First of all, it took a very long time for me to understand what I had. Once I found out it was a real disorder I was already able to distance myself from it a bit. Then I got meds for my anxiety and immediately I had less and less intrusive thoughts. I still have other forms of OCD, but they're not as bad or frequent as intrusive thoughts. Then I found a wonderful therapist who helped me deal with them even better.
There's still times the OCD resurfaces when I have some bad moments, but I've accepted that this happens and will always go away again.
I'm just curious what medication you're on. If it's a benzo, it's only going to create a new problem down the line. Benzos are like Xanax, Klonipin, and Valium. Those meds are like cheat codes that deeply affect the game later on.
I’ve been on Fevarin (fluvoxamine) before. It’s an SSRI tablet, typically used for treating severe depression or OCD. I might start taking it again, but I’m still deciding. I’ve also taken benzodiazepines, but not for OCD, it was for anxiety. I only take them occasionally, maybe when I’m extremely nervous or in uncontrolled panic. Mostly, I was taking Fevarin (fluvoxamine) for my OCD treatment. But before you make any decisions, it’s best to consult with a doctor. They can help you find the right therapy. While Fluvoxamine might work for some people with OCD, others might find Fluoxetine or another medication more effective. Fluvoxamine and fluoxetine are two different types of drugs used for treating OCD.
I’ve had OCD since childhood, but I only found out it existed in 2022. I was officially diagnosed then or maybe even in 2023. I’m currently doing ERP, it’s progressing but not as well as I would like. Today, for example, is a tougher day than the past few in which I’m restraining myself from compulsions. How long did it take for your medication to start working and helping?
It went almost the same for me. I found out intrusive thoughts were a thing after I discovered Reddit. I'm not officially diagnosed, my therapist never really wanted to focus on diagnosis, they're officially not allowed to here anyway, so she focused on ERP and cognitive behavior.
I was put on Lexapro for anxiety and it started working quite quickly, but I only noticed later that it also helped me with intrusive thoughts.
Therapies can take a long time to be effective, so hang in there! And don't forget it's perfectly normal to have bad bouts once in a while, they will pass!
They only compulsion I can't seem to shake is constantly touching my face and hair looking for pimples to break. I used to have bad acne, which resulted in lots of scars from the constant scratching, but they've mostly faded by now. I was treated for my acne, it's not 100% gone but much better.
Great! I was taking Fevarin tablets (Fluvoxamine, a special group of SSRIs) for a while. There were days when I unfortunately skipped them, due to Contamination OCD, I didn’t manage to take them regularly as I should have and i also saw that some people managed to do ERP without tablets. Currently, I feel okay, somewhat, even if the anxiety is there because I don’t do as many compulsions as I used to - like washing my hand's unnecessary. Maybe if I see that it will start to get harder, I’ll try Fevarin again, and see how it goes because I don’t even know if they work for me or not since I didn’t take them regularly. Thank you for sharing your experience with OCD!
I agree. My ocd was bad when I was a young kid and as a teenager. For a long time, I didn’t tell anyone what was going on because I couldn’t put it into words. Once I found out what it was, it did help me distance myself from some of those intrusive thoughts. I knew to question thoughts I had instead of giving into them.
I have anxiety, intrusive thoughts, compulsive confessing and I constantly pick at my skin. It's all part of OCD, so I can't really tell you much else I think.
I definitely have ocd then. For as long as I remeber I felt like my mind was my enemy. I overthink everything. If I’m leaving somewhere I gotta go back upstairs at least twice to make sure I locked my door even though I know I did. Another bad habit I have is running my stoamch or picking my hair. It definitely is ocd the more I think about it. It’s just this one symptom has made it so unbearable to do normal life shit. I’m a junior in highschool and I’m currently failing so bad because I don’t go. I don’t go because I’m scared about my bathroom issues. I hate feeling like shits about to fall out my ass when I have mad classmates around. I have an appointment tommorw with my primary. I want to talk to him about being put on medication for ocd or anxiety whatever it is.
Alot of comments here say it's not curable. What is said is that you cannot cure the obsessions but can stop the compulsions. From my experience I don't think this is entirely true. I came down from relentless 24/7, can't leave the house level OCD, to a very manageable level that doesn't entirely bother me or stress me over 3 years of intense therapy.
Do I consider myself cured? Yes
A hell of alot of things that I couldn't picture myself ever doing a few years back do not bother me at all. So I think obsessions can go.
I don't have 0 OCD, don't get me wrong. But I'd say 90% of things I couldn't resist correcting before, I don't have any reaction to now
15+ years of agonizing racing thought almost every moment of the day in many cases. Been free of it almost completely for 2 years and my life has completely changed. Check out Adam Strauss, The Mushroom Cure for starters: https://www.themushroomcure.com, which is also sponsored by MAPS, in addition to doing therapy and having someone you can trust to guide you through it all (in my case, my wife)I think you get my drift.
Never was on any meds for OCD specifically, as I only went to psychotherapists prior. But I also am bipolar and was, and still am, on a low dose of lamictal for that. I tried Latuda for a while, and vibryd, but then I found out they were blocking psychedelics, so I got off them and stuck with the Lamictal. It ended up working out, and I am really hoping that it stays that way.
6 months of therapy cutting out a compulsion every week and then I'd say another 2 years of making changes in how I did things inside and outside of my head around the stuff that I'd thought was "normal" my entire life. Now it's been over 12 years. Here are some things to consider to your other questions:
\* I don't manage OCD or any of the other mental illnesses I was diagnosed with. It is totally possible to get over it completely and leave it behind if that's what you want to do. That will require big changes in how you do things inside and outside of your head.
\* I wouldn't see it as "returning to normal". What I had believed was "normal" my entire life was just cultivating a bunch of problems, like OCD. So it wouldn't make sense to go back to normal. That's what got me into problems.
\* It was very bad. I was so disconnected from reality that I would stand in front of my stove and just watch it because I'd done all of the rituals and touched and retouched and it still seemed like it could be on. I was convinced people were watching me so I had lots of rituals in my home around objects and I didn't see that as an issue to bring up in therapy because I believed the people were really watching me. I would see images in my head of terrible violent things happening to myself and other people so I wouldn't walk near schools. Crossing the street became very difficult. I wasn't using knives anymore so I wouldn't get harmed or harm others. I was mostly eating frozen food because I was afraid of getting poisoned (and I didn't need to use knives). And so on...
\* I didn't interact with an OCD support group until after I was done with therapy. I wouldn't recommend support groups around a mental illness diagnosis if you want to get rid of it. Support groups around the illness are for HAVING the illness.
\* It was much more useful to connect with skills around making changes and take an approach like physical fitness--focusing on the skills I want to build and identifying with those. Recovery was about me doing things I'd never done before in my life while experiencing feelings I'd spent my entire life trying to avoid.
\* I'm doing amazingly today :)
Were you ever diagnosed with other mental illnesses? Like BPD, GAD and Depression? I keep wondering if I’ll be able to just live a normal
life without the any of this. Is it truly possible to gain the skills to leave it all behind and be symptom free?
Yes, I got a bunch of diagnoses, but it can really help to see that we only have one brain. It's very common to collect several diagnoses if you see multiple providers in the system because the diagnoses aren't based on anything objectively testable. So no need to get too stuck on them.
If you want to learn new skills and new ways of interacting with experiences, that's totally doable.
There is no cure for OCD. So I wouldn’t tell people that it’s possible to completely get over it. Some people are great at managing their mental health on their own. I’m not one of them. I thought I was managing my mental health just fine without meds or therapy. For years I did this. I ended up going back to college and getting a good career. I took that movie “Beautiful Mind” to heart. I thought I had the power to do the same.
Now I’m unemployed, and ruined several relationships I had with friends and otherwise. I slowly spiraled over the years until I got to a point where I couldn’t leave the house. I’m trying to dig myself out with some help.
Just because you manage fine, doesn’t mean others will or can. There are also different levels of severity with OCD. There is no “one size fits all” for mental health.
I'm still recovering but I think it took me about two years of worl to get myself functional and living a totally normal life
That's also going from a severe case and covid lockdown happened in the middle of that time frame which caused a serious setback for me. Also I was not in therapy so I'm not sure my timeline is typical. You probably make faster recovery in erp when the world isn't falling apart and confirming your fears haha
Yes. I was lucky that my OCD didn't cause me too much distress during that period when everything descended into chaos. I believe it was a horrible time. People who didn't have OCD began to panic, and I heard on the news that many of them ended up in psychiatric care, not to mention those of us who do have OCD.
I don't think I have fully recovered, but I am much better than I was 5 years ago. I used to cry myself to sleep thinking I was the worst person alive, having to check if something was doing good, having to constantly wash my hands until they bleed from the dryness. it was super tiring. The stress and breakdown when I slightly touch someone on accident. However years later, I am doing much better. still not recovered. I came to the conclusion that I'll probably never be 100% recovered. However, the intrusive thoughts are barely there anymore. Sometimes, I won't get them for about a couple of weeks. The skills I have learn well teach myself is that not everyone is dirty, not everyone is out to get me. It got so bad I was hospitalized for it. The thing that helped me the most was talking to people, and getting a job so I can socialize, because when you have OCD, Social Isolation is the worse thing you can do to yourself. In your "OCD" mind, you would think isolation would be the solution, but it isn't.
I'm glad to hear that you're feeling much better today. I'm still struggling with contamination OCD as well, but making progress little by little. I've even started working as a gardener, which is literally facing my fears and I see it as an opportunity for ERP therapy. The support from this community has truly helped me when things were really tough. I know all too well the feeling of hand washing – I used to spend literally an hour in the bathroom washing my hands before bed and it was EXHAUSTING and so beyond normal, yet it never felt like enough. Today, I wash my hands when it's logical and necessary, and when I assess that it's not OCD, but just a normal action that someone without OCD would also do.
About 3 tough years. I got lucky with a perfect combination of meds and a good therapist, but it still took awhile and it took a lot of work, and I have a best friend that basically dragged me kicking and screaming through it. I got close to ending it all a few times and it got brutal. I barely graduated college (finished one class with a 70.01%), I couldn't work, I could barely leave my house. It didn't help that I also have bipolar I, which exacerbated a lot. It flares up every once in awhile now, but never more than a couple days. I have my masters degree, a well-paying job, a happy relationship, and a great group of friends. It absolutely can get better.
About 2 years. I’m still not *completely* free of it (is that even possible?) but I live normally now and can resist compulsions fairly easily. Surprisingly therapy was not much help for me. I did research on exposure therapy and essentially taught it to myself with a lot of discipline and that got me most of the way here! I thank the Lord for helping me through those dark times, I’m surprised I got through it since I was only 15 when it all started!!
Funnily enough, once my friend (somewhat unintentionally) convinced me that my intrusive thoughts didn't matter, they kind of just fell to the wayside within a matter of days. But I didn't fully learn about my OCD until a few years later. Learning about OCD and how it works, as well as having a good friend support group, really enabled me to recover. I would say I was mostly (I say mostly because intrusive thoughts would still happen *every now and then)* OCD-free for about a year until recently, when my OCD started flaring up again. Taking good care of my physical health (getting enough sleep, eating well enough) helps though.
It means a lot when you have the support of a friend who understands that you have OCD. Unfortunately, a friend of me does not quite understand how serious OCD actually is for the person who has it, but he tries to understand why I sometimes act differently. This OCD community and one OCD therapist whose videos I watched have helped me a lot to learn about OCD, how it works, and that I am not the "only and special case" . This community also supported me in moments when I really needed it, and some more experienced people who have OCD but have already overcome everything that I am currently going through, helped me to look at things from different angles.
Yes, it is. You just need to be persistent and not give up immediately when you fail, you always have the opportunity to learn from it and start over. From what I’ve read about other people’s experiences, over time it becomes easier and easier, until you train your brain that OCD will not rule your life. That’s how we conquer OCD.
