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Can anyone talk about what Zoloft does for the brain in the treatment of OCD?

Last year my dad tested positive for Covid but I went to the movies with my brother a day or two after! I wasn’t gonna go but my brother wouldn’t stop asking so I caved in and went. I wore a mask and thought I wouldn’t get anyone sick. Even worse, I went to the supermarket afterwards! Only because it was a quick trip and I passed people quickly. I can’t remember if I wore a mask but I’m sure I did because I wore one at the movies. But don’t I belong in jail for being so careless? Or at the very least, shouldn’t I feel guilty everyday for the rest of my life? I’m a monster. I can’t live with myself.

Ive seen a movie about dementia, and ocd got involved in it. I googled about ocd fear of having dementia cause i was interested if others have this fear too, but i didnt got what i wanted. Instead everywhere i read articles about ocd causes dementia, risks factors, and im questioning if this is true. This is not my main fear, i just developed it now but i know i have a huge health anxiety problem, but bc of this i dont believe in articles like this.

Hey guys, I recently was diagnosed with OCD and it started with health, then false memory/real event, the career doubt, and incest, and now the worst of them all pOCD. I have no will to live and want to die every waking minute. Pray to god every night that I have a stroke or something in my sleep because these thoughts are so gross but i can’t stop thinking about them, and it’s my mind convincing myself that like it when I know I don’t, it’s so hard and if I don’t figure this out i don’t know how much longer I will last

Recently I have started obsessing over my looks especially with regards to aging. I feel that I'm getting "old" (silly I know, I'm 25 turning 26) and I feel like I'm getting body dismorphia or something. Ive realised I'm scared of losing my youth (not necessarily with regards to looks). I am scared to become an actual adult with responsibility. This also correlates with me moving in with my boyfriend and things progressing towards more serious stuff (engagement maybe?). And next year I'll graduate. It's all so scary. And I feel like I'm very very strict and obsessive with a lot of things in my life right now. Anyone relate?

I’ve never been on birth control but I’m thinking that I might soon. I’m a little worried because I’m not sure how it’s going to affect my ocd and my hormones. I also get depressed so I’m worried it will affect this too. Can anyone share their experiences on birth control and how it’s affected both their ocd and non-ocd parts of their lives? Right now I’m leaning towards the implant so any advice on that would also be helpful. Thank you ❤️

Hi everyone my name is ysabelle and I am 16 years old. I would like to share my on going battle with OCD, DPDR, depression and anxiety. About a few months ago I had a intrusive thought that sounded similar like “what if I kill myself, would I be normal again?” (Going off of my DPDR) for those who don’t know what DPDR is, it is basically feeling fake, Truman show, out of body. There is depersonalization which I have 24/7 with episodes of derealization. I’ve had this for 3 years and on going. I immediately went into fight or flight mode and started having a panic attack. I couldn’t be around knifes because a thought would pop up into my head like “what if you cut yourself”. I was so terrified of these thoughts. I was thinking am i suicidal?? Am I depressed?? Eventually I stopped eating, talking, taking care of myself, long story short I fell into depression. Now today as I am writing this my depression has sadly worsened and now I have no hope to get better. I developed existential thoughts so with that being said I have both DPDR & existential thoughts so sadly I question myself if I know my mother, grandmother, brothers, family members and myself. My mom used to be my comfort person with anxiety attacks, panic attacks anything I would feel safe in her arms. Now I feel debilitated and alone because my fear of “forgetting” or getting dementia latched onto my DPDR. I still have suicidal intrusive thoughts but when they pop up into my head I just feel more defeated and depressed. I’m writing this to find someone who’s going through the same thing as me hoping to find some type of comfort & relief. I used to be terrified of these thoughts but I’m not anymore and this makes me think am I getting to that point? Thank you for reading if you’ve made it to the end. Thank you.

Hey Everyone, I have been recently diagnosed with OCD within the past year. Finding this information out gave me an answer to so many years of struggle and feeling alone. I have had ups and downs and have been successful for a long time along this path of my own. Unfortunately, I experienced a massive panic attack 3 years ago that hospitalized me and has left me feeling at the 'start' again, but this time it feels worse than it ever has before. Anything that puts me potentially by myself or having to do anything by myself I cannot fathom, I can barely make it to the gas station at the corner of my house alone. I have been in therapy, went through EMDR/ACT and CBT. I was doing great for a little bit and even made one appointment about 10 minutes away from my home all alone by myself (also note I am in a new area completely that I just moved too). I was on medication at this time *lexapro 20MG*, I am no longer on it due to my bloodwork being extremely abnormal for my age. Now that I am no longer on it - I have fear creeping in that the lexapro kept me sane and that I cannot cope without it. I understand this is not the case entirely but there is something in me that believes that to be true. Long story short, I am looking for individuals who have had the same experience as me and could give me some hope into getting back to my normal routine (even knowing I have OCD now). I just want to be independent again and not burden my loved ones and learn to be okay with myself. Thanks in advance!

