Any anons with OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) here? How do you deal with it? I just can't stand this shit anymore, no matter what i do, no matter how many times i complete the fucking rituals the thoughts keep coming back. I went to a shrink a couple years ago, even spend some time in a psych ward, got an official diagnosis and prescriptions, but i don't want to take meds, i want to overpower it myself. Have you managed to do it, at least mitigate compulsions to such degree that they seem like normal thoughts you can just wave away and not these fucking persistent bugging ideas that never seem to go away? Do they ever go away if you just ignore them or stick with some techniques, like exposure and response prevention? I need reassurance and tips, please share your experiences.
Any anons with OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) here? How do you deal with it? I just can't stand this shit anymore...
Meditation
/thread
Meds
Fucking auto correct
i WILL NOT take my meds. Seriously, i have nothing against using medication, but i want to fix this shit myself. I know that some people with OCD live without taking meds and they aren't bothered by incessant thoughts, and i'm searching for a way to become one of them.
not really OCD but have to fix things if it isn't straight, i'm a little germofobic, yell at people for picking at their teeth during meals.
I am not diagnosed with OCD per se but I have obsessive problems, adction problems and all of these are related to OCD so I take medication to control myself.
>exposure
I have only lessened it so far, but that is what I do
What exactly do you do?
I seem somewhat ok on the outside but I'm really not
this isn't meant to sound emo but I do a pretty good job at hiding my obsessive compulsive disorder for the most part, and I'll literally never tell anyone about it, my parents and brother know about it somewhat but I'm not telling anyone about it, I didn't even tell the psychiatrist everything, just bits and pieces of it
I've acknowledged the fact that I probably won't be as successful a person in life bc of my obsessive compulsive disorder
I know I have obsessive compulsive disorder but I probably have other ailments too, I'm kinda socially retarded
I used to be on meds, I won't take that crap anymore, I just try and go through life but it's a royal pain and I would do anything to permanently rid my brain of it
meds helped a lot, antidepressants
the sole reason I write on your thread is because I have OCD and I feel like I can help
As you I was reticent to meds. I wish I weren't. But the thoughts got worse. If I had taken them before, everything would have been easier and maybe I wouldnt find myself on the verge of suicide.
I get your mindset, but I hope you are wise and hear my advice. I wish I sought help before, there's so much life out there.
OCD has ruined my life. I've lived around 15 years with, lost friends, professional opportunities, events in my life and, as of the latest, a wife. I couldn't give her a normal life and so she left, and I get it.
>How to deal with
As soon as possible. Do not feel like you're being challenged by yourself and that you need to defeat this by your own, this isn't a movie and you're not a samurai. Before you know it, it will have taken deep roots and robbed you of many things, while having become much harder to beat. SSRIs are usually the first choice for shrinks, coupled with cognitive-behavioral therapy (which basically means putting yourself in the situation that you try to avoid and just dealing with it).
Fuck, you're being really convincing. Do SSRIs really help? How much time did it take for them to take effect? What happens with the thoughts, do they just stop appearing completely or simply become easier to deal with?
Takes like a month. The thoughts just go away.
here.
They do help but they are not the only thing. The thoughts don't go away, but they get "weaker" so you can resist when you expose yourself to them. I urge you to bring all guns out immediately. Do your best do do everything in your power (like seeing a shrink, taking meds, doing the therapy) as soon as you can. Or else, soon you'll be 33, like I am, looking back.
Oh, the SSRIs have a cumulative effect, they usually start working in a week.
Don't be afraid to change the SSRI after you've given them enough of a try (like 3 or 4 months). You may also attempt a different type of drug, such as a tricyclic (though these have a lot of side-effects, like being anticholinergic).
Leave your comfort zone, don't let people who love you enable your problems.
Taking medication will help lower your overall anxiety and the volume of thoughts but not stop them, you need to learn to acknowledge them and maybe even think "that's a thought" and let your brain get bored and move on. It's not easy, having OCD is hell.
Just ignore your compulsions lol
Just ignore not having a gf.
Go outside. Do real work. You think a kid in a poor country walks back a mile to the well, just because an impulse tells him if he doesn't touch the water with a bucket again, his house will burn down? OCD is a first world problem.
That can be said of any problem first-worlders have. Yeah, OCD might be one of them, but that doesn't change anything. Knowing that kids in Africa starve doesn't make sad people get happy in high-GDPpc countries.
Okay, i'll consider it. But if meds just alleviate the thoughts and you still have to do some work yourself, can you share your techniques on what you did or still do? Is it just CBT?
>OCD is a first world problem.
I live in Russia. People in all countries can have mental illnesses, even in Africa. Perhaps they have more pressing matters to attend to, since you can live with compulsive thoughts but you can't live without food, but it doesn't mean that mental ailments aren't present in populations of poor countries.