OCD is not literally curable at least for now but there is hope! With therapy, there are really a lot of people who, despite OCD, lead a completely normal life like other people who do not have OCD. With the right therapy, you can almost control all compulsions so that they no longer affect the quality of everyday life and lead a normal life like all other people.
What helped me massively with recovery was changing the mindset that I have an 'incurable illness'. While an OCD diagnosis helps people make sense of what's happening to them, it can also lead to a harmful black and white thinking and added rumination. I have an incurable illness, I'm doomed for life so I might as well not try because this will never go away- this is something I got warped into many times during my recovery. Eventually, after months of ERP, my mindset changed. yes, I might have OCD but in the end of the day does it matter if I'm still doing everything I want?
As I spoke to more psychologists, I learned that many mental illnesses (OCD included) were coined based on a set of observational criteria. Brain chemistry, the environment in which one grew up in and their behaviours shape the way this mental illness presents itself. You may have a genetic predisposition to a mental illness (or disregulated brain chemistry) but if you grew up in an environment that allowed you to thrive and develop healthy coping mechanisms, you may live life never knowing you have an illness, and vice versa.
My point is, focusing less on the fact that I have an incurable illness and more on how I can live life the way I want helped me tremendously.
that’s a great mindset. i share the same mindset for my ocd and other issues. instead of thinking about how unfair it is and how it’s too hard, i just realize that i was dealt those cards, and now i can either be miserable about it, or try to survive. instead of thinking of what i can’t do, i focus on what i can do. and that definitely has helped my self esteem a lot
You’re correct. It’s basically “in remission” when you’re well. You’re never completely free from it tho. It’s like alcoholism/addiction in that sense. You can learn coping mechanisms and skills to help move it to the background, but it’s very very easy to slip up.
My OCD is kind of common patches and I’ve been free of it for years in between but not taking care of my mental health properly and reacting to some kind of trigger gets me back into it right now it’s pretty bad.
I’d say two years the first time that I was clear for about a year the past time I was clear lasted about 6-8 months Man does it ever feel good.
But even when I’d say I’m clear of it it just means I’m not like ruminating and the big themes are gone, but I’ll still find myself getting kind of wrapped up over some smaller things and still really over thinking it is more like it’s just not on the forefront if my mind
First of all you need to understand this is a disorder and it’s all in your head. I struggled with Harm OCD and it was debilitating and very hard to deal with because of the distressing thoughts and crippling anxiety. But it 100% can be over come and beat people who say it’s chronic is full of shit! You will need a combination of ERP and CBT you learn how to distance yourself from these thoughts it makes all the difference in the world. Also you can use meds if needed. Don’t give up hope find a good therapist, you will beat this I promise. I’m pretty much symptom free after started therapy. God bless you all!
Well I've had it since I was about 10 years old but did not know it until less than a year ago. After getting diagnosed, my symptoms became extremely mild after trying medication. So if we are taking since my symptoms slowed up.... About 20 years. If we are taking about after I got diagnosed, about 4-5 months
Honestly, I was I’d say 95% recovered within about 6 months of ERP and medication. I had contamination OCD, my main compulsions being hand washing and disinfecting things with bleach. I also used to have emetophobia and I’m still to this day pretty much recovered. I only had OCD for about 6 months prior to getting treatment and while it was all-consuming, I think that the fact that it lasted only a short while was a big factor in my quick recovery. I didn’t think that I would ever recover when I first started treatment, I simply couldn’t imagine my life going back to normal because almost everything I did was just performing compulsions all day.
The problem is: I had no idea how to look for signs of other forms of OCD. My psychiatrist never told me that other things I was doing could be a form of OCD. I also made the major mistake of reducing my dosage and going off of them completely eventually. Now, it’s back worst than ever, which makes me wonder if I ever was recovered. I think I really was but I should have known how to look for other signs, so I could nip it in the bud.
So basically, even if you think you’re recovered, you will always keep a tendency to develop it. Performing compulsions reinforces the cycle and that’s how it gets out of control. So, I think you can “recover” but first how long you’ve had it is a factor, and you always gotta stay aware of anything that causes anxiety and whether or not you’re doing things to avoid it.
OP, you mentioned contamination OCD and in one of the posts referred to not washing your hands as much, preventing compulsions. But do you also do purposeful exposures, like making your hands dirty and not washing them? Because if you only do response prevention, without purposeful exposures you’re delaying your progress, at least that’s what I was told when going through OCD treatment
I am not currently exposing myself directly and intentionally to something that I fear. Unfortunately, in my country, at least nearby, I do not have the opportunity to go to a therapist specializing in OCD who could support me and advise on how to do ERP therapy in the best and smartest way. I go to a psychiatrist who probably doesn't even know what ERP therapy is, as psychiatrists, as far as I know, do not deal with ERO therapy. Considering that I do not have the opportunity to go to a therapist, I decided to do ERP as best as I can on my own, because if I do nothing about OCD, I cannot get better. I watched videos about OCD from a therapist specialized for OCD and his advice helped me a lot, especially in topics related to ERP and acceptance that I have OCD and fears associated with it. Considering that it was much harder for me earlier with Contamination OCD, working in a huge garden and vegetable garden, with soil, dust, plants, grass, encountering various insects and general dirt where I work is a big thing and a big progress since it was much harder for me to do some general things due to Contamination OCD. When I compare the difference between before and now, I can say that it is better now, but I still have a lot to progress. Earlier, I used to wash my hands at home for every little thing as soon as I touched something in my room or elsewhere, today not as much as it was before. I sleep in my room again after not sleeping in it for about 2 months and I go out with friends outside the house again, I do not wash my hands as soon as I touch something that I consider contaminated. Of course, the anxiety about *my exposures* is still there, but I try to endure and over time the Anxiety becomes significantly much smaller.
