How did you do it? Were your meds for sz enough or did you need different ones? Did you work with a therapist? Did you do exposure therapy?
I never overcame it (nor did it get treated). Just want to wish you good luck with finding good treatments. I too struggle with ocdish stuff, so im listening with you in this topic.
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I know i was less anxious and obsessive when using an ssri or saffron (dont use or combine with other meds without asking a pdoc, especially an ssri). I prefer to use as little meds, herbal or chemical, as possible though. Thought you already used something like this too.
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I heard that a specific form of emdr works. You focus more on the obsessive fears of the future than on the past images. Never tried, is on my wishlist. Had a few sessions for ptsd, but want more emdr.
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Tolerating uncertainty. I read a good article somewhere last week, it dealt with ocd & uncertainty. Same topic someone else was speaking about today on here. Will search tomorrow if you’re interested.
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Exposure…I tried it for ptsd and try it informally for my perfectionism and fear of failure which is related to ocd imho…I put myself in situations i find fearful and i obsess about. It is horrible, im often totally upset afterwards, but it does seem to shift things somewhat.
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I have slight OCD, but I like it. It helps me to be organised.
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I wish to try this…(i think it is an advertisement, but it has some studies in it) https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bridgestorecovery.com/blog/emdr-shows-remarkable-promise-for-post-traumatic-ocd-treatment/amp/
Emdr.
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light exposure would help. the best thing would be to join a gym though and work out regularly to keep your serotonin levels stable.
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I was diagnosed with OCD before. It doesn’t bother me anymore. I think time and meds help. I heard inositol helps but havent taken it in years.
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if you are living in the past you will be depressed,
if you are living in the future you will be anxious
if you are living in the present, you will be peace.
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I had a lot of success getting my OCD symptoms under control with CBT.
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Yes CBT is the way to go, mostly ERP (exposure and response prevention). You expose yourself to whatever you’re anxious about while not allowing yourself to perform compulsions.
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Thank you for your responses! I’m very severe. They would send me to a residential program, but they are worried I will become suicidal.
@anon73478309 I appreciate it! I haven’t tried emdr. It’s the only kind of therapy my counselor doesn’t use. Maybe I will look into it.
@Liquid
Glad for you! Before mine became severe, it helped me, too.
@anon92887483
I’ve always worked out. At its worse, I was working with a personal trainer twice a week and taking classes multiple times a week. It didn’t help. Thank you though. I’ve never tried light exposure.
@insidemind
Glad you are better! I never heard of inositol.
@noahide
That’s beautiful!
@GoldenRex
Okay. I will talk to my counselor. Thank you!
@Sardonic
I’m working through ERP now. Thank you!
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The way I overcame it was by forcing myself not to worry too much about it. Worrying will make it worse and also bring on more problems. If I get intrusive thoughts I try to focus my mind on something positive.
Positivity goes a long way with any type of problem. It’s not as easy as it sounds because you have to make a habit of placing your mind elsewhere.
Hope this helps.
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I had serious OCD thoughts. My mood stabilizer, Depakote helped with that. It slowed things down. Now I can choose whether or not to obsess about something. I can catch myself and can usually stop those thoughts now.
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okay i see louise. Were you dieting hard at that time though? if you werent eating enough in an attempt to lose weight or something that would have made it worse because serotonin is a product of digestion. Regular exercise paired with enough food though is good for mental stability. A crash diet or withholding food from ones self would do that.
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Unfortunately OCD is less treatable than schizophrenia but antidepressants do help so does therapy. Just try not to get controlled by the fear, and let peace in your mind. With the intrusive thoughts try to let them happen and not worry about them. That should help, it did with me anyway. But I’m also blessed that all my family has OCD so they learned bunch of techniques to help
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Thank you @SpacemanInvader! I will work on the positivity!
@melmel7 Glad for you that it’s better!
@anon92887483
I was eating okay. I was eating gluten free, but I was still taking in a lot of carbs and a lot of processed food. What food should I eat to help with serotonin levels?
@John_Raven
Glad for you! What are some of the techniques you learned?
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Low gi carbs, peanut butter, meats and stuff…
heres a great video (and its really entertaining and funny) about different ways to raise serotonin.
hope you like it!
Thanks! What’s a gi carb?
sorry the GI rating of a food just describes how fast it raises your blood sugar. you want to go for carbs with a low GI (they digest slowly)
things like steel cut oats, aldente spaghetti, parboiled rice, are good
white bread, baked potatoes, sugar are the worst.
Vegetables are the best but obviously have to be mixed with other low gi carbs like pasta
Okay great! Thanks so much!
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