think. Which is really all I can hope for.
I didnāt even think of the neurological aspect. Itās great you brought that up. Even with the active behaviors and symptoms gone thereās still that chemical em balance in the brain. The OCD may not be active, but youāre right those predispositions in the brain are still there. Itās really cool you thought of that :)
Hi, don't you think that this might be reassurance seeking? :) You can be symptom-free and happy, and i think that should be good enough.
Oh I didnāt even think of this being reassurance before I commented. Good on you for catching that.
@stop. My "trick" is to notice when something makes me feel anxious, and i start to engage..that's when i step back and wonder if it's reassurance haha
@m666 Thatās a good trick. Iām usually so impulsive that by the time I realize its reassurance or a compulsion the deed is done.
@stop. It took me a bit, i was the same as you and it's hard sometimes, but practice makes it easier and easier with time:)
I've read this again and i've come to realize that you probably didn't write this (unless you are a therapist/work in research), so i want to say apologize. It is common for people with OCD to think about this question as compulsion, which is different from when people study it in a scientifc way.
I kinda of have a two part question. 1-Has anyone here just gotten better? 2-How do you know if ERP is working? My ocd goes through phases, and always has even before ERP. There are times where I just feel completely normal. Is ERP supposed to lengthen those times of feeling better? If I have times where I feel 100% normal, then why is OCD incurable? Something in my brain is going back and forth to think irrationally and then back to thinking rationally.
To anyone who has POCD and has had a successful recovery, how does your day to day life look like now? Do you still have those thoughts in the back of your mind and just not let them bother you? Or have you gone about your days without even thinking about it at all? Has your life somewhat been back to normal? Do you still have harder days? And how often? Have you gained trust and confidence in who you are? Do you not allow OCD to make you question yourself? The reason I ask is because I worry that though I might get ābetterā I still will have hard days like every other week. Like having to have good days but deep down knowing youāre going to struggle with this for the rest of your life. Because personally I just canāt possibly imagine having to knowingly do ERP everyday for the rest of my life just to not crumble and fall apart. Yes I might be ābetterā at handling it, it will still be something Iām gonna have to be focusing on not allowing OCD to take over. I just want to live my life how I used to. Not having to try everyday to fall apart, ignoring thoughts, forcing myself to be uncomfortable, having to resist questioning things, and faking being okay with what Iām going through. It gets tiring having to do those things everyday. Itās so much easier to just give up. Iām doing my best to not give up. But the thought of having to fight OCD everyday and knowingly sounds much worse than just giving up. I feel like Iām a pretty reasonable person so having to live through this just doesnāt sound worth it and I think itās pretty messed up to shame someone for wanting to āgive upā if you know what I mean. So If thereās no true good outcome after consistent hard work. I think mental illnesses can be just as bad as a physical illness. But we donāt shame them for giving up a treatment because thereās no actual cure. We understand they canāt deal with the pain anymore and want to be set free. But when it comes to mental illness, being set free is looked down upon. But maybe there is no cure or good outcome and all we want is to be set free.
Good evening everyone! Long story short- I had Health OCD 12 years ago but was never diagnosed. No idea how thatās even possible, I had every sign and saw 2 licensed psychiatrists but they labeled me with GAD. Knowing what I know today, it was 100% Health OCD. I fought it for 3 years until one day I literally surrendered. No training and no NOCDā¦but I remember breaking down sobbing and accepting that my fate might be terminal. Obviously Iām still here and my fate wasnāt terminal and over time it went into remission. For 12 years! Gone! Amazing! Looking back, I still had minor signs but my maintenance dose of Cymbalta kept me straight and steady. Until I decided that I didnāt need Cymbalta anymore and I got off it cold turkey last January. Well, it came back with vengeance and brought a new theme. I finally got a proper diagnosis and found NOCD. Itās helped me but Iām still fighting - after two major relapses. Iām doing all my techniques but the voice is still loud in the mornings. The ruminating is still there. It definitely ebbs and flows and Iām questioning my meds again- Cymbalta seemed to help the last timeā¦ Anyway, I got to thinking about how I managed to heal the first time and how I just gave up, literally. I am wondering if thatās what it takes? My new theme has me fearing a local stalker- that he will come after me. I knowā¦itās not about the theme. But, as much as I want to surrender and get betterā¦my fight or flight is trying to keep me safe from this evil convicted felon. Those of you who have succeeded, did you finally have to give up too? Or can you use the ERP and meds to eventually quiet it? Thank you and much love.
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond