There is hope for overcoming OCD
 

Hi All,

I used to visit the old Braintalk Communities forum on OCD years ago. It was a wonderful place to discuss any and all OCD issues! I was sad to see it was no longer available, but I am now happy to discover this new version :)

I've had OCD since I was about 11 or 12 (I had general anxiety issues since I was very small, though). I am 25 now. I also have trichotillomania, which is associated with OCD....I had this since I was about 8 years old.

Not until this year did I find a competent, compassionate psychologist who specializes in CBT. Let me tell you, she has been a god-send! I suffer from mainly pure-O (or pure obsessions) which means that I have no 'external' compulsions. However, I do analyze/ruminate for hours on end. I also feel the need to confess/ask for reassurance about things I am obsessing about. Does anyone else suffer from this kind of OCD?

In my experience thus far, CBT is the best treatment out there for OCD. I won't lie: it is not easy...it is meant to cause anxiety (through exposure-response prevention). But as my therapist says: "Short term pain for long term gain". I'm still on the journey to recovery, but I have made so much progress in the past 6 months I have been going to CBT. Before this, I would literally be debilitated from my obsessions...I couldn't focus on anything else. My quality of life just generally decreased. Currently, I still have bouts of OCD, but they are much more transient and I can more easily move on from them. Progress not perfection. Through therapy, I am learning to tolerate uncertainty (which is a big problem for people with OCD).

I guess I just want to say that there is hope. If you are suffering from OCD, please strongly consider seeking out a therapist who specializes in CBT. Therapy in conjunction with small doses of medication can work wonders (medication alone will not help the OCD...it just helps manage the anxiety that goes along with it). It just takes a little hard work on your part...but it is a small price to pay to escape the hellish kind of life that OCD creates!

I hope to see this forum build up to like it was on the old Braintalk Communities forum. I think these forums are a great way for people who are going through the same experiences to share their stories, give advice, etc. I look forward to reading other's posts. :)

Hi psychobabble and welcome to NeuroTalk :)

yes, I so agree with you re CBT as we have seen the positive results from it with my son.

good to have you here and thank you for sharing your experience to help others

Hi Chemar. Thank you for your warm welcome :) I hope that more people will join in!

Hi,
 

I sugger from the same type of OCD altough I haven't been diagnosid yet but I've all the signs. My main problem is intrusive images and thoughts and that all started a year ago. I don't have many compulsions except sometimes I move around too much like cleaning or moving things around in the house. Mentaly I analyse evrything and it makes me tired by the end of the day. I was so scared a year ago when I first started having these thoughts that have changed from one thing to another until I searched the interent for answers and saw many other people writing about exactly the same issues which helped me a lot but it still doesn't take the doubt away.

My Anxiety,and panic started first.OCD came later
 

Hello I can completely relate to what has been said. I'm new to this website and forum,and I'm at total lose of what to do. I have been through many theroputic sessions,7 psychiatrists,1 psychialogists,3 churches,three prayer groups,and much theropy.My first panic attack happened when I was about 14,or 15. No one understood then. When I was 18 I drank for relief. I stoped drinking in my late 20's. I've been everywhere,and there has been nothing but one misunderstanding after another. People have made some of the strangest diagnoses that has sent me into a tailspin at times. I have considered suicide. I've tried many medicines. I've been through the phobia clinic's treatment,where they would take me to high buildings,and into crowds,and etc. I also feel a need to confess,and need reassurances from people. Sometimes I ask again to be sure. I have these condemning thoughts.I have these out of control worries,intrusive images,thoughts,and at times immagined feallings somewhat,but I know that they aren't real. Sometimes when someone leans closely to me,I have a repelling fealing,and lean away from them. I don't know why,I sure need a hug. It's almost like a reverse magnetic reaction affect. I have pain in my chest most of the time. It starts in the middle of my chest,and goes to the left under my ribcage. This pain,and uncertainty is what's bothering me the most right now. I didn't use to have it,but it developed over time.I worked myself to death for about 15 years,and I became so disturbed,that I would be up at night with bouts of anxiety,and stress,and there was no relief. I woke up and would have panic attacks immediateley while I was waking up.Sometimes I'm so anxious around people that my knees have stiffened while sitting down,and It's obvious to me when I begin to stand.The list goes on. No one knows what to do for me.My relatives who know me don't know what to do for me.I haven't been through much theropy in the last 17 years because the people who have tried to help me have made so many mistakes. It seems like I've been walking through a maze,and I don't know where to go,or what to do. I'm not working now because all of this has caught up with me. The pain,I'm tired of it all,and I want it to end. I want to end it. This isn't life,it's very much so torment. I cannot get help from Social Security Dissability. They are obviously doing there best to dodge me,and this is another aggrivation,and I'm tired of it all. Is anyone else going through what I'm going through,because I certainly feel like the odd one,yet I'm not. My intelligence is up,but my of how I do things is hindered by the way my mind doesn't process things properly. They thought that I was slow when I was in elementary school in the 1950's. They didn't know anything about my illnesses then,and learning disabilities,and grinding my teeth in my sleep,but they know allot now. Is there anything that they can do for this pain in my chest? This is something that doesn't go away,and It drives me up the wall. It let's up at different times of the day,but it comes right back. Can anyone out there relate to what I've said,and how aggrivated I feel. Just don't hit me with a hammer,and tell me that it's my fault. I'm a good person,and moral,but I'm very aggrivated,because I feel like people have turned their back on me,and I don't know what to do. I have had to move,and this has been hard on me,and I don't know where to go. Can anyone relate to this,or am I in the wrong place.:(:confused::eek::

Sorry
 

I don't know why my reply to thread came out two times.

:hug: brokenfriend

double posts happen if the browser is a tad slow.

i removed the extra one.

Thanks
 

Curious Thanks. I was wondering why that happened. I believe that one of my security program scans had started scanning at it's skeduled time,and I minimized it,and kept writing my message. Thank you for deleting it.

No one that has my disorder is reponding
 

I don't understand why people aren't responding to what I am trying to say. It's been a long haul,and I haven't heard words of comfort for a long time. I'm sorry if my posts are a burden,but I'm actually going through these things. Maybe I just don't understand the support system on this website.

this part of neurotalk isn't very busy. :o it might take awhile to get responses.

some in the bipolar forum, which is a busy one, also have ocd and anxiety. maybe copy your post there?

:hug:

i wish i could be of more help.