I’m new here and was excited for my first therapist appointment Monday to begin what I’m really hoping is the recovery process from debilitating Contamination OCD that I guess I’ve dealt with for many years but in recent months has destroyed me mentally and to a certain physically since I’m afraid of eating food (how’s it safe when nearly all of it was handled by other people?) or working out since it isn’t easy to do hygienically but they cancelled on me and I’m hoping a new appointment is scheduled soon. I’m losing hope here. I’m even afraid of showing my precious dog affection since this damn virus could transmit from animals and he’s so close to the ground (which besides anything other people touch terrifies me the most) and I’m losing the fight of wanting to continue living because of how much I’m suffering from this. I’m really hoping that if the vaccine is ever distributed it’s going to decrease my symptoms since that’s what I’m most afraid of but until then every minute of every day is pure mental anguish and I don’t want to suffer anymore. A psychiatrist prescribed Effexor and while that’s helped with depression the side effects are really rough and the debilitating OCD is still there so on my next appointment Friday he’s going to probably switch me to an anti anxiety drug called buspirone and I don’t know if that’s going to help any. I need help. 😢

Hey there. I know we don’t know each other but you sound a lot like me. I don’t have as much of the contamination stuff but I can relate with all of your feelings. I am also starting Monday and have a similar outlook. I had to check myself into a psychiatric hospital because I couldn’t stop obsessing over how I needed to punish myself for embarrassing the people around me. It’s scary and also really new for me. But we have to have hope. We know there are lots of people out there like us now and we can believe that the therapy will work. It’s actually really comforting for me to know I have OCD, because the treatments are way more effective than what’s out there for the more “general stuff”. I believe something like 60% get better just on SSRIs alone. Effexor is a little different (SNRI vs SSRI), so maybe your doctor could look into switching you to something more effective. The good news is that all the science shows that ERP is super effective for this stuff. Please don’t give up. I come on here looking for encouragement and I hope I can remind you that your strength and willingness to get better is inspiring for me and so many others. Thank you for being so open about your struggles and reminding me that I’m not alone. Idk how this app works completely but if you ever want to talk friend to friend, I am here for you. Hang in there anonymous friend! By the way I have taken buspirone and it does work! I also really rely on Vistaril for anxiety and it really works for me. You can do this, don’t give up!!

Hi there, I understand how you feel. I used to get really debilitating thoughts (still do) about what others touch and things on the floor (lke when my phone falls on the ground). I was in a really dark place in the middle of the pandemic, lost my boyfriend, had no one around, felt super hopeless and I just wanted to live in denial. I did an outpatient therapy program my sister found for me and it changed everything . I won’t tell you I no longer have those thoughts because I do, but I don’t let them win any more. I work out in a parking lot full of stains now and while it can bother me, I don’t let it stop me from living my life. There’s hope and ERP really works. Feel free to connect with me (not sure if that’s possible here because I’m new as well). There is hope, and I think you’re headed in the right direction by finding this platform!

Yeah! Look up Rogers Behavioral Health. I think they have them all over the country?