- Username
- Lavander
- Date posted
- 5y ago
Just keep in mind the counselor is a person too, she’s seen ALL kinds of OCD and I’m sure it’ll be fine! My counselor taught me how to handle my anxiety so well! He said “think of the worst that could happen then come up with a plan for if it does” it CHANGED MY LIFE. Your plan can be something like “worst case she twists my words and we miscommunicate, I can either try to get her to understand or find a different counselor.” No matter what it’ll be fine!
I agree this community is so lovely and so accepting. We can get through this! It's like a video game and we all have to defeat our own bosses.. or like in harry potter there was a part where students had to face their fears.. we will do it! If you feel you aren't in denial, you aren't. If when you stop thinking about it then it goes away, you are not in denial! You are who you want to be, it is you. Don't let OCD tell you who you are!
Thank you for the support!
Yes, counseling can be SUPER scary. It’s hard to open up to people who don’t know exactly what you’re thinking because sometimes you can’t explain what you’re thinking even, right?! It’s rough but, like I said before, I’m sure she’s had 100s of patients and has plenty of experience. Most counselors are super nice and supportive and you should be excited to have someone to vent to! She will help you and if she doesn’t don’t stop until you find someone who does.
Thank you all!! I started using this app yesterday and I have never seen in my entire life a community so strong, nice and supportive! We're all going to get through this, stronger and wiser!
Ask your therapist if she knows anything about ERP for OCD. If not, then you should find another therapist. This is coming from someone who went to five before getting diagnosed. It’s the most important you can ask tomorrow
Well done, it’s super brave of you to get help! And I’m also in the same situation, I’m really nervous to talk about all the stuff in my head haha Just take it slow, these professionals are there to listen and not judge. If you feel like you aren’t communicating yourself properly, just tell them this! I’m sure they would understand why you may be so nervous. They only want to help with the issues that you’re having.
Thanks for the advice, I'll do that
I'm just not doing alright at the moment. The thoughts keep on showing up. They keep on haunting me. I keep getting thoughts that say I'm really not a good person. Or that I have ulterior motives that are against who I am. Like if I'm a pedo or if I'm a sex offender, or an abuser. Or just not a good friend. I can't sit with them any longer. I just want medication to help me with this, even if it feels like I don't deserve to have it. I keep thinking about how even though I was uncomfortable talking to a 17 year old when I was 19 about their OCD, I still went anyway and helped them. Why did I do that? Was it some kind of exposure? Or when I was in the awkward position of someone passing by a tight space and their behind touched my elbow. I had thoughts saying to move it and not to move it and I didn't think I needed to because it wouldn't happen or it was just because I was zipping my bag up in the moment. But since it did happen, now I think I'm a deviant or a dangerous person. Or the thoughts talking about my exposure to porn as a teenager and doing very impulsive, cringe worthy things in relation to the whole exposure. The things I've watched, seen, or heard of. It all disturbs me very much and I can't take any of them back. Last time in therapy I just ended up crying because I just can't deal with this anymore. I'm even scared to try and get my family on board with medication. I'm just afraid they'll be bad at me if I do take it. At the same time though, I don't know if I care that much because it's either that or I just keep going through the days like.. this. I don't want to keep this up anymore. I just want a way out. I just want my life back. Right now it feels like I'll never get it back and it feels like all of what my intrusive thoughts say to me is true.
I went to see a psychiatrist today. She was pretty nice, but even though I was listing ALL symptoms of OCD, all the obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors, she was uncertain about it, as if she did not understand what was going on. She didn't rule out the possibility of me having OCD, but she didn't confirm it. I understand that doctors usually won't diagnose patients in their first visit, but goddamn... I'm so scared right now. I keep doubting that I have OCD myself, I identify with all the symptoms but I doubt it all the time and feel the need to reassure myself that I have the disorder. If I don't have OCD, my life is fucking over. She gave me a diagnosis for Generalized Anxiety Disorder and prescribed me some medication. I received that diagnosis because I shared some of the trouble I'm going through at work. But if I fear that I don't really have OCD if an actual mental health professional can't recognize that as OCD. All the relentless researching, rumination, mental checking/testing, spending hours doing these things to achieve a sense of certainty and avoiding things out of fear of getting triggered.
I dont know if I have ocd really but I think I do because I have the intrusive thoughts and I always try and do things to soothe the anxiety. I've been dealing with this for a few months and this is a debilitating cycle and I wish I wad normal. when I first spoke to my therapist about it, she said that people with ocd like to clean and count a certain amount of tiles and stuff like that. I really want to get tested because I want help but im scared that if they say I don't have ocd then that means my intrusive thoughts are true and that I'm the person that my mind makes me think I am and it scares me. I mostly deal with symptoms of pocd so I try my best to avoid kids and sometimes I won't even want to go in public because of it and I count in my head a lot and try and see if my body is reacting any kind of way. I also try and just push the thoughts a way and do research and sometimes it makes me feel better but in reality it's just a cycle and it's terrifying so can someone please comfort me or give me advice and tips to help me feel better because I really need it. I just want to get help and stop this cycle because it's slowly killing me. I don't want to be the person my head thinks I am but in my head it's just constant fear anxiety and uncertainty.
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