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I am probably going to start sertraline soon. Does anyone have any experience with this medication?

I'm drowsy, which is a frequent problem in the motel room I live in, but I want to get something posted. I don't have the energy to post everything I need to say. I need someone who can help me navigate forms and processes to do several things, not all of which I'm going to post right now. I'm in an abusive relationship (not physically), and many agree, including The National Domestic Violence Hotline. They said I'm also being financially abused. I have no friends or family IRL, and I'm alone. For years, my only socializing has been giving servers my orders, paying cashiers, discussing services, and talking to my boyfriend (which usually doesn't go well, plus we mostly avoid conversation with each other, because it's best). I can't leave because of OCD, panic disorder, physical disabilities, and finances. I'm severely obese, which has caused a lot of difficulties. I get out of breath just reaching for some things and I deal with a lot of pain and discomfort. I can't walk stores. I often eat at one restaurant (I try to eat as healthy as I can there), but recently, I have to ask for a table closer to the bathroom. They often don't understand how difficult it is for me to walk from further away. I get exhausted and sweaty when using the bathroom and people stare at me. Once in awhile, people ask if I'm OK. I sometimes worry I will have to sit down before I get back to my table if it's not close enough. Using the bathroom takes me an embarrassingly long time, partially for physical reasons, partially because of OCD. I suffer from urge incontinence. I literally have to live my life around it. I've begged my boyfriend to order the much better-fitting, more comfortable, and more absorbent underwear I tried samples of, but he doesn't. The cheap underwear doesn't come in my size and is worse in every way. The OCD and panic disorder are insinuated in pretty much every part of my life, including the disabilities. No one gets it or understands. No one who can help me takes Medicare here. I get overwhelmed easily and my head gets foggy, and I don't have the energy or can't think right (racing thoughts) trying to call resources, and they sometimes rush me, cut me off, or seem impatient. Yes, I am on medication and have been for most of my life. I've been on many medications, and I have a very different opinion of them and the mental health system than when I was young. I'm 57 and I've been dealing with this since I was 10. I have severe dental problems and it affects how I eat, look, speak, and feel. It's humiliating. At the same time, what I eat in general affects my body in unpleasant ways sometimes. Soft foods aren't always the best, but I can't eat really hard foods. My boyfriend and I have lived in a motel room for about six years, plus bounced from hotels for awhile before that, after my boyfriend lost his house. It's hell. I'm not getting into what some label "politics." I have things I need help with regarding that. I could say SO much more, and there's so much I haven't gone into (like the abuse). I need someone who can help me, not just make me feel better because we talked. I need someone who can help me make changes.

Hello! I’m 17 and I already go to a therapist for anxiety and OCD and I feel like the wider amount of people I ask for advice may help me find other ways to improve. So in short, I keep getting thoughts of this one time I was pinned down by my uncle (I think? It’s a bit blurry) and all that I know was that after I was crying and I was pushing him away. I don’t know maybe it was because of the lack of space or control of the situation, I tend to get really anxious and even cry when I cannot control situations, whether it’s on planes or literally driving places I have to constantly check around me so I can Prepare to get hit by a car or run off the highway. I come up with numerous plans to escape school shootings without being harmed and even saving my friend, I have found out where her classes are and how I can take her and run out of there and I have been trying to get fit incase I have to fight back to protect myself and anyone I love but it is a constant thought. Another thing that comes to come constantly is the taste of my mouth, right now I ate dried strawberry’s ( I love dried fruit) and I have that lingering taste in my mouth and I want to throw up and my stomach feels still empty but I literally ate lunch already and breakfast so I wonder why sometimes I try to put salt on my tongue to make it go away but it just won’t. Another thing I am Christian so I Often pray, but when I pray I have to atleast do the cross symbol on my face 2 times, or any even number, I usually do it when I’m eating, when I wake up, when I get on the bus, when I get in my car, and when I go to sleep (4 times when I sleep, 2 times for the other times) and when I forgot I do it 8 times and sometimes I wonder if I’m doing enough, anyways that’s all I can write currently, any advice for this would be appreciated.

I have bad cough and now weird chest symptoms, sometimes pain, sometimes burning, sometimes like a stabbing feeling or idk how to tell it. I know its not dangerous but its really annoying, i didnt had this bad acid reflux for years and idk why it happend... i cant eat anything. I dont have that acid taste in my mouth, its just the chest pressure and cough. I took meds but it didnt helped... What are ways to recover from acid reflux or eliminate it without meds? I kinda feel like mine is there because of stress... but now acid reflux makes me more stressful so its just feeds itself. I know its not dangerous but sometimes im afraid it will do something bad to my body. Or if not, its still stressful to deal with it and i dont want to lose my control of my emotions and start to get depressed and afraid cause i wont recover from this....

Hello all, I have been on 50mg of sertraline since 2023 and just recently as of 3 weeks ago began to taper off to 25mg. Has anyone experienced side effects due to this? Mine have been terrible flu like symptoms, for the past 11 days I have had terrible headaches, body aches, and hot and cold sweats non stop. Has anyone experienced these issues?

Hey all, I’ve been having some ebbs and flows in recovery, but for the most part I’ve really had a lot of improvements in quality of life since starting treatment in 2023. Something that really trips me up is ruminating on my past and looking for “evidence” or “proof” that the things that I’m obsessed with are real and not OCD. I spend quite a lot of time doing this. I wasn’t fully aware I was doing it until recently. Example: that I’m secretly gay and lying to everyone (I’m bi), that I’m a horrible person deep down, that I’ve never actually loved any person including my family, that I have the “wrong” political or religious beliefs. I look for proof in every corner of my past. It makes some sense that I think this way because with my previous therapist, who I saw for 8 years and did not diagnose me with OCD, we would look for evidence and proof that my obsessions are irrational and I learned to deal with them that way. At the time it was a lot of health concern and contamination themes, but I literally learned to ruminate and search for relief. But I just kept getting sicker and sicker until I got diagnosed with OCD. It’s a frustrating compulsion that keeps showing up for me. What if these scary things are true? What if it’s not OCD at all and I’m in denial? Have I lied my way into thinking I have OCD? It’s so hard. Anyway, I’m curious if anyone else has come across this in recovery? Let me know your thoughts and I hope you’re well. ❤️

i have been diagnosed with OCD & generalized anxiety disorder. for some reason, i’ve been very hyper aware of everything. like the way i talk, the way i see the world, how certain things sound/look/feel, and it’s very distressing. i feel like the hyper awareness makes me afraid of things? like for some reason, my mind attached to cartoons, and i was hyperfocusing on it, and got extremely scared, like scared of the cartoon for no reason? i’ve done this a lot, and i get scared i have psychosis or schizophrenia, or something that makes you afraid of things for no unknown reason. i feel so scared that this is my new normal…. im heartbroken. so many what if’s. did i just ruin my own life?? 💔

I had like a really bad argument with my mom basically about her complaining about my “attitude” and “constant arrogance” like okay firstly 😭 yes i do have an attitude and am irritable but im not THAT bad 😭🙏 she was saying that im a “pest” and that “its not enjoyable to live with someone who makes other people miserable” like 😅🧍‍♀️ oh ☺️ and then i tell her that i know im struggling and that im going to therapy to try to get better and trying to possibly get a diagnosis and she says “your generation just wants something to deal with. You want something to be wrong with you. ‘Trying to get better’ isn’t good enough… would you be able to stand someone like yourself? You’re just choosing this antisocial, narcissistic behaviour and harass everyone… You need to pull yourself together. No matter how much effort we put into you, you will never be happy. You want some medicine? Some diagnosis? Because that will solve everything?” 😭😭😭 and the way she said “some medication”- she sounded so disgusted and appalled and now i feel ashamed… i mean im not officially diagnosed with ocd and it is never my intention to self diagnose- but im sorry its VERY obvious when you have ocd and know of ocd- its so distinct. Everything- the compulsions, reassurance, intrusive thoughts, themes, patterns, perfectionism- but she has me overthinking- what if i dont have ocd 😭 and ive just been lying to myself and everyone maybe its not ocd and im just sick in the head or trying to self sabotage- and especially when my supposed ocd is calm or not as loud i get so anxious “what if i dont have ocd…”

About two hours ago I saw a tiktok of someone who was about level 2 support level for their autism and isnt able to go to school because of it among other things, and ive been freaking out ever since i frequently obsess over mental illnesses or physical illnesses and thinking I have them but one im actually pretty sure of me having is autism but seeing things like that makes me think that im wrong, that my family members are right with saying im just special because i feel like i do not struggle enough, if that makes sense, my friends believe that it could be a possibility, but im not sure, i dont know how to calm myself, no one is responding to me right now and everyone is busy im just struggling

For starters I was on this medicine before i remember the first few weeks were very scary and debilitating. I don’t remember why I stopped taking it , it was about 7 months ago. but I just recently started back because my ocd and anxiety has been off the chain. I keep having bad thoughts about the side affects and I’m terrified like “ what if I have a seizure” can anybody share an experience? Anyone on Zoloft here. Thanks !

Has anyone ever had an intrusive thought of thinking you’ve might’ve swallowed something dangerous and you can’t trust your own mind? And you feel like you need to go in to get checked out? Any advice or reassurance?

Never feels like I can fully put my mind to rest. The problem with OCD for me is once I'm over one worry there's another buried deep into my mind that I'm not fully over. The two events I'm not completely over is when I tried to help a 17 year old with POCD when I was 19 and the topics unfortunately were detailed and even then I explained to them I wasn't comfortable with talking to them. I guess I just had a hard time saying no to someone needing help but it eventually made me so uncomfortable that I stopped talking with them altogether at some point. Then the other thing is being so worried that I committed a crime because my elbow touched someone's behind when I didn't want that to happen at all. I didn't want to listen to my OCD by saying move my arm or something horrible is going to happen so I didn't and then something bad actually did happen. I thought it would just be a light touch while zipping a bag up but then it was worse than I ever wanted it to be and it was so awkward and I hated it. I feel like I just won't be able to get back to the way I was before OCD started all of this. Aside from that I've just had extreme health anxiety but am too afraid to reach out to a PCP even though I need to. Something deep down is telling me I should do this but I'm just so anxious and embarrassed about sharing things to them. I can't even enjoy the things I used to do because this is constantly just messing up my life. I'm hoping I get a start of positivity next time I see my therapist. This just sucks. Feels like others around me are doing so much better than I am and I'm just kind of stuck on these same problems and feeling absolute shame and guilt from the past over and over again. I'm just so sick of dealing with this every single day so I just use escape whenever I can. Even that doesn't really work. I just wish I could go back in time.

About the beginning to middle of February I went into the doctor and requested to see a counselor. I’m starting to see a counselor about anxiety in a few days and I’m extremely nervous. I’m nervous my counselor is going to say I have to break up with my bf otherwise I’ll be stuck with ocd for the rest of my life. I’m nervous my counselor is going to think I’m crazy and not know anything about ocd. I’m nervous my counselor is going to tell my aunt how crazy and messed up I am because my aunt works in the clinic I’m going to therapy at, and if she tells my aunt everyone in my family may find out. I’m nervous I’m going to hell because I’m going to counseling and not fully leaning on God instead to fix it all for me. I’m nervous I’m a bad Christian for going to therapy and not believing Jesus is going to fix it all. I’m nervous that my future is ruined because of my mental health. I’m worried that my boyfriend is going to break up with me because I’m too much to handle and too anxious. I’m just scared for my future because of my ocd and because I am not as passionate about my faith as I used to be so I feel like I’m gonna go to hell for that or like my sister is going to die because of her seizures because of my ocd. Idk I’m so scared.

Recently a deceased tenant was found in apartment next door to my mine. This is an extremely distressing situation and I am unable to let go of replaying the images of a funeral service removing the body through the hallway to the elevator and the super foul odor. This has made my living situation unbearable. I am hoping the landlord may allow me to relocate to another property/unit but my lease is not over for 6 months. They covered one night at a hotel while they ozone the air and hired a cleaning crew. Nonetheless I am immensely obsessed the air is still hazardous and another tenant will be found next to me again! I am compulsively holding my breath, blowing air out my nostrils, keeping the window open then close, spraying air freshener, avoiding the frequency of passing through the shared hallway, not going in the elevator, repetitive looking at the shared wall and their door, not touching the shared wall. Obsessed haunted presence. Obsessed I will get sick and die breathing in the air of the decomposing body. Obsessed with death the fear of the unknowing, what if no one found me like the tenant (7 days), how I will die, when I will die, what happens after death, being buried alive or cremated alive! Fear it’s not in my control! Fear how others will die! When others die! Especially my dog!! Fear I won’t be able to cope when my dog dies!

