Tez

Dear Fellow Combatants Against OCD If you are in the Bristol area today, then you might like to know that service users of the local mental health charity Second Step are taking to the airwaves on local community radio between 12 and 2pm with a programme all about different aspects of living with mental health and related issues. The programme goes out on Ujima Community Radio, which broadcasts to urban Bristol at 98.0 FM and online at www.ujimaradio.com. The broadcast will feature Interviews with members of the public about their perceptions of mental health Living with anxiety and coping with panic attacks How cycling can help promote wellbeing, with guests from the Bikeminded project in Bristol Mental health and the election - with guests from all the local political factions invited to explain what they will do on mental health, benefits and the health service generally. Some light music The show has been put together by service users and is a production of the Second Step Media Group, which is dedicated to making mental health destigmatised and encouraging discussion and openness about mental distress. Best wishes to everyone Tez

Hi All I noticed that there have been a few threads recently on how people's thoughts (their OCD thoughts that is) "Feel real", at least in part. And in spite of all the reasoning you can do, you still have a strong feeling that somehow your compulsions have to be obeyed. I think this is a touch of what the clinicians call "Overvalued Ideation". Most sufferers of OCD have some level of magical belief in the context of their OCD, according to the literature I have read, and in extreme cases this can be so profound as to be very difficult to distinguish from a delusional state. But this is why it is best to revalue and reattribute clearly our compulsions as products of Obsessive-compulsive thought. So, never fear that your thoughts and preoccupations "feel real". This is just a product of the illness we are all fighting. Best wishes Tez :original:

If you are a member of a trade union, they can be very useful in guiding you through workplace law. My understanding is that OCD is covered by disability discrimination and equalities legislation. You could try phoning the OCD-UK helpline during office hours for advice on this issue. I have been open at several workplaces about my OCD for the last 15 years, but I am also lucky in that I have worked for some very good employers.

Yes, yes, yes indeed Himmel. I do understand this feeling. I understand that they call it "meta-cognition" - when you are thinking about thinking. Because OCD is a complex and "resourceful" kind of condition it can come in and twist everything to its advantage, including sometimes the very principles of CBT and exposure and response prevention, which can become part of the cycle of compulsions in certain cases. Does that make sense? I sometimes get an intrusion and then start ruminating on it before I gather myself together. Then, my OCD tells me that because I've started ruminating on it, I've unbalanced somehow all the good work I have done and I need to get everything right. As you say, it's just another twisted rule from the OCD, masquerading as being somehow recovery focussed. If anyone else gets this, it would be great to hear how they proceed. Sometimes it takes me a while to break out these loops of "obsessing about obsessing!" Cheers Tez :original:

Yes, the Daily Mail is an interesting case. It is editorially very, very biased, and its news stories are mostly opinion. (And it has the cheek to accuse its political rivals like the Guardian or the BBC News Channel of being propaganda!). Nevertheless, there are occasional uncharacteristically moving human interest stories that they run, such as this one. We have moved on so much in terms of mental health provision and understanding and acceptance over the last hundred years, but much of the achievement has been made since the 1960's with the rise of the patient advocacy movements. Of which, our charity, OCD-UK, is a part. Bravo for all the change that we collectively have achieved. And today, although there are still major problems in provision of services and we still need advocacy, OCD is considered treatable with a clear pathway to treatment. Tez :original:

Hi there. I would not claim to be an expert on the way that the NHS works, but I would not give up on services. You just sometimes need to lobby and agitate for the services that you need. If you explore the main OCD website, they have a copy of the NHS's own NICE guidelines on OCD, which clearly elaborate a pathway if your first line of therapy has not worked. I sometimes refer to them if I am feeling unwell, just to remind myself that there are always more treatment options available. Perhaps you could call the OCD Helpline that this charity runs (in office hours) to discuss your options and how to press for more services. I%2

Duly signed. I know that there are so many issues that need dealing with, but it is my passionate belief that there is no health without mental health and that people with all spectrum of psychological and psychiatric problems deserve the very best care and attention. So, I have signed up to Mind's General Election campaign. Cheers Tez

Thanks very much mate. There are a few Bristolians on the boards.... we're a big city, so by the law averages there must be a lot of OCD sufferers in town. The more that discover the mutual support of these forums the better! :original:

Hi All Last night, my friend Natalie and I stepped in to cover a radio programme on local radio here in Bristol. The dance music show "Handbags and High Heels" is usually hosted by Steffi Barnett is popular and has around 20,000 regular listeners online internationally, plus a local service on FM. The programme goes out as a "simulcast" on B.C.F.M., a community radio station on 93.2 FM, and also on www.piratenationradio.com, an internet station dedicated to recreating the sound of the offshore and landbased pirate radios. Steff was ill and asked Natalie and I to cover her show. Natalie also experiences some anxiety issues and of course, I have OCD, so we both have a personal interest in mental health. We played lots of banging house and trance music tunes, but also spent several minutes in the programme talking about "Ride4OCD". I explained that OCD is - like depression or paranoid - a term used loosely and incorrectly and showed how the condition can be totally debilitating and very distressing. We chatted about the cycle ride from John O'Groats to Land's End and the work that the OCD-UK Charity goes. We also gave the website major plugs and Natalie encouraged people to think about learning more and donating if they could. Just a small little bit of promotion, but every bit helps, and I also think being "out" about OCD in a public sphere can help change perceptions and improve things for people with mental health issues generally. Best wishes Tez

