Anonym1l
- Date posted
- 3y
Lms526Lms526
- Date posted
- 3y
OCD is a chronic condition. So there is no cure. But ERP can help you experience a major reduction in your symptoms. It can help you break the OCD cycle. Just prior to starting treatment I was exactly where you are now. I have had OCD symptoms starting at age 8. I was diagnosed in August at the age of 45. When I first started treatment, I had pretty much convinced myself that my therapist was going to tell me I didn't have OCD. Then when I got diagnosed, my OCD started telling me "Even though ERP has worked for countless others, it won't work for you. You're the exception." There is no shame in taking medication for a mental health issues. Mental illnesses are medical illnesses. OCD is believed to be caused by a malfunction in your brain. Its no different than taking medication for a thyroid problem or insulin for diabetes. ERP is a very specialized type of therapy that doesn't require years of therapy. Usually just a few months. ERP has been life changing for me. I feel much more stable and OCD is still there. But its more in the background. Are there still times where I get triggered? Yes. But I can handle it much better now. ERP is not fun or easy. Its one of the hardest things I've ever done. You get out of ERP what you put into it. I suggest going all in. Everyone recovers at a different pace. Some recovery pretty quickly. Others, it takes more time. Its not a race. Recovery is possible.
NicaNica
- Date posted
- 3y
It’s true, just like any other mental illness. When I learned that I can’t cure my mental illnesses as a child (and I have many), I actually felt relief. What you can do is go into ERP therapy and learn how to deal and heal from your OCD so it can be managed. You’ll also learn coping mechanisms that’ll be in your mental health tool belt for the rest of your life that you can pull out whenever you need to.
ARTnotOCDARTnotOCD
- Date posted
- 3y
Like many illnesses of the mind and body there is no CURE for OCD, but there absolutely are TREATMENTS that make it MANAGEABLE. And for many, medications play a part, but meds or no meds, therapy is very helpful, or I should say good, OCD-specific therapy is very helpful. As you learn more about your OCD and how to fight it, it will get easier. And even if/when there’s a downward part of a cycle, you’ll still have those tools to help you recover. I know now everything seems pointless or that this pain and this part of it will last forever, but that’s not the case. Sending you strength and comfort. 💪🏼💜
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Anonymous
- Date posted
- 21w
Feel lost and without hope
I dont know what to do anymore. I think Ive had the 'pure O' version of OCD for more than ten years. I feel like so much of my life has been wasted from this disease. For the longest time I just tried to ignore the intrusive thoughts, and push them off as anxiety, and basically dissociated for years of my life. Feels like Ive just been on autopilot and a shell of myself for nearly 15 years. Its actually hard to even imagine of all the experiences, emotions, connections with others, and personal growth that Ive missed out on- if I do, I think it would be too much to handle. I think Ive even forgot and dont even know at this point what it is to live a normal life and experience positive emotions. Now that I sought treatment for it specifically, it feels like it's gotten worse. Like by acknowledging that part of myself, suddenly added focus just makes it more real and in the forefront now. I wonder if I am actually going insane. Will not go into details for reassurance but the thoughts just rip my soul out. Its so difficult as well because I will get random 'clarity moments' throughout the day where I feel like Ive solved something, then get completely derailed by another OCD thought stream and forget everything. It feels like Im just on a merry-go-round of hell, not going anywhere thinking I am at times.
kitchensink234
- Date posted
- 20w
Hopeless
I know everything im dealing with is OCD. I have accepted that, but I just feel down. I don’t want to live the rest of my life like this. I just want to be free from this horrible illness. Any positive stories and recovery journeys will help. What did recovery look like for you? I used to be so happy, I miss it so much. This feels like it’s taken everything from me. How do you just live your life despite how you feel? Any hope will help!
beloiter
- Date posted
- 18w
how do i survive this?
i want to get this out of the way; i’m not suicidal. i’m a 17 y/o guy whose been living with OCD for what i assume is most of my life despite only getting the diagnoses last year. i’ve been hustling on despite my mental health really consuming my life to moments in time where i question my sanity and self control. it’s the lack of control that really kills me with this disorder. each day i wake up, it’s the same persistent reminders; it’s the same meaningless conversations replaying; it’s the same small rituals that just barely let me breathe before the thoughts return. nothing i do is gonna stop that unbearable monogamy where i have to sit back and let my eyes be peeled open; i don’t know how to live with that. no pill has worked on me, and any response i give the thoughts just make them worse. right now i’m trying to just sit through it and not care. don’t let it effect me emotionally; try not to feel the discomfort. then it starts to manifest into physical pain where i feel the bones of my chest have this pressure—like staples entering them at the rhythm of a heart beat. i’m getting though this, but i’m not enjoying my life when doing so. i don’t know if i have a future where it isn’t just this repeating through the process of each day. i don’t want to spend the rest of my life avoiding the one thing i’m supposed to have control over. i also don’t want to drown my days in self medicating or get addicted doing so—like i already am. i don’t see the way to make this life of mine work, especially given how much i don’t have to do deal with at my age. of course that will come to. look, i’m not at risk; i really don’t want in anyway to die despite being basically hopeless. i’m numb to the pain of it, i don’t feel anything in my desire to escape these cycles, i just need an out. i’m not seeing a way to move forward. i’m willing to hear anything.
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