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Staying strong


Guest Tayo37

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I hope I can continue to stay strong and talk to other sufferers on here supporting each other ocd is torturing for me but with advice on here and also being able to advice others is a great help

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The support on here is amazing and can really help just to here how others cope and is also amazing to be able to be there for others at

There low points to tell them you understand because you have been there

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Guest BonfireDog

Glad to hear it is going well, Tayo. For my part, I didn't start getting better until I shared my burden. This is one of the best places to do it, as there is no barrier to understanding and the support is heartfelt and meant. Remember to rely on those around you physically as well, if you can; the support from them is more fundamental, and different, from the support you get on here. :)

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Thank you bonfiredog I just feel that people on here know exactly what I feel and what I go through I have a great family that are great but they don't understand what it feels like I can really relate to people on here and talk honestly without being judged it's so helpful and I am very thankful for this forum . How r you coping ? I hope you r well what r your ways of coping ? I am practising not ruminating which is hard but I am doing it I want to win this battle

Some day or at least be able to just cope with it better and live a happy life and be like the old me

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Guest BonfireDog

"Cope with it better", rather than "be cured of it", is a good thing to aim for. It was a big revelation to realise that this was something that I needed to live with and manage. There is no easy solution, but lots of hard work involved. I was in a very bad situation two years ago; a combination of group therapy, individual CBT, the support of my loved ones and hard work in confronting my obsessions and compulsions head-on, refusing to dwell on them and moving on with my life has actually been incredible. I certainly still suffer from it (I spent five minutes looking at the toilet this morning, checking whether it needed cleaning!) but I am so much better than I was. No pills, though I'm lucky not to need them. But I am so much better than I was.

Your family can never relate fully to the OCD, but all of them will have worries, anxieties and obsessions, even if they don't realise it; they will perhaps just be buried deep down. When I talked to my family about it I was surprised to hear that my Dad has compulsive anxious tendencies as well; if you met him, you would have never guessed. The best thing is to give them literature to read, informed opinions; it will help them.

I hope that gives you hope.

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Thank you I am glad things have improved for you that is music to my ears as I know the dark places this illness can take us to , you don't take medication that's fantastic , I came off mine but had to go back on as I suffer with major depression aswell and then the ocd came back but I am happy to take it and I am grateful for it thank you for your kind words and yes your message def gives me a lot of

Hope

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Your family can never relate fully to the OCD, but all of them will have worries, anxieties and obsessions, even if they don't realise it; they will perhaps just be buried deep down. When I talked to my family about it I was surprised to hear that my Dad has compulsive anxious tendencies as well; if you met him, you would have never guessed. The best thing is to give them literature to read, informed opinions; it will help them.

Hi there. I'm struggling with this point. So far I told about 4 to 5 people, other than the therapists and self help groups that I've joined. I don't think they remotely get what's happening with me and how fundamentaly different I am than a year ago. Sometimes I even feel my therapist doesn't get it. I guess an ex sufferer would be the best therapist. Anyway if you have good leavlet or something like that please feel free to pass it on. I'm looking for something which can be read in 15 min or some short video which makes a really good introduction.

I wish you all good luck with your recovery.

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Guest BonfireDog

Tenir, I'm sorry that you are struggling so much. I don't know anything about your therapist, but I am sure that they know a lot more than you are giving them credit for. If you are convinced that they are not right for you, find another one. This site will help you, as many of us are sufferers or ex-sufferers, but I believe that we don't truly start to get better until we've told the people around us and found a way to normalise the feelings that we are having. Who did you tell, and how did they react?

In terms of literature, I actually have not read that much; but the book that brought me out of my worst episode and onto the path to relative stability was 'The Imp In The Mind' - I can't remember who it is by now, but it is not a long book.

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Me? Contamination.

It's ok. Thanks anyways.

But I don't think it matter much which theme you have. Overall and for explaining it to someone.

I don't think the people I've told get the severity of the issue. They think its like a tick. You see it's hard to show how it feels. Even in TV shows it's like that. I used to watch the "The big bang theory" for years and of course I've realized that Sheldon has some problem with order e.g. like no one is allowed to sit on his seat. But I also thought it's just a tick. Only since I have OCD I've realized that his portrayed to have it. In the show you cannot see his inner struggle. So it just looks he is a bit strange and has some tick. My point is it's hard to explain how hard life with OCD is without being emotional about it. So I guess I would rather have some good material which is neutral and written by someone trustworthy, to give them some idea.

I guess I'm also afraid of how people will treat me when they know. I don't want to be treated different like anyone else so I'm not planning to tell everyone around me.

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Guest BonfireDog

I understand the desire not to be treated 'differently' - and in general, if your support network is good, they will not treat you differently, but perhaps passively take your issues into account. This may take time, a period of 'normalising' where they get used to it. Literature will certainly help - I'm sure that other people on this forum can provide some other examples. I haven't used literature too heavily.

The Big Bang Theory is never a good source of measured, sympathetic portrayals of neuroses (though there are some in the program) - I indeed spent much longer in the dark about the true nature of OCD because of the lack of popular representation, to the point to which I didn't realise that I had it.

The best popular representation I've seen was in 'Scrubs', when Michael J. Fox guest-starred as a doctor with contamination OCD. There's a scene where JD finds him, late at night, still washing his hands. Fox is in agony, wracked with frustration and anger, but he cannot stop. While it may not be perfect, it shows how OCD is not a 'tick' (i.e. not automatic and unconscious, though it can become so) but rather the result of a cognitive act. Fox wants to stop, but he cannot.

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