- 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!
If you had a college counselor tell you that you have OCD and even said he would play my story on an OCD commercial if he could, would you say I have been diagnosed? He technically can’t diagnose because he works for a college (even though he has a PHD in counseling). I’ve also been prescribed zoloft from my doctor for ocd but she didn’t technically diagnose me either. I always feel slightly ashamed for talking about ocd on social media because I haven’t TECHNICALLY been diagnosed. Can anyone relate to this or can give their opinion on if they think it matters that I haven’t been officially diagnosed? Then again, I’m not even sure what that process looks like.
This is half a vent session, half me asking for advice but: My OCD symptoms started on april 2020, one month after the pandemic. that has led me to constantly question whether it’s OCD or anxiety and of course i can’t really diagnose myself but it behaves very differently from anxiety. i’ve also been doing research and reading about OCD for over a year and i honestly honestly think i have OCD because i fit basically all the symptoms? anyways, I finally brought it up to my therapist a few appointments ago and i felt like they kind of dismissed me? not sure if that’s normal. they told me it’s could be because of heightened anxiety and to practice “thought stopping”. that has made me feel sooo bad about myself because i start spiraling and believing my intrusive thoughts MUST be true because of what they said, and because it makes me feel like I’m just using the OCD label for “attention”. i’m not sure if i should bring it up again in a future appointment? or maybe find a new therapist? or maybe I don’t have OCD at all? I don’t know what to do
How can I go about getting a proper diagnosis if my health care provider isn’t knowledgeable about OCD? Right now I’m going through a lot of “pure” OCD thoughts surrounding things like relationships and I’m worried if I try to get diagnosed my provider would overlook it because my obsessions and compulsions are mental. I also only really have one theme at a time, so it becomes tough when all the question they ask are nothing about the theme I’m struggling with currently. I don’t know what to do. I feel like if I’m not officially diagnosed that I’m lying to myself and to others.
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