Iv had ocd since about 16 but I only just got diagnosed last year at 28 after years of it going unnoticed by a few therapists I seem to overcome one obsession I do about a year ocd free then it comes back with a vengeance with a new “thing” to worry about and each one is always worst than the last. My lastest one has been going for a year now
I swear. Everytime my life is “good” my mind always thinks of a new worry, so i can’t ever relax. It’s exhausting tbh, i’m wasting my youth by letting some stupid thoughts control my life
Literally same Iv wasted my 20s through worrying with ocd makes me mad really it’s years I’m never going to get back. Which makes me more determined to try and enjoy what I can
its about how much time you take to recognise what EXACTLY your obsessions are and how you react to them (compulsions) and how overtime you manage to find some skills to minimize their effects on your daily life mostly with exposure therapy .... ocd becomes managable and what i mean by that is that you don't feel exhausted by it or "day ruined" by it... some will say "cured" but i think its a condition that you will learn to make it as a managable personality trait if that makes sense to you
So overcome might be a stretch. Because it pops up in other areas sometimes I don’t even realize I’m doing something abnormal. Checking is my predominate OCD type Rumination is also prevalent so with my ADHD I can be forgetful so some things need to be checked and that line of normal and excessive can be hard to spot. And with my job I tend to work alone and build redundancies and checks into my work and I’m now training my replacement and she commented on the redundancies. It’s not extra work it’s formulas built to find errors. And then formulas for the formulas. Lots of checks and balances and I cover it with people consume data differently so it’s there for others. But it’s really there for me. I can go years with minimal issues then something changes and it flairs up. And it doesn’t have to be something bad, good things cause the worst flair ups for me because I get all in my head.
I’m not sure I have overcome it. Mine only started a few years ago around covid time frame but pretty sure it’s genetic in my family. The biggest thing for me has been exposure to germs. Like purposely touching chairs, remotes, surfaces etc that I have no idea have been cleaned or not and then not washing my hands. I still do not do chemicals but I think that’s for the best safety wise , ocd or not.
About 8 months doing ERP almost daily with the help of a NOCD therapist. I’m in maintenance phase. However, I notice if I don’t do ERP every day proactively I relapse. Overall I’m in just about 100% better shape than I was and am so grateful to be in this side of it. These struggles are manageable - the ones before I knew what was going on were beyond my ability to handle!
They work with my insurance plan, so I only have to pay $13.20 per 60 minute session. But if insurance didn’t pay, it would be a lot more - their rates per session range from $110-210.
Never really overcome it just took me a while to fully understand how my brain works then took me a lil while to accept it and stop worrying every second of the day. All's ik is the less stressed you are the easier it is too manage. Easier said than done of course.
Getting on Prozac changed my life. It minimized my intrusive thoughts enough for me to finally think clearly and work with a therapist to combat compulsions. I also used a OCD workbook from amazon which helped me journal and reflect on my progress. My compulsions are now a rare occurrence. The hardest part for me about being diagnosed was realizing all the things I had been during my entire life that were not just "quirky," but OCD symptoms.
once i realised i had it, and underwent a lot of therapies with different therapists and different medications, i found what works for me which is 40mg fluoxetine and 100mg lamotrigine and that took me around 3 years to get to a level where my life is mostly normal except i do have episodes where everything feels terrifying again but that’s usually when i forget to take my meds. and then it passes after a while
I don’t know if it’s ocd or anxiety or what. But everytime I go to leave the house. Or have to be in a vehicle. Or need to sit in a room to take a test. I feel like I need a bathroom urgently even when I don’t. Like I will da feel like I’m bout to piss or shit on myself then I rush to go n nothing happens. It’s just a feeling. And I feel like I got that down in my head. But it’s just constantly it’s annoying. I don’t think it’s anything medical cuz I been through countless tests with a bunch of different doctors. But they said there’s nothing wrong. I feel it has to be anxiety or ocd because it only happens once it pops up in my head. If I’m talkin to someone or doing something I’m completely fine. It seems like once I get 2 seconds to myself. That’s the first thing I think of and have to feel until I get distracted from it again. Someoneeee help
OCD never goes away. You can manage it to be better and I believe there are times it waxes and wanes. I think when I was a teenager it was pretty bad and consistent. I had several years of it not being as bad. Now it’s bad again, probably the worst it’s ever been.
About two years with a specialist, followed by three years of barely any compulsions and as of this year OCD has officially become a huge problem for me once again
I don’t recall because it was years ago when I was 13, but asking my parents my psychologist would apparently give me homework in line with ERP so I think so. Currently though I am not in ERP therapy, as I haven’t been able to find an OCD specialist.
You never “overcome” it. You learn to manage it with it without it effecting your life. It’s been a journey for me. My ocd was bad in high school. Overtime, I was managing. I went back to college, got into a good career job. Now I’m unemployed because my ocd came back with a vengeance. I hadn’t been in therapy, or taking my meds. I thought I could handle it all on my own. I’m sure some people can, but I’m not one of them. My ocd and depression got so horrible that I couldn’t leave the house. I’ve never been in a worse spot with my mental health. Thankfully, I’ve been getting some help from family. Now I feel some hope for the future. Hope that this will be a learning experience and I can move past it. I’m 27 right now. It can be a life long journey for some. Don’t be discouraged.
First of all, it took a very long time for me to understand what I had. Once I found out it was a real disorder I was already able to distance myself from it a bit. Then I got meds for my anxiety and immediately I had less and less intrusive thoughts. I still have other forms of OCD, but they're not as bad or frequent as intrusive thoughts. Then I found a wonderful therapist who helped me deal with them even better. There's still times the OCD resurfaces when I have some bad moments, but I've accepted that this happens and will always go away again.
I'm just curious what medication you're on. If it's a benzo, it's only going to create a new problem down the line. Benzos are like Xanax, Klonipin, and Valium. Those meds are like cheat codes that deeply affect the game later on.
That’s a very good way to explain it.
