Gemma7

Joconde sponge

Yeah all those neanderthals might have survived if they'd had hand wash and nitrile gloves like the homo sapiens did, oh wait a minute ?

Good to see you've got someone keeping you grounded ? Glad you're ok Ashley, well done for ignoring OCD x

Which city hosted the Summer Olympics in 1960? A. Rome B. Atlanta C. Tokyo D. Melbourne

The thing is no one's asking you to accept that. You, in fact none of us know if our friends and family are fake, it's just incredibly unlikely. What if you're wrong and they aren't fake, surely it's worth taking that chance to not have OCD any longer

How about we all make up a quiz question, put the answer in a spoiler (the eye symbol above when you're typing) to help learn things and distract during this difficult time. The quiz questions can be about anything really, whether educational or silly, let's just keep our brains busy! No googling, you can keep your own score or you can play for fun How much does it cost for a Krispy Kreme Assorted Doughnut Wall in the UK featuring 9 dozen Original Glazed doughnuts and 9 dozen Chocolate Sprinkle doughnuts? A. £195 B. £295 C. £395 D. £495

I don't think anyone would laugh or scoff. It's great that the film spoke to you in such a way and goes to show how helpful it is to see and hear about other people's lives. Letting go of trying so hard and accepting things like yourself, your feelings, the world, other people for how they are, are really hard things to learn and it's brilliant that the film had that affect on you. Glad you're settled with your family too and you're feeling better x

Martini

Conductor

So you've tried to self-refer to IAPT? Did you speak to anyone on the phone?

Hi bookworm If you are in England you can self-refer to IAPT so maybe that's a possible route for you. There's information on the OCD-UK website here, https://www.ocduk.org/overcoming-ocd/accessing-ocd-treatment/accessing-ocd-treatment-through-the-nhs/

Hi RWB A lot of what you describe sounds like OCD. Worrying about contamination and reassuring yourself, having thoughts that bother you, doing checks. Is there a particular reason why you worry about bats or was that a pre-existing fear? Do you worry they'll hurt you or that you'll panic for example. Have you gone to your GP about your OCD problems? It isn't particularly important that you're not diagnosed but it is important that you access cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). It's the current best treatment for OCD and can absolutely set you on the road to recovery I recommend the self-help book Break free from OCD. It takes you through the how OCD becomes a problem, what maintains it and how to begin challenging it. Try to remember you're not alone with this so feel free to ask more questions if you need to

Oh right so you think they just want to get money from other trusts that do refer?

I find this truly shocking. How hard can it be to set up a pathway, it's literally right there in the same county!

Welcome to the forum Bookworm I'm sorry to hear how tough life is for you at the moment. It's a really stressful time for all of us, but throwing OCD into the mix makes it so much harder. I'm very surprised your GP said you were too severe for IAPT, I'm not sure what alternative they were suggesting but it seems like a stupid comment to me. There's simply no way your OCD is too severe for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). It may be that you need a therapist who has lots of experience helping those with OCD but that's all. My advice in the short term is like Ecomum said to get the self-help book Break free from OCD. I'm always recommending this book but it made a huge difference to how I saw my OCD and how I started tackling it. For context when I first downloaded Break free from OCD, I had moved out of my 'contaminated' home and was cleaning all of the time. I'm much much better now. I've had no therapist but I've done loads of reading on OCD. Of course having a therapist has massive bonuses, they help you understand things correctly, keep you on track, are there by your side through exposures, but never underestimate what you can do for yourself in the mean time You're not alone Bookworm

Try to remember Cub that you can only do so much and although there's a suspected case at the prison your landlady works at, it's still unlikely that you'll get it. Also, the decision isn't all on you, your family have also agreed to bring you home. Just try to enjoy each day and for now assume that you and your family are free of Covid-19. Good luck xx

Hi efes Why do you fear being excited over nothing? What do you worry will happen if you are?

Hi Cub, It sounds like a really difficult call to make but I think you're doing the right thing. Plus it'll be nice to have your family around you

Then it's time to start challenging OCD Ecomum Have you read Break free from OCD? Because it talks about inflated responsibility in sufferers and it might speak to you. I know things seem hard, but doing more compulsions isn't the answer. Once you start tackling your problem everything will get a lot easier x

So how has that worked out for you so far? Does it make you more sure or less? Has it had an impact on your happiness and life in general?

The difference between observing other people's OCD and experiencing your own is feelings. As humans we use feelings to judge situations all the time, but with OCD, feelings become massively distorted. Compulsions build belief in taking action and it's that belief that keeps OCD going. When we hear about someone else's beliefs we don't feel anything so observe it as OCD. The best way to challenge OCD therefore is to understand what you believe your compulsions are doing, like keeping you or others safe somehow and begin to challenge that belief. Usually sufferers don't factor in the real impact of their compulsions and so it's easy to lose your way. A self-help book like Break free from OCD would be a good guide. When you challenge that belief you learn that in fact compulsions only make you feel more scared, their affect on keeping you and everyone safe is minimal to none. Challenging the belief reduces your feelings making it easier to challenge and see that it's OCD that is the problem

Castle

Slice

Varnish

Welcome back Snowbear