So I’m a migraine sufferer and this morning I had a migraine that wouldn’t go away. (it actually started last night) I had to call into work bc I absolutely cannot function when my migraines are that bad. I can barely drive, especially when it’s dark outside when I leave in the mornings. The thing is I just called in a few weeks ago for the same reason. I can’t stop feeling guilt about calling in so soon after the previous attack even though there was nothing else I could do. I took more medicine than I was even supposed to and still tried to get ready but couldn’t make it through the process. It makes me feel even worse bc we already struggle with having enough staff some days. I want to be able to enjoy my weekend but it’s hard when it keeps popping in my head periodically :/

hi peeps today i found out i have mono, and for someone with contamination ocd that sucks even more than usual. am i really supposed to be worried about who i might infect for the indefinite future? and the fact that i wont know for weeks if i got anyone sick? and i’ve got a big trip with my family planned in a couple of weeks and im worried that one of my family members is gonna end up having symptoms before we go. has anyone else ever been in a similar situation? how did u deal with it without missing out on everything?

I just had a really awful chest pain that felt like my chest was exploding and im really terrified. I feel like maybe it was a heart attack but idk. I've had many ekgs and a chest x ray and they don't find anything wrong with me. Idk what this means anymore im so sick of being scared that ill die. Can anyone relate at all? It comes out of nowhere

I was prescribed buspar for anxiety. I’m worried that the psychiatrist didn’t fully understand that the more triggering feelings of anxiety come from the feelings i get mentally. I just kind of wonder from a professional what Buspar does. Google scares me I don’t know what the facts are and I just need some facts.

This is for my christian people, I wish there would be a community group for religious people. I wrote another post where I shared that my dog has something, he vomited out the food he ate for 2 days and now he doesnt want to eat, but he is still energetic and playful. But it scares me cause I dont know if its serious or not, we want to wait it out until we take him to the vet, but still if we would take him we have to wait some days... So uncertainty is really hard. I prayed for him and after that I felt like I dont trust that God will heal him, cause there are still uncertainties. Maybe im hard with myself but i expect that trusting means that I dont feel high anxiety and it gives me a feeling of calmness/peace. I dont feel that now. There were many times when i prayed for healing and there were no healing, so then i said i will never ask for healing but to be as God wants it to be and be with me and help me go through it. This helped me until something happened. I follow 2 man who is christian and at first one of them said to me that I need to trust that God can heal, and if i dont then i should work on that. I thought about it but then ignored it, until i heard it from the second person when i asked him about what to do when i have a health problem and the first thing he said was that I have to trust in the healing power of God... and that made me see that I dont trust it. I question it cause there were times when healing did not came, but i dont expect Him to come down everytime and fix my problems. But if I have to be the one who figures out what I have to do and after all that struggle I find it and say "It was God" that makes me question my faith... I can see someone saying that you just labeled it to God when it was you. I dont say this is the truth but how should i trust God will help me when at the end of the day its on me what will happen,many times its on others too and God wont come down and change me or those people. Then how God helps?

I get alot of times that you should let yourself feel your emotions,now I kinda see the emotions i was struggling with before, and the problem might have been that i didnt let myself feel them, and i even think that thats why i experienced panic attacks. However im struggling again cause letting myself feel the emotions made me emotional and throughout the day many times i feel something that i dont know what to do with, giving them attention makes me spiral. Now its about my dog, for two days he vomitted out what he ate and now he doesnt want to eat his food, some food he does want but those are some human food that he shouldnt eat. But my mom brought chicken meat to him, he doesnt want to eat it, and she made something for him but he doesnt wants to eat that either...This makes me really sad cause im afraid i will lose him. I feel really bad when someone who i love is sick and with him its hard cause dogs cant tell you whats the problem. I have a deep sadness about it and fear and I let myself feel it but it gets so bad that it doesnt help me at all. I dont find it helpful, its just makes my day harder. Now again makes me angry if i hear someone saying you should feel all your feelings... Being aware of it, it takes your focus too, i never understood that, how you are aware of something and your focus does not move there... The bird exemple is not true for me, if i go out and hear a bird chirping either im aware of it and it takes my focus,or I enjoy it with the view, or I just notice it and then ignore it,I dont give so much attention to it. Right now birds are chirping, if i put my awarness there i notice them, but if i focus on here that im writing now, i dont notice them,i forget that birds are chirping...Its not like im aware of both... I agree that i should let myself feel more emotions cause alot of problems came there but I dont know where is the line and when im giving too much attention or when im dealing with them too much...