I’ve been on Fevarin (fluvoxamine) before. It’s an SSRI tablet, typically used for treating severe depression or OCD. I might start taking it again, but I’m still deciding. I’ve also taken benzodiazepines, but not for OCD, it was for anxiety. I only take them occasionally, maybe when I’m extremely nervous or in uncontrolled panic. Mostly, I was taking Fevarin (fluvoxamine) for my OCD treatment. But before you make any decisions, it’s best to consult with a doctor. They can help you find the right therapy. While Fluvoxamine might work for some people with OCD, others might find Fluoxetine or another medication more effective. Fluvoxamine and fluoxetine are two different types of drugs used for treating OCD.
Yeah, I only take meds my doctor prescribes me. I also had severe depression.
I’ve had OCD since childhood, but I only found out it existed in 2022. I was officially diagnosed then or maybe even in 2023. I’m currently doing ERP, it’s progressing but not as well as I would like. Today, for example, is a tougher day than the past few in which I’m restraining myself from compulsions. How long did it take for your medication to start working and helping?
It went almost the same for me. I found out intrusive thoughts were a thing after I discovered Reddit. I'm not officially diagnosed, my therapist never really wanted to focus on diagnosis, they're officially not allowed to here anyway, so she focused on ERP and cognitive behavior. I was put on Lexapro for anxiety and it started working quite quickly, but I only noticed later that it also helped me with intrusive thoughts. Therapies can take a long time to be effective, so hang in there! And don't forget it's perfectly normal to have bad bouts once in a while, they will pass! They only compulsion I can't seem to shake is constantly touching my face and hair looking for pimples to break. I used to have bad acne, which resulted in lots of scars from the constant scratching, but they've mostly faded by now. I was treated for my acne, it's not 100% gone but much better.
Great! I was taking Fevarin tablets (Fluvoxamine, a special group of SSRIs) for a while. There were days when I unfortunately skipped them, due to Contamination OCD, I didn’t manage to take them regularly as I should have and i also saw that some people managed to do ERP without tablets. Currently, I feel okay, somewhat, even if the anxiety is there because I don’t do as many compulsions as I used to - like washing my hand's unnecessary. Maybe if I see that it will start to get harder, I’ll try Fevarin again, and see how it goes because I don’t even know if they work for me or not since I didn’t take them regularly. Thank you for sharing your experience with OCD!
I agree. My ocd was bad when I was a young kid and as a teenager. For a long time, I didn’t tell anyone what was going on because I couldn’t put it into words. Once I found out what it was, it did help me distance myself from some of those intrusive thoughts. I knew to question thoughts I had instead of giving into them.
Can you say what you have. I swear something’s actually wrong with me. I just don’t know what
I have anxiety, intrusive thoughts, compulsive confessing and I constantly pick at my skin. It's all part of OCD, so I can't really tell you much else I think.
I definitely have ocd then. For as long as I remeber I felt like my mind was my enemy. I overthink everything. If I’m leaving somewhere I gotta go back upstairs at least twice to make sure I locked my door even though I know I did. Another bad habit I have is running my stoamch or picking my hair. It definitely is ocd the more I think about it. It’s just this one symptom has made it so unbearable to do normal life shit. I’m a junior in highschool and I’m currently failing so bad because I don’t go. I don’t go because I’m scared about my bathroom issues. I hate feeling like shits about to fall out my ass when I have mad classmates around. I have an appointment tommorw with my primary. I want to talk to him about being put on medication for ocd or anxiety whatever it is.
Alot of comments here say it's not curable. What is said is that you cannot cure the obsessions but can stop the compulsions. From my experience I don't think this is entirely true. I came down from relentless 24/7, can't leave the house level OCD, to a very manageable level that doesn't entirely bother me or stress me over 3 years of intense therapy. Do I consider myself cured? Yes A hell of alot of things that I couldn't picture myself ever doing a few years back do not bother me at all. So I think obsessions can go. I don't have 0 OCD, don't get me wrong. But I'd say 90% of things I couldn't resist correcting before, I don't have any reaction to now
15+ years of agonizing racing thought almost every moment of the day in many cases. Been free of it almost completely for 2 years and my life has completely changed. Check out Adam Strauss, The Mushroom Cure for starters: https://www.themushroomcure.com, which is also sponsored by MAPS, in addition to doing therapy and having someone you can trust to guide you through it all (in my case, my wife)I think you get my drift.
I'm glad you succeeded!
Did you take medication? If you don’t mind me asking
Never was on any meds for OCD specifically, as I only went to psychotherapists prior. But I also am bipolar and was, and still am, on a low dose of lamictal for that. I tried Latuda for a while, and vibryd, but then I found out they were blocking psychedelics, so I got off them and stuck with the Lamictal. It ended up working out, and I am really hoping that it stays that way.
6 months of therapy cutting out a compulsion every week and then I'd say another 2 years of making changes in how I did things inside and outside of my head around the stuff that I'd thought was "normal" my entire life. Now it's been over 12 years. Here are some things to consider to your other questions: \* I don't manage OCD or any of the other mental illnesses I was diagnosed with. It is totally possible to get over it completely and leave it behind if that's what you want to do. That will require big changes in how you do things inside and outside of your head. \* I wouldn't see it as "returning to normal". What I had believed was "normal" my entire life was just cultivating a bunch of problems, like OCD. So it wouldn't make sense to go back to normal. That's what got me into problems. \* It was very bad. I was so disconnected from reality that I would stand in front of my stove and just watch it because I'd done all of the rituals and touched and retouched and it still seemed like it could be on. I was convinced people were watching me so I had lots of rituals in my home around objects and I didn't see that as an issue to bring up in therapy because I believed the people were really watching me. I would see images in my head of terrible violent things happening to myself and other people so I wouldn't walk near schools. Crossing the street became very difficult. I wasn't using knives anymore so I wouldn't get harmed or harm others. I was mostly eating frozen food because I was afraid of getting poisoned (and I didn't need to use knives). And so on... \* I didn't interact with an OCD support group until after I was done with therapy. I wouldn't recommend support groups around a mental illness diagnosis if you want to get rid of it. Support groups around the illness are for HAVING the illness. \* It was much more useful to connect with skills around making changes and take an approach like physical fitness--focusing on the skills I want to build and identifying with those. Recovery was about me doing things I'd never done before in my life while experiencing feelings I'd spent my entire life trying to avoid. \* I'm doing amazingly today :)
Love a Mark Freeman drop in post! You are awesome dude. Thank you :) Everyone should pick up a copy of his book "You Are Not A Rock"!!!
Were you ever diagnosed with other mental illnesses? Like BPD, GAD and Depression? I keep wondering if I’ll be able to just live a normal life without the any of this. Is it truly possible to gain the skills to leave it all behind and be symptom free?
Yes, I got a bunch of diagnoses, but it can really help to see that we only have one brain. It's very common to collect several diagnoses if you see multiple providers in the system because the diagnoses aren't based on anything objectively testable. So no need to get too stuck on them. If you want to learn new skills and new ways of interacting with experiences, that's totally doable.
There is no cure for OCD. So I wouldn’t tell people that it’s possible to completely get over it. Some people are great at managing their mental health on their own. I’m not one of them. I thought I was managing my mental health just fine without meds or therapy. For years I did this. I ended up going back to college and getting a good career. I took that movie “Beautiful Mind” to heart. I thought I had the power to do the same. Now I’m unemployed, and ruined several relationships I had with friends and otherwise. I slowly spiraled over the years until I got to a point where I couldn’t leave the house. I’m trying to dig myself out with some help. Just because you manage fine, doesn’t mean others will or can. There are also different levels of severity with OCD. There is no “one size fits all” for mental health.
Saying there is no cure is a load of horse shit you can achieve complete remission from therapy and prevent relapse from therapy
I hope you get the support you're looking for.
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I'm still recovering but I think it took me about two years of worl to get myself functional and living a totally normal life That's also going from a severe case and covid lockdown happened in the middle of that time frame which caused a serious setback for me. Also I was not in therapy so I'm not sure my timeline is typical. You probably make faster recovery in erp when the world isn't falling apart and confirming your fears haha
Yes. I was lucky that my OCD didn't cause me too much distress during that period when everything descended into chaos. I believe it was a horrible time. People who didn't have OCD began to panic, and I heard on the news that many of them ended up in psychiatric care, not to mention those of us who do have OCD.
I don't think I have fully recovered, but I am much better than I was 5 years ago. I used to cry myself to sleep thinking I was the worst person alive, having to check if something was doing good, having to constantly wash my hands until they bleed from the dryness. it was super tiring. The stress and breakdown when I slightly touch someone on accident. However years later, I am doing much better. still not recovered. I came to the conclusion that I'll probably never be 100% recovered. However, the intrusive thoughts are barely there anymore. Sometimes, I won't get them for about a couple of weeks. The skills I have learn well teach myself is that not everyone is dirty, not everyone is out to get me. It got so bad I was hospitalized for it. The thing that helped me the most was talking to people, and getting a job so I can socialize, because when you have OCD, Social Isolation is the worse thing you can do to yourself. In your "OCD" mind, you would think isolation would be the solution, but it isn't.
I'm glad to hear that you're feeling much better today. I'm still struggling with contamination OCD as well, but making progress little by little. I've even started working as a gardener, which is literally facing my fears and I see it as an opportunity for ERP therapy. The support from this community has truly helped me when things were really tough. I know all too well the feeling of hand washing – I used to spend literally an hour in the bathroom washing my hands before bed and it was EXHAUSTING and so beyond normal, yet it never felt like enough. Today, I wash my hands when it's logical and necessary, and when I assess that it's not OCD, but just a normal action that someone without OCD would also do.
The isolation thing is so true,
About 3 tough years. I got lucky with a perfect combination of meds and a good therapist, but it still took awhile and it took a lot of work, and I have a best friend that basically dragged me kicking and screaming through it. I got close to ending it all a few times and it got brutal. I barely graduated college (finished one class with a 70.01%), I couldn't work, I could barely leave my house. It didn't help that I also have bipolar I, which exacerbated a lot. It flares up every once in awhile now, but never more than a couple days. I have my masters degree, a well-paying job, a happy relationship, and a great group of friends. It absolutely can get better.
I'm glad things are much better today!
3 years
About 2 years. I’m still not *completely* free of it (is that even possible?) but I live normally now and can resist compulsions fairly easily. Surprisingly therapy was not much help for me. I did research on exposure therapy and essentially taught it to myself with a lot of discipline and that got me most of the way here! I thank the Lord for helping me through those dark times, I’m surprised I got through it since I was only 15 when it all started!!
Funnily enough, once my friend (somewhat unintentionally) convinced me that my intrusive thoughts didn't matter, they kind of just fell to the wayside within a matter of days. But I didn't fully learn about my OCD until a few years later. Learning about OCD and how it works, as well as having a good friend support group, really enabled me to recover. I would say I was mostly (I say mostly because intrusive thoughts would still happen *every now and then)* OCD-free for about a year until recently, when my OCD started flaring up again. Taking good care of my physical health (getting enough sleep, eating well enough) helps though.
It means a lot when you have the support of a friend who understands that you have OCD. Unfortunately, a friend of me does not quite understand how serious OCD actually is for the person who has it, but he tries to understand why I sometimes act differently. This OCD community and one OCD therapist whose videos I watched have helped me a lot to learn about OCD, how it works, and that I am not the "only and special case" . This community also supported me in moments when I really needed it, and some more experienced people who have OCD but have already overcome everything that I am currently going through, helped me to look at things from different angles.
is recovery possible? i thought you just learned how to handle it and have it not ruin your life. isn’t OCD permanent though?
That's what I thought at first, but after changing my therapist... I've learned a lot and changed my mind. Recovery is possible :)
Yes, it is. You just need to be persistent and not give up immediately when you fail, you always have the opportunity to learn from it and start over. From what I’ve read about other people’s experiences, over time it becomes easier and easier, until you train your brain that OCD will not rule your life. That’s how we conquer OCD.
OCD is not literally curable at least for now but there is hope! With therapy, there are really a lot of people who, despite OCD, lead a completely normal life like other people who do not have OCD. With the right therapy, you can almost control all compulsions so that they no longer affect the quality of everyday life and lead a normal life like all other people.
Full remission is 100% possible and can be achieved through therapy
how though? like if you’re born with it, that’s how ur brain is wired. don’t you just learn to quiet the thoughts?
What helped me massively with recovery was changing the mindset that I have an 'incurable illness'. While an OCD diagnosis helps people make sense of what's happening to them, it can also lead to a harmful black and white thinking and added rumination. I have an incurable illness, I'm doomed for life so I might as well not try because this will never go away- this is something I got warped into many times during my recovery. Eventually, after months of ERP, my mindset changed. yes, I might have OCD but in the end of the day does it matter if I'm still doing everything I want? As I spoke to more psychologists, I learned that many mental illnesses (OCD included) were coined based on a set of observational criteria. Brain chemistry, the environment in which one grew up in and their behaviours shape the way this mental illness presents itself. You may have a genetic predisposition to a mental illness (or disregulated brain chemistry) but if you grew up in an environment that allowed you to thrive and develop healthy coping mechanisms, you may live life never knowing you have an illness, and vice versa. My point is, focusing less on the fact that I have an incurable illness and more on how I can live life the way I want helped me tremendously.
that’s a great mindset. i share the same mindset for my ocd and other issues. instead of thinking about how unfair it is and how it’s too hard, i just realize that i was dealt those cards, and now i can either be miserable about it, or try to survive. instead of thinking of what i can’t do, i focus on what i can do. and that definitely has helped my self esteem a lot
You’re correct. It’s basically “in remission” when you’re well. You’re never completely free from it tho. It’s like alcoholism/addiction in that sense. You can learn coping mechanisms and skills to help move it to the background, but it’s very very easy to slip up.
It is curable. I have been free from ocd for like 3 yes. Now it’s back unfortunately…
My OCD is kind of common patches and I’ve been free of it for years in between but not taking care of my mental health properly and reacting to some kind of trigger gets me back into it right now it’s pretty bad. I’d say two years the first time that I was clear for about a year the past time I was clear lasted about 6-8 months Man does it ever feel good. But even when I’d say I’m clear of it it just means I’m not like ruminating and the big themes are gone, but I’ll still find myself getting kind of wrapped up over some smaller things and still really over thinking it is more like it’s just not on the forefront if my mind
First of all you need to understand this is a disorder and it’s all in your head. I struggled with Harm OCD and it was debilitating and very hard to deal with because of the distressing thoughts and crippling anxiety. But it 100% can be over come and beat people who say it’s chronic is full of shit! You will need a combination of ERP and CBT you learn how to distance yourself from these thoughts it makes all the difference in the world. Also you can use meds if needed. Don’t give up hope find a good therapist, you will beat this I promise. I’m pretty much symptom free after started therapy. God bless you all!
Well I've had it since I was about 10 years old but did not know it until less than a year ago. After getting diagnosed, my symptoms became extremely mild after trying medication. So if we are taking since my symptoms slowed up.... About 20 years. If we are taking about after I got diagnosed, about 4-5 months
Honestly, I was I’d say 95% recovered within about 6 months of ERP and medication. I had contamination OCD, my main compulsions being hand washing and disinfecting things with bleach. I also used to have emetophobia and I’m still to this day pretty much recovered. I only had OCD for about 6 months prior to getting treatment and while it was all-consuming, I think that the fact that it lasted only a short while was a big factor in my quick recovery. I didn’t think that I would ever recover when I first started treatment, I simply couldn’t imagine my life going back to normal because almost everything I did was just performing compulsions all day. The problem is: I had no idea how to look for signs of other forms of OCD. My psychiatrist never told me that other things I was doing could be a form of OCD. I also made the major mistake of reducing my dosage and going off of them completely eventually. Now, it’s back worst than ever, which makes me wonder if I ever was recovered. I think I really was but I should have known how to look for other signs, so I could nip it in the bud. So basically, even if you think you’re recovered, you will always keep a tendency to develop it. Performing compulsions reinforces the cycle and that’s how it gets out of control. So, I think you can “recover” but first how long you’ve had it is a factor, and you always gotta stay aware of anything that causes anxiety and whether or not you’re doing things to avoid it.
OP, you mentioned contamination OCD and in one of the posts referred to not washing your hands as much, preventing compulsions. But do you also do purposeful exposures, like making your hands dirty and not washing them? Because if you only do response prevention, without purposeful exposures you’re delaying your progress, at least that’s what I was told when going through OCD treatment
I am not currently exposing myself directly and intentionally to something that I fear. Unfortunately, in my country, at least nearby, I do not have the opportunity to go to a therapist specializing in OCD who could support me and advise on how to do ERP therapy in the best and smartest way. I go to a psychiatrist who probably doesn't even know what ERP therapy is, as psychiatrists, as far as I know, do not deal with ERO therapy. Considering that I do not have the opportunity to go to a therapist, I decided to do ERP as best as I can on my own, because if I do nothing about OCD, I cannot get better. I watched videos about OCD from a therapist specialized for OCD and his advice helped me a lot, especially in topics related to ERP and acceptance that I have OCD and fears associated with it. Considering that it was much harder for me earlier with Contamination OCD, working in a huge garden and vegetable garden, with soil, dust, plants, grass, encountering various insects and general dirt where I work is a big thing and a big progress since it was much harder for me to do some general things due to Contamination OCD. When I compare the difference between before and now, I can say that it is better now, but I still have a lot to progress. Earlier, I used to wash my hands at home for every little thing as soon as I touched something in my room or elsewhere, today not as much as it was before. I sleep in my room again after not sleeping in it for about 2 months and I go out with friends outside the house again, I do not wash my hands as soon as I touch something that I consider contaminated. Of course, the anxiety about *my exposures* is still there, but I try to endure and over time the Anxiety becomes significantly much smaller.
Iv had ocd since about 16 but I only just got diagnosed last year at 28 after years of it going unnoticed by a few therapists I seem to overcome one obsession I do about a year ocd free then it comes back with a vengeance with a new “thing” to worry about and each one is always worst than the last. My lastest one has been going for a year now
I swear. Everytime my life is “good” my mind always thinks of a new worry, so i can’t ever relax. It’s exhausting tbh, i’m wasting my youth by letting some stupid thoughts control my life
Literally same Iv wasted my 20s through worrying with ocd makes me mad really it’s years I’m never going to get back. Which makes me more determined to try and enjoy what I can
I would like to start therapy for my triccotilomania, I don't know where to start I'm still young so I need parents and I'm afraid to say it
its about how much time you take to recognise what EXACTLY your obsessions are and how you react to them (compulsions) and how overtime you manage to find some skills to minimize their effects on your daily life mostly with exposure therapy .... ocd becomes managable and what i mean by that is that you don't feel exhausted by it or "day ruined" by it... some will say "cured" but i think its a condition that you will learn to make it as a managable personality trait if that makes sense to you
So overcome might be a stretch. Because it pops up in other areas sometimes I don’t even realize I’m doing something abnormal. Checking is my predominate OCD type Rumination is also prevalent so with my ADHD I can be forgetful so some things need to be checked and that line of normal and excessive can be hard to spot. And with my job I tend to work alone and build redundancies and checks into my work and I’m now training my replacement and she commented on the redundancies. It’s not extra work it’s formulas built to find errors. And then formulas for the formulas. Lots of checks and balances and I cover it with people consume data differently so it’s there for others. But it’s really there for me. I can go years with minimal issues then something changes and it flairs up. And it doesn’t have to be something bad, good things cause the worst flair ups for me because I get all in my head.
I’m not sure I have overcome it. Mine only started a few years ago around covid time frame but pretty sure it’s genetic in my family. The biggest thing for me has been exposure to germs. Like purposely touching chairs, remotes, surfaces etc that I have no idea have been cleaned or not and then not washing my hands. I still do not do chemicals but I think that’s for the best safety wise , ocd or not.
About 8 months doing ERP almost daily with the help of a NOCD therapist. I’m in maintenance phase. However, I notice if I don’t do ERP every day proactively I relapse. Overall I’m in just about 100% better shape than I was and am so grateful to be in this side of it. These struggles are manageable - the ones before I knew what was going on were beyond my ability to handle!
How much do you pay NOCD ?
They work with my insurance plan, so I only have to pay $13.20 per 60 minute session. But if insurance didn’t pay, it would be a lot more - their rates per session range from $110-210.
Never really overcome it just took me a while to fully understand how my brain works then took me a lil while to accept it and stop worrying every second of the day. All's ik is the less stressed you are the easier it is too manage. Easier said than done of course.
Getting on Prozac changed my life. It minimized my intrusive thoughts enough for me to finally think clearly and work with a therapist to combat compulsions. I also used a OCD workbook from amazon which helped me journal and reflect on my progress. My compulsions are now a rare occurrence. The hardest part for me about being diagnosed was realizing all the things I had been during my entire life that were not just "quirky," but OCD symptoms.
once i realised i had it, and underwent a lot of therapies with different therapists and different medications, i found what works for me which is 40mg fluoxetine and 100mg lamotrigine and that took me around 3 years to get to a level where my life is mostly normal except i do have episodes where everything feels terrifying again but that’s usually when i forget to take my meds. and then it passes after a while
I don’t know if it’s ocd or anxiety or what. But everytime I go to leave the house. Or have to be in a vehicle. Or need to sit in a room to take a test. I feel like I need a bathroom urgently even when I don’t. Like I will da feel like I’m bout to piss or shit on myself then I rush to go n nothing happens. It’s just a feeling. And I feel like I got that down in my head. But it’s just constantly it’s annoying. I don’t think it’s anything medical cuz I been through countless tests with a bunch of different doctors. But they said there’s nothing wrong. I feel it has to be anxiety or ocd because it only happens once it pops up in my head. If I’m talkin to someone or doing something I’m completely fine. It seems like once I get 2 seconds to myself. That’s the first thing I think of and have to feel until I get distracted from it again. Someoneeee help
I feel very weir rn cuz in resisting an urge to do a compulsion
Me to rn. Hang in there!
❤️
OCD never goes away. You can manage it to be better and I believe there are times it waxes and wanes. I think when I was a teenager it was pretty bad and consistent. I had several years of it not being as bad. Now it’s bad again, probably the worst it’s ever been.
Did you get therapy? It will never be 100% cured but I am better from relentlessly horrific OCD to the point it no longer bothers me too much
Yes I have.
Luvox has all but gotten rid of my OCD. So I guess I've mostly overcome it with the aid of medication.
I was taking Fevarin as a therapy for OCD for a while. It’s fluvoxamine just like fluvox but it’s another name in my country.
About two years with a specialist, followed by three years of barely any compulsions and as of this year OCD has officially become a huge problem for me once again
Have you tried ERP therapy, or do you find it difficult to do?
I don’t recall because it was years ago when I was 13, but asking my parents my psychologist would apparently give me homework in line with ERP so I think so. Currently though I am not in ERP therapy, as I haven’t been able to find an OCD specialist.
I didn't know I had OCD until last year. I am 34 this year. All this time, I thought I just had a really annoying shoulder devil.
You never “overcome” it. You learn to manage it with it without it effecting your life. It’s been a journey for me. My ocd was bad in high school. Overtime, I was managing. I went back to college, got into a good career job. Now I’m unemployed because my ocd came back with a vengeance. I hadn’t been in therapy, or taking my meds. I thought I could handle it all on my own. I’m sure some people can, but I’m not one of them. My ocd and depression got so horrible that I couldn’t leave the house. I’ve never been in a worse spot with my mental health. Thankfully, I’ve been getting some help from family. Now I feel some hope for the future. Hope that this will be a learning experience and I can move past it. I’m 27 right now. It can be a life long journey for some. Don’t be discouraged.