Does anyone have experience with Hydroxyzine for short term anxiety? My doctor just prescribed it but I’m curious to see if others have tried it.

I had an intense discomfort in my upper abdomen/lower chest (couldn’t really tell) for most of the day, and I have spent hours thinking I’m going to have a heart attack (despite being a decently healthy 18 yo) because of my moderate maybe chest pain combined with back/neck soreness and a headache (which I think was caused by the stress). I took some antiacids + neutralizers and the pain mostly went away, but everytime my head hurts or I breathe in too deep and feel a crook in my chest I immediately jump to heart attack. I’m scared to fall asleep because I think I’ll die in my sleep. I might go waste money at urgent care just because I need to hear from a professional that it’ll be okay. This similar feeling happened 3 weeks when I thought I had a brain aneurysm, I feel so scared

I wanted to take a moment to share how ERP has given me freedom back, which I’ve been reflecting on lately. I used to have terrible driving anxiety. I didn’t like driving more than 15 miles on the freeway, and avoided doing so. Forget driving at night or when it was raining-so out of the question. While I really didn’t want to work on this, I told my therapist, and she gave me some exposure work. I watched videos of car crashes, and wrote a worry script with my worst case scenario. Prior to ERP, I preferred other people drive to the far off places, and if I drove by myself, I was constantly checking my body, in case I got light headed or lost control of my ability to focus and steer and brake. Which truthfully just caused more anxiety, which didn’t help. So, for several weeks, I worked on this fear until it got easier to manage. And yesterday, I drove 45 minutes away, so I could attend an OCD walk hosted by the IOCDF. I met someone in real life that I’ve seen in my support groups, I walked with a friend who was recently diagnosed herself, and I was surrounded by people who have OCD, a disorder that can be so invisible and isolating, so terribly isolating. To be in a community of people with similar struggles to mine, after I struggled with feeling isolated for so long, was beautiful. There are many wins and struggles that led me here, but being able to drive again, to take the reins back from a fear that controlled me, is more wonderful than I can say. I can drive alone now, I can go to favorite cities and beaches that are farther from home to do some self care. If my friend is tired, I can drive instead of hoping she would. The thoughts aren’t gone, and I know they don’t disappear. I do sometimes think “I’m going to die on the freeway today,” or “there’s going to be an earthquake on this bridge as I drive over it.” But the thoughts are more like whispers now, easier to manage and talk back to. Today my anxiety was going up, I feel like I don’t have control over my upcoming work week, I know I needed to relax but I didn’t know how to relax in just the “right way.” But I can breathe through the things that used to drown me. So if your ERP feels like a nightmare, or hard, keep going. It’s so worth it, even if you’re clawing your way through like I was early on. ❤️

I had OCD as a child and then my symptoms became less noticeable and easier to manage as I got older. Now I am in my 30’s with my first dog and am constantly terrified he is sick or dying. Any abnormal behavior triggers it- a cough, not eating as much as usual, excessive sleeping. I monitor how many times he goes to the bathroom. It’s exhausting. I know logically that he’s okay, but I just can’t seem to shake the anxiety and OCD pattern of calling his vet, asking my husband if the dog is okay, or taking him to the urgent care. Anyone have any advice? This is my first post here. Thank you in advance.

So many thoughts are coming into my head right now I don’t know how to think. I don’t even know how I am going to put this into words on here I just don’t know what to do . I am so scared of throwing up it’s so hard to explain . Everybody tells me “well no likes getting sick” but they don’t get it. It’s not just that, I am scared about getting any major illness and my mind keeps making me think that everything will give me food poisoning or a stomach bug if I am not careful or if I don’t check my temperature ten times in a row . I have to wash every produce throughly if I don’t I will do it again. And it sucks . Every time my stomach hurts I think that I will get sick. I barely eat and sleep because I am so scared . I am scared to sleep because I genuinely think that “anything can happen while I am asleep” so even if I take sleep medication my mind makes me stay awake out of fear. I just want to feel normal . I can never eat out without doing research of the place I am eating at and even after that it doesn’t help. I always feel worried that I will get sick on an important date just because that day is important like Halloween or an upcoming concert or hanging out with friends , so now I just mainly stay at home … but it hurts me because i want to live ( it's ironic because Liv is my name) so badly . my dream is to someday go on a Europe trip but i can hardly leave my state without thinking that something bad will happen to me . its getting unbearable at times . I wonder what it would feel like to not be completely burdened by anxiety and horribly disgusting thoughts every second of my life. And if you're wondering why I haven't had any medication prescribed to me is because I am also scared about taking any medication . I just feel helpless and it's my own fault . And I know I am holding myself back at times but I just don't know how to stop being scared and how to stop worrying about every aspect of my life . It's going to drive me insane .

Hi everyone. I’m very new to this group. I’ve suffered my whole life with ocd on and off but never as bad as I have over the last few weeks. It has been years since I felt symptoms. I’m 42 and curious to ask some women if perimenopause could be making it all of a sudden worse? It’s just a curiosity. Thanks in advance Marie

I’m having major health ocd right now. I’m on vacation and since the day we left I’ve been having heart palpitations. It’s getting to the point that I’m afraid my heart is gonna stop beating or something. Or that I’m like gonna go into cardiac arrest. I’ve had heart palpitations before but I feel like these are happening more often. I have had major anxiety leading up to this vacation anyways… but now the palpitations have made me absolutely miserable and I just want to go home and go to the ER (I go to the ER often). Anybody else get heart palpitations frequently? And I’m also like hyper aware of my heart beat in general Feels like it’s beating so hard.

so i just realized that i’m having panic/anxiety attacks related to derealization. basically i think about existing and being my own being that only i control and no one else. then i start to panic and i just did that about half an hour again. i then start to worry that i don’t want to be here which has been leading into suicidal ocd because i’ve never actually been suicidal (and am NOT). i get really bad nausea when these attacks happen and it’s really scary because then my emetaphobia gets triggered. does anyone have techniques about how to ground yourself and calm down when you feel it coming?

Absolutely convinced I have skin cancer. I have a lot of moles.. some are big and dark. A lot of people have said they look normal but I’m still panicking. I’m 25 and have never been to a dermatologist and most of these moles have been on my body since birth. I can’t bring myself to go to the dermatologist bc I’m convinced that I have cancer that has gotten so advanced that I’m going to die. I know I need to go to the dr and it’s better to go sooner than later but I am SO convinced that I’ll be told I’m going to die if I go and I’m not ready to hear the news. Anyone struggle with something similar? Any advice or comments? 😭

Well I haven’t been diagnosed with ocd, but I have had themes in the past (health, and sexuality, as well as magical thinking) and to be honest if you were to ask me in april-may I would’ve told you that im super confident this is ocd. Now, I just don’t know, I know I shouldn’t be asking here and telling strangers to diagnose me and that I should go see a psychiatrist instead and I will soon enough. These Violent Thoughts have not gone away, only my emotions have. Thankfully I think I can classify the thoughts as intrusive (altough I think I involuntarily bring them up) and not ideation, but this again comes to me feeling numb, I think this is depression, but I just feel like I just don’t care anymore about anything. Just typing that I feel like I don’t care but also makes my stomach feel a little wierd. Recently I feel so off, Brain fog, and constant headaches on the back and top of my head, I don’t know if this is psychosis, dissociation, or a brain tumor. I don’t drink nor do I smoke and I’m glad I don’t but it makes me wonder what is the root of these mental problems I’m currently having. But it’s also bad because when people try to give me supportive words and advice, I cant feel anything when they do. I know that I’m not myself in the moment, and that I desperately need help. I’m sorry for those who have suicidal thoughts or ocd, but I wish my thoughts were more about myself rather then others (again sorry if you’re dealing with this and I hope you recover from these thoughts) and only two of my friends know what I’m going trough, and a few online strangers. I haven’t told my family because the fear of how they’ll view me on my thoughts. I just never thought that I would hit a mental health crisis when I’m about to be 18 going to college. I’m desperately trying to find a job so I could pay for a psychiatrist on my own. I think though I’ll ask my college to see if they have any there. I do want to get better and be normal like other people, but sometimes I wish I was just dead. Sorry for the long rant but this is the truth on how I’m feeling

Hello all! This is my first post. I’m so thankful I’ve found this community. I was diagnosed with OCD in 1999. Back when I was first diagnosed, SSRI’s were just coming around and it was a leading treatment for OCD. I am SO THANKFUL for these meds, but for the most part, I’ve gone for almost 21 years unmonitored on Zoloft. Sometimes adjusting my own dose. I know this isn’t the correct way to do things. I have also never tried any other form of therapy along with it. I would love, at some point to get off of Zoloft to just see how I function. I e raised two children and been married 26 years on these meds and the side effects. Maybe in conjunction with other therapy, I could reduce the meds, who knows?Have any of you been on an SSRI for that many years?

I keep a digital journal, and this is one of my entries. Does anyone relate to this? I’d like to know your thoughts. 🩷 “A video on Instagram heavily triggered my OCD today, and honestly my instinct was to skip it which I did initially, but then I thought “You know what? No. I need do an exposure.” So, I went back, and I rewatched it, and I sat with the (horrible) feelings that came along with watching this video. It has been really hard for me to sit with anxiety, guilt, and uncertainty. My heart rate has been extra high today, which has been frustrating and annoying because I have POTS so my heart rate is already chronically high majority of the time, and it being high due to anxiety when I’m laying down and trying to relax too is just frustrating. I’m very tired today, but also very anxious, so I feel like I haven’t been able to unwind enough to sleep. I laid down for a few hours but probably only stayed asleep for one hour total. My OCD is also making me feel as though I not only deserve the physical symptoms of my mental disorder(s), but that I also deserve to suffer with chronic health issues too. I have realized this is how I subconsciously deal with my physical health issues, mentally. I tell myself it’s okay because I deserve to bear these physical burdens and I deserve this suffering. All in all, today has been rough. But I’m surviving.”