Wonderer

Haha thanks, I’ve never used it but seen it on the show “extreme cheapskates” never thought anything I saw on that would come in handy, but here we are! ? I think stockings or tight would be better but I don’t think Ashley will own any of those haha x

Snow White

Not exactly soap making but, if u collect all those little slithers of soap and put them all into an old sock and tie the sock closed, you have a home made loofa type thingy with soap already in it to use in the shower lol

I have been summoned 4 times for jury duty, each time I sent them a letter explaining that I suffered with depression and anxiety and felt a criminal trail would be detrimental to my mental health. They accepted it each time and all was fine, no need to send a doctors letter either.x

Absolutely Roy, I was up and down and every which way for a loooong time, how great would it be if it was just instant success lol. I’m also very aware that I may have setbacks at anytime but I know now that I WILL overcome them because I’ve done it before Hey Orwell! Thank u! You have a fantastic attitude, of course u can get past them ??! Yes, the forums are invaluable as long as we use them for advice rather than reassurance! Good luck X

Thank u so much Leif! I think it’s important to post positive things on the forum, I found the forum hugely helpful when I was ill but ultimately it’s putting into practice the advice we are given that leads to recovery! Hope ur doing well xx

A bird pooped right down the side of my face, neck and shoulder 2 weeks ago, I only had a tissue and no access to water or soap, I wiped what I could and after we all stopped laughing about it, didn’t give it a second thought. I’m still here and not sick. I actually wouldn’t care less if it happened again. Trust that the threat is totally exaggerated due to ur OCD and do ur best to ignore it! Well done u on managing to get to a point where ur able to go to concerts again, don’t let OCD take that away from you! X

Thanks everyone for the lovely comments! Wishing u all well on your journeys to recovery! Xx

Thank u Roy! How are U doing? Hope all is well xx

Thank you gemma How are u feeling atm? Xx

Hey! Sorry ur struggling atm, it’s not nice ? I’m glad that u have had therapy though! Thing is, as u already know, our therapy is a guide and we need to implement it long after the sessions come to an end, I guess anything I’ll recommend u most probably already know to do because of therapy! I would definitely build a hierarchy of fears and start with the least distressing and work ur way up with ERP, i started with baby steps and worked my way up and it got less and less scary. One of the biggest things I thought that helped me, was to accept my anxiety and to remind myself that even though I felt like it, that I wasn’t going to die and although unpleasant that it wasn’t harmful and that it would go down, there were days that I didn’t face my anxiety because I was just too tired but I allowed myself to have off days without beating myself up and then got back on the saddle once I had a little break. I enjoyed rose bretechers book “pure” but it is all about intrusive thoughts but I’m sure u could still relate the struggle, it wasn’t a work book just a good read! I hope u feel better soon and good luck Xx

Hey everyone, I hope u are all doing well or if not so good at the moment that ur being kind to yourself and trying hard to kick OCD in the backside! I’ve not been on for quite a while, which is great actually because I am doing fab! I just wanted to post here to remind people that no matter how bleak it all looks now that recovery is absolutely possible and Ur life can be free from OCD if you put in the work! I am worlds away from how I was at my lowest with OCD, I’m positive and happy and no longer struggling with it all. The last hurdle was panic disorder that I ended up with even after the OCD subsided but I am almost there with them at one too, I do get anxious but am very much able to handle it now and don’t avoid things because of it and in fact I find myself wanting to do things that make me anxious so I can get rid of it all 100%!! At one stage I thought I was stuck forever, miserable and so anxious I could barely function so to everyone out there who’s at that point in their journey, keep on going, there’s light at the end of the tunnel!