Hello To Everyone in the UK Just a note to let you know that one of my colleagues has let me know that there is a documentary programme this evening on Channel 4 Television in the United Kingdom (Freeview, Sky, Virgin and most other platforms) on living with bipolar disorder. I know that CH4 has not been in the mental health community's good books recently over the misconceived Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners programme, but the word from service user groups is that this is made by a different production company and will treat bipolar disorder in a rational and compassionate way. Let's hope so. Programme airs at 10pm on Channel Four TV for one hour and should be on the demand service 4OD afterwards. I know it's not OCD, but there is a fair amount of overlap between OCD and other conditions, that I thought it would fit here. Very best wishes and hope everyone is having a good day. Tez

Wise words all. I try and challenge my OCD every day. Oftentimes, I have no choice but to challenge it, because I experience mental obsessions and so just by living my daily life I am performing CBT techniques. Only couple of additional clarifications from my personal perspective I would add are that: If you have depression with OCD then a therapist and/or medication can help with that too. I don't believe everything I read in all the therapy books, but there is a consensus that where depression is co-existing with OCD, then it needs to be treated first, and then exposure and response prevention strategies and CBT will work better. Some (but not all) people respond really well with medication in addition to psychological help. I cannot speak for others, but since I have been on a dual therapy treatment of olanzapine and citalopram together, I have enjoyed some years of much improved OCD. I have experienced a bit of a troubling patch recently, but even so, the meds have allowed me to stay at work and have taken the edge off the worst depressive impacts. Become an advocate for yourself, with the help of OCD-UK or any charity of your choice. Make sure that the NHS or private practitioners are experienced and that you get the service you required. As Paul Salkovskis has said, there is a problem in the field with "Not very good CBT", so keep trying and change therapists if necessary until you find the right one for you. Eat well, and take light exercise - yes, very true Taurean. And have some hobbies that you can enjoy: always a help!! Tez :original:

Hello Everyone Hope that you are all having a tolerable day. I have something that might brighten your mood a little, however you feel. I know that OCD-UK has stood out from the crowd in charity circles by refusing to co-operate with the controversial series "Obsessive-Compulsive Cleaners" which airs on Channel Four. I have nothing but the utmost respect for our charity for saying that it will stand firm against this exploitative mis-representation of a debilitating and cruel condition (which, I might add, I would not wish on my worst enemy). A friend of mine, who suffers from a moderate form of checking OCD (which he holds in abeyance with the continued help of a private therapist), has said that today he was shopping in Oxford today and saw the production company behind "...Cleaners" hawking for custom on the streets. Fair play to him, he gave them a sharp piece of his mind and told them that all they do is make "freak porn" which undermines and further stigmatises obsessive-compulsives. He has FaceBooked me (with some rather florid language) and asked how he can make a complaint and get involved in the campaign against this programme. I will suggest that the broadcast regulator is OFCOM (Office of Communications), but does anyone have any advice or guidance I can pass on to him? Just for the record, I do believe in a free press and a free media, and applaud the fact that the last few governments have introduced new layers of radio and television to this country, but people with OCD also deserve fair access to tell truthful and unsensationalised stories. Best wishes Tez :original:

Great: NPR Radio is a saving grace of US broadcasting! Love the Brian avatar too! Tez :original:

Yes, Peter is right: HIV is highly treatable and is not the concern it was (although obviously, it is still a major, chronc health condition). But you don't need my reassurance: just structured ERP and other talking therapies and possibly some medication. And yes, anxiety about sexual orientation is also a major focal point for a lot of people's OCD. For the record, this can cut both ways. So, just as a lot of straight people get "Gay OCD" or "HOCD" as it is sometimes unofficially known, so it is perfectly possible for gay people to get anxiety about whether they might be straight. Basically, it is the illness striking at the heart of a persons identity. Kind wishes and be as kind as possible to yourselves. Tez

Hi Ashley I am glad that you are feeling a bit better for getting on the bicycle. You will enjoy Bristol as we are a cycling city and Green Capital this year. I would be happy to work with OCD-UK to get some coverage, using my contacts at local community radio. If you are happy to work with the Second Step organisation, then may be we can do some publicity together: we have a list of media contacts, including BBC Points West (the TV local news programme) and Made in Bristol, a local TV station which covers the city from the Mendip transmitters and which is new to the air since the last time you were passing through on the Ride. Cheers Tez :original:

