- Username
- nicolemw
- Date posted
- 5y ago
Call a few cognitive psychologists in your area and ask what kind if experience they have dealing with OCD and ERP therapy. Someone who has a background in it or a lot of experience with it will be able to tell you definitively. The more they’ve dealt with it before, the better equipped they’ll be to help you if you wind up being diagnosed.
I would recommend meeting with a psychiatrist, because their main role (at least where I’m from) is to diagnose and also prescribe meds. While a family doctor can prescribe meds, a lot of them don’t have the same knowledge of mental health as a psychiatrist. Most therapists aren’t able to prescribe meds and as far as I know some don’t even provide official diagnoses. I had a 40 min meeting with a psychiatrist for the first time, and she was able to diagnose me just from that. They do it every day and know the DSM-V front to back, so if you’re just looking for a diagnosis and meds at this point I think that would probably be your best bet. I hope this helps!:)
Unfortunately it may take some time before you find the right therapist (I tried several over the years), but when you do its so worth the search. You can do this! ?
I’m so nervous to go to therapy because it was such a waste of money last time but I know if this doesn’t subside I’ll have no choice! If i don’t have ocd then what could I possibly have? Just repetitive thoughts? That’ll mean I’m such a toxic person for what I’m doing to my boyfriend through compulsively confessing every ROCD thought. Honestly there’s no way I don’t have some kind of mental disorder the way my life has been affected.
I’d still try and find an ocd specialist, it’s definitely worth it. I understand your hesitation but really believe it is the best way to get help. Let me know if you have any specific questions regarding treatment or anything, happy to help!
One bad experience with a therapist doesn’t mean you’ll always have bad experiences. You just have to find someone that is a better fit. I agree with what was suggested above. Good luck!
When and how did you first discover you may have OCD? I'm beginning to think OCD is one of the most understudied, misunderstood mental health issues ever. I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder about 6 years ago after I started suffering from panic attacks, but only just recently discovered my condition could be much more specific than that. I've been suffering from intrusive thoughts and complusions since I was a teenager with a variety of themes. And honestly this app and amazing community has opened my eyes to it. I'm curious if anyone else has had an experience like mine where they were just thrown into the general diagnosis category of just having anxiety and/or depression and is only just now coming to terms with having OCD? What has been your experience with the therapists on this app? I'm using another popular, pricey app for talk therapy at the moment, but so far 4 therapists have ghosted me on it so my confidence is feeling pretty shot. Has talk therapy and working with a therapist on here been successful for you?
i'm sorry in advance for how long this post is and if it's to much information. i'm undiagnosed but have been struggling with compulsions and intrusive thoughts since i was 7 or 8. My worst intrusive thoughts theme has been about p*d*phil*s. I've been dealing with it since my freshman and sophomore year but these thoughts didn't become debilitating until June of last year. I had a panic attack and confessed to my parents about these intrusive thoughts. They were obviously shocked and share. I felt so ashamed and like a monster. After talking with my dad he said we would see a therapist about it. Sadly we never did the first appointment we were late and missed are spot and the second appointment i sprained my ankle the night before so instead i was in the hospital. After that i closed myself off i tried dealing with them on my own using sources like NOCD and stuff. I did try to bring up going to therapy to my parents. Every time they would ask me if the intrusive thoughts were back and I would lie saying "no i just would like to go to therapy" I was so scared they'd be afraid of me and stop loving me, especially my mom. Eventually after awhile my parents forgot about it and I tried ignoring these intrusive thoughts because I was so focused and stressed from school. I decided I could just wait till I turn 18 and schedule myself into therapy. recently though my intrusive thoughts have gotten worse. I recently had a convo with one of my friends who has intrusive thoughts as well and she's encouraging me to talk to my parents. I'm asking y'all what should I do. As much as I'm scared I want to get help because I'm sick of living and feeling like i'm day away from acting on my intrusive thoughts.
I'm trying hard not to ask for reassurance here, but I'm in need of some advice. I know that I've been diagnosed with OCD, and I'm fairly confident that I've dealt with it consistently over my life. The theme has changed over time, and my current theme is being concerned that I may have narcissistic personality disorder. While I know that this obsession with NPD is a product of OCD, I also can't help but feel that I match so many of the symptom critera that it may be something worth looking into and working on. As you might expect though, this is kind of a huge conundrum, because searching for an actual diagnosis or talking to a psychotherapist might make my OCD about the topic even worse, or even if I get through ERP and then look for a diagnosis, it may cause me to relapse. I guess I'm just wondering what I should do about this. Should I just live with the doubt forever? If I do, would I be putting others at risk? What if there are actual things I need to work on, and by not seeking NPD specific treatment, I'll never get better? Should I work through ERP first and only then start thinking about this stuff? Or should I just not seek these answers out period? Again, trying not to ask for reassurance. I guess I'm wondering what y'all would do if you were in this situation.
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