Good for u for not showering! I live at home with my partner and two sons, sometimes when I go to pee in the middle of the night I literally sit on a lot of urine left over by one of the 3 lol, I am not going to shower at 3am or whatever time it is, I wipe myself down and dry the toilet seat and go back to bed, I never think about it and nothing has happened to me! Keep going because OCD is exaggerating the risk of contact with urine, even if u do make contact, nothing will happen to you! U can do t! X

I agree somewhat but sometimes the physical symptoms last a long time after the OCD is under control, I got my OCD under control and still to this day I have physical anxiety at times although they’ve gradually come down to a very minimal level, the doctor told me that my body was conditioned to be on high alert because of the severity of my anxiety. Once I accepted that they were just false alarms I began to get along with my symptoms, it didn’t happen overnight but eventually they will settle, best thing to do is to not fight against them because then it making them relevant, just accept the symptoms but continue to do everything u normally do without allowing them to stop u living life.x

Honestly, ever since my kids were born time has just felt like it’s flew by, my oldest willbe 16 this year and I’m like when did this happen?! Time is fast, we’re onmy here for a short while, but rather than worry yourself sick about it, the best thing to do is make the best of it, enjoy things a smith as u can, time will still love fast wether we worry about it or not, so what’s the point in worrying?’ X

I think stuff like that too, mostly about why are we here? How did it happen? When will it all end? Etc BUT it is not an OCD theme for me as I don’t get overly anxious about it, just kinda curious, I’ve always been a curious person. I think everyone thinks these thoughts but it’s to the degree that they bother u that matters.xx

It might not be withdrawal, more likely the fact that ur sick and run down ur anxiety is up. I get physically anxious when I’m sick, I had a throat infection recently and was having lots of physical anxiety symptoms despite not having anxious thoughts about being sick or anything, it’s the defences being down in the body I think.x

I would take anything that orwell1984 says with a pinch of salt, I don’t use OCD action anymore as it’s nothing but a reassurance fest in there 99% of the time and I contacted the mods several times about him because he doesn’t seem to know what he’s talking about and tends to do more damage than good most of the time, and he also berates OCD uk on there as well! Just realised there’s someone on this site also called Orwell1984 and I am pretty confident they are NOT the same person so apologies for any confusion caused!

Maybe it’s different now but I was using the free meditations for a good while? I did end up paying monthly after a while so I could unlock more meditations as I enjoyed them so much but I am sure there are free ones on the app too xx

I used headspace for months! When I was really bad it was fab, the are 5min mini meditations u can do when U get overwhelmed during the day and I used the longer ones to help me relax and get over to sleep at night, really relaxing. I now just use white noise or nature sounds to help relax me at night but would def use headspace again if I got bad again.xx

I don’t know many narcissistic people that are upset at the thought of being one or that are even aware that they are one. I’ve met a few and 1 in particular would surely berate the life out of me if I were to tell him he is one, I think a good logic to go by is if OCD is throwing this at u then u can be pretty certain it is the opposite of ur true character!

You absolutely will get past this. I did. I went through the exact same thing as you, convinced I was a horrible, disgusting excuse of a human being and felt guilt all the time, if I smiled or laughed I immediately got anxiety, because my brain would say I didn’t deserve to be happy. A year later and nothing from my past has changed, I still did all those things I obsessed about and felt so bad about, but they don’t bother me now, simply because I’m better now, OCD has lifted and so I can see clearly now and rationally. There’s still some things I’m not proud of but I have a different perspective on them now, I’ve cut myself some slack, I’m sorry for any horrible things I ever did, that is enough, it’s ok to move past them and forward in our lives, not to mention the perceived mistakes we beat ourselves up for are very nearly always water off a ducks back to people who don’t have OCD!xx

Absolutely! I believe that having trust and love in ourselves is the biggest gift we can give ourselves, trust in yourself and don’t believe OCD lies.xx Brilliant! That’s what I like to hear! Xx

Hi guys, I haven’t been on in a while, which is awesome really because it means I’m well and feeling less and less inclined to check out the forums, however I do check In now and again to see how you’re all doing, I’d just like to wish u all a happy new year, and to thank all of you for the kind words and support in the past also. This year for many will still be difficult, and for some recovery will happen, whichever one it is I hope u all treat yourselves with kindness and compassion and remember that u are all the most amazing people fighting one of the most difficult battles, celebrate every achievement no matter how small and use every slip up as a learning tool and motivation to try again. Best of luck to u all

Yes it’s all getting a bit confusing! Weirdly they rang me yesterday, I sent my form back 5wks agi, they’re currently working on it and he just wanted to confirm a few details, said he’s gunna try and have it sorted for me before Christmas as he thinks I may have been entitled to some premiums I never got! It would be so nice to get something so I could clear off a couple of debts and put some money away for my kids! Here’s hoping! Good luck with yours xx