Yes, HIV fears are not at all uncommon. OCD tends to exhibit what I call "cultural tracking" so that things that are in the news or about which there is a lot of publicity tend to be a source of anxiety for people. HIV has been one of those things, on and off, for the past thirty years or so. I can say from some experience, as I have volunteered for an HIV charity on and off for some years, that in all the millions of HIV diagnoses that have taken place, no one has been infected from a kiss. But, as Dksea points out, reassurance is not the way to go to alleviate the anxiety - it's structured CBT and response prevention therapy. Welcome to the forums and keep using them - they are a constant source of support and guidance from people who understand and care. Best wishes Tez :original:

Hello there. I have tried to load it on the RTE Player, but it doesn't seem to like it, saying that the programme is "unavailable". Perhaps it is not visible here in the UK. Nonetheless, well done to R.T.E. for putting together a programme showing what it is like to live with OCD. I think that some of the cable TV packages in the UK have R.T.E.1 and 2 as part of the international channels that are offered. Certainly you can get RTE Radio 1 on Virgin. Best wishes Tez

Looks like it's going to be a really interesting programme. I hope that people from the UK's Channel Four see it and take note, as I think we need less sensationalism like "Obsessive-Compulsive Cleaners" and more understanding and sympathetic documentaries. Tez :original:

Thank you so much for publishing these links. I have experienced overvalued ideas with my OCD for a very long time, and have struggled as a consequence. It is great to be able to read more professional viewpoints on the subject. Best wishes Tez :original:

Wise responses as always, from the brilliant OCD-UK Forum users. I would echo what all of the above posters have said, and merely observe that OCD exhibits what I think in other circles is known as "cultural tracking". So, back in the 1980's, when there was a lot of hysteria and misreporting about HIV / AIDS, a lot of people with OCD experienced anxiety over this condition. These days, with treatment making HIV (at least in the western world) a highly treatable long term illness like diabetes, then there is less HIV anxiety. But these days, with all the publicity in Britain about the activities of various unsavoury celebrities, so there is a plethora of articles on paedophilia and some people with OCD have developed an acute anxiety over their sexual identity. A couple of other points, I guess: in response to what Anatta says, the Irish national broadcaster RTE did a radio documentary a couple of years back on people with socially unacceptable attractions and who would never act on such feelings. It was quite illuminating and humanised the issue in a way that the popular press would rarely do. You should of course, not seek reassurance for obsessive-compulsive disorders, as it just prolongs the suffering in the long term. However, if you do one day want to explore with a therapist what other people experience, then there is a useful book called "Sex and the Psyche" by Brett Jahr. It compiles the results of more than 20,000 interviews with a wide spectrum of the public about their sexual fantasies - and reveals that "normal" people have a huge range of fantasies that they would never act upon - including a man who wanted to make love to the late Margaret Thatcher and Her Majesty the Queen. With kind wishes Tez :original:

Thanks for sharing this. I feel it is vitally important for a healthy and civilised society that we pursue the goal of good mental health for all. Tez :original:

Thanks Ashley - you too!! BTW, I am doing a stall at Bristol Gay Pride festival and the St Paul's Afrikan-Caribbean Carnival this summer coming - both of them very well attended events and a good opportunity for getting messages out there, to communities sometimes less well served by mental health services. I am more than happy to take some leaflets for OCD UK along. Best wishes Tez :original:

Hello Everyone Just thought I would let you know that a lady called Julie, living with mental health support needs in terms of anxiety disorders generally and depression, will be speaking about her experiences and giving out tips and advice, on the South Bristol community radio station B@SE Radio ("Bristol at Southside Edutainment"). She will be speaking and choosing a few records between 10am and 12noon on Friday 16th January. Julie is a service user of the West Country mental health charity Second Step. B@SE Radio is an online only service at the present time. You can listen by Googling "B@SE Radio Bristol" and can tune in on a PC, laptop or any mobile device connected to the internet. With kindest regards Tez :original:

Hi Ashley. There are elements of my OCD that have magical thinking attached to them, and I have had bouts of superstitious and religious OCD at times during my life. If I can help I will, but we are quite busy at work at the moment! Tez :original:

Hello Tricia For many years, I took fluoxetine, and later citalopram, at 60mg daily, coupled with an anti-psychotic (risperidone, later changed to olanzapine) at a moderate dosage. My GP is very supportive in working with me on OCD and said that there had been a study completed in the US which suggested that SSRIs, when taken at very high dosages (such as usually prescribed for OCD) and mixed with anti-psychotic, may in a small minority of cases, affect heart rhythm. As a precaution, NHS guidelines for the treatment of severe OCD, continued to advocate the two drug solution, but with the dosage of SSRI component reduced from 60mg to 40mg. I have made the adjustment to a 40mg dose and have not found there to be any effect on my mental health, that I have noticed. I understand that in the United States, SSRIs can be prescribed at a much higher level than they do in the UK - up to 100mg for OCD as I understand it. Therefore, this might be a contributory factor to the conclusions reached by the US based study. I certainly am not too worried about the issue of heart arrhythma. Best wishes Tez :original: