OCD- And Me.

Anyone else suffer from this debilitating phenomenon?

Today I'm having a particular bad go at it. Must be the full moon plus the conjunction of my monthly "hormones." Sometimes I get it really bad. I don't really have any rituals, well not really extreme ones, but tonight I just have this fixated thought that I have a horrible disease, that I've given it to my husband and we are both going to die.

Isn't that stupid?

That and I'm afraid someone is going to break in and rob us or let the cats out.
OR that one of my cats will die some how.

dumb dumb dumb.

I have insurance now (after a 3 month lapse swapping jobs) I wonder if I should try to get on some kinda medication for this. But then I'm afraid of the meds.

Like tonight I took 1... dye free Benadryl for the rash I got the other night and it took all my willpower to take that pill because I'm afraid I'll react to it. Benadryl for gods sake.

Hubby has mild OCD, but a very good friend has a lot of challenges because of it.

If your insurance covers it, I'd look into seeing a psychiatrist that specializes in OCD. That way you can talk about the options there are. You may still decide not to use medications, even though the doc would be qualified to prescribe them, but he or she could still work with you to help. Our friend opted to not take meds, but with therapy has learned a lot of "tricks" to help overcome the grip of many fears.



Laurie

It's obviously affecting your life, so you should go and seek treatment for it. Make an appointment with your doctor. So far as medications are concerned, there is nothing to be afraid of. People take medications for all kinds of things: infections, heart disease, diabetes etc. However people tend to shy away from medications for mental health, when they shouldn't.

I take Celexa, which is an anti-depressant and I've been on it for about 6 years now I guess. I had been so depressed and crying and so riddled with anxiety and panic attacks that I had forgotten what it was like to feel "normal". Going to my doctor and confessing to him how I was feeling that that I just wasn't coping anymore was the best thing I could have done.

The dose I was on was adequate until a few weeks ago when I suddenly had stress overload with my finances and the holidays so I increased my daily dose about 1 week ago and that has helped me considerably.

There is nothing wrong with taking medication to adjust the chemical imbalances in the brain that cause these types of disorders. And it's worth taking the medications if it improves your quality of life.

I have seasonal affective disorder (SAD.) Winter time and the holidays always make me blue...some years more than others. I always get a prescription for Prozac in the fall and start it when I start to feel down. I go off it in the spring, when the days start getting longer and it starts getting warm. It has been a lifesaver more than once. I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I'm still alive because of antidepressant medications. Good luck, I hope you are able to find something that will help!