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Gemma@OCDUK

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Everything posted by Gemma@OCDUK

  1. Hi Thumula, I'm really sorry to hear how much your friend is struggling at the moment. Perhaps it would be helpful for her to listen to other people with OCD who have struggled with religious based worries and overcome them. There are two presentations from our 2020 conference that you could both watch here https://www.ocduk.org/conference/conferences-across-the-uk/2020-virtual/conference-map/main/ocd-and-religion-a-sufferers-perspective/ and here https://www.ocduk.org/conference/conferences-across-the-uk/2020-virtual/conference-map/main/ocd-faith-and-climate-change/ Maybe if she sees that she is not alone in her struggles, then she will feel more ready to reach out for help. Gemma
  2. Hi Sarah, I agree with Snowbear in that not being able to drink makes it a possible emergency situation so I hope you have managed to reach out to either your GP for immediate assistance or if you have to go to A&E, then please do so. It is really hard because I'm sure it feels like your total responsibility to get your daughter eating and drinking, but really you need support to tackle this problem, because it will be very distressing for you and your husband too. Gemma
  3. Hi Sarah, I'm so sorry to hear how much your daughter is struggling at the moment. I understand how hard it must be to watch your daughter in such distress over something seemingly so simple like eating food. The symptoms you describe sound a lot like those with OCD with contamination fears around food, but there is another condition that I know of called Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) that can co-occur with OCD, or be a condition on its own. We have a presentation from the specialist CAMHS team in London talking about it here https://www.ocduk.org/conference/conferences-across-the-uk/2021-virtual/family/ocd-and-co-morbidities/ They do suggest some resources, but just knowing about ARFID might help better inform the approach of CAMHS. You mentioned that your daughter's therapist has contacted CAMHS and so has your GP, have you heard anything back yet? Gemma
  4. Hi Dantheflan, It's hard to say whether or not these worries are because of OCD or not, however there are some things that these worries will have in common with OCD. Caring for someone means that you risk getting hurt, OCD hates risk, you can't know for 100% sure that everything will be fine in the future, OCD hates uncertainty. Whether or not it's OCD doesn't matter too much as long as you approach the worry over risk and uncertainty the same. Look out for what behaviours you do that say you need to constantly keep a look out for things going wrong, try your best to reduce them, and your feelings and concentration on them will reduce over time. Gemma
  5. Hi Shishkebab, Typically, local talking therapies services let your GP know that you are using the service, so you don't need to do it yourself. If the service is an Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) service (which it sounds like it is), then the professionals there can't offer a diagnosis, but they are trained to assess people with common anxiety problems and will be able to recognise when someone is struggling with OCD. The aim for treatment for OCD is CBT, so as long as CBT is included in your treatment plan at some point then it sounds like they are taking the right steps for you Gemma
  6. Hi Louloulou, If your son was improving with CAMHS, then is it possible to get back in touch with them about further CBT? Gemma
  7. Hi Tough at times I have heard lots of people say they wake up anxious so you are definitely not alone. The only way to lose anxiety like all other emotions is to accept that it is there and to get on with your day. Emotions come and go and won't last forever, as long as we don't buy into them (like trying to work out why you're anxious). Also, when you're anxious you're more likely to be irritable and get intrusive thoughts, so again accept this as part of anxiety and be compassionate with yourself Gemma
  8. Hi OB1UK, It might be helpful to look at this problem as if it was a friend's dilemma. What would you suggest they do in this situation? Do you think you are treating yourself which much harsher standards then you would suggest a friend did? At the moment it sounds like you are worried about the fact that you 'could' have acted in a different way. Why do feel thinking this over and over is going to help? Do you have evidence that thinking it over helps at all? My advice is to take things in small chunks. Practice for a half hour, not engaging with these thoughts, enjoying family time. Try this over a few days, allowing yourself other time to ruminate if you want to. Then after a few days extend it to 45 minutes and so on. Giving up thinking about all the thoughts at once may just be a little out of reach right now, but you can get there. Gemma
  9. Hi Ben, If your fiancé is in England, then she will be able to self-refer to her local IAPT service for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). She can find her local service here https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/mental-health/find-a-psychological-therapies-service/ If she is elsewhere in the UK, then it's likely she will need to speak to her GP. She will need to ask for a referral to her local Community Mental Health Team (CMHT). If it would help, she can explain that she has been advised to seek CBT for OCD by OCD-UK. We have some fantastic conference presentations that you might find helpful to watch together. You can access them all here https://www.ocduk.org/conference/ Gemma
  10. Hi CaringParent, I don't think I have heard of a therapist who could offer this type of support. Most of the time the focus would be on challenging the OCD, where sometimes families are included in the odd session, so they know how best to support the person struggling. Gemma
  11. Hi Ben, I'm really sorry to hear how much your fiancé is struggling at the moment. You mentioned that she has been to the doctors a few times, has she ever been offered or had any treatment? Treatment would include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and possibly SSRI medication. Gemma
  12. Hi zjg22, I'm sorry to hear that your daughter is struggling so much at the moment. You can access CBT on the NHS, but what service is best for your daughter depends on how old she is. if she is under 16 years old then she would need a referral to her local Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) who will be able to assess, diagnose and offer treatment. We do have some fantastic presentations aimed at parents of children under 18 years old, that offer ideas on how to tackle OCD as a family. You can find them all here https://www.ocduk.org/conference/conferences-across-the-uk/2021-virtual/family/ and here https://www.ocduk.org/conference/conferences-across-the-uk/2020-virtual/conference-map/family/ Gemma
  13. Hi CaringParent, We have a fantastic presentation aimed at parents of children under 18 years old (but could be still be relevant) that you might find helpful about parental self care https://www.ocduk.org/conference/conferences-across-the-uk/2021-virtual/family/parents-caring-for-themselves/ It features two parent's honest account of how they coped alongside OCD. Gemma
  14. The next webinar in OCD-UK's webinar series is this one.... To register to watch live click here - https://www.ocduk.org/webinar-series/understanding-excessive-worry-and-gad/ Hope to see you there, Gemma
  15. Hi Flourella, OHSPIC would very much tailor their treatment approach to your situation, so they wouldn't offer home visits until you were ready to. My understanding of the Springfield is what you referenced, that they can offer some outpatient support, again I imagine it will vary on a case by case basis. I don't know of any information on OCD treatment with the specific co-morbidities you mentioned. Treatment should really be individual so there won't be one approach for everyone even with the same difficulties. The benefit of specialists in OCD is that they will have worked with others who have experienced similar problems and will adapt their approach when it is needed. I also can't see why your health professionals will not be able to discuss the best options for you with the specialist clinics. It sounds like they are taking the right steps. Gemma
  16. Hi Flourella, It sounds to me like you have a good understanding about what National NHS services are available. You're right that the benefits of OHSPIC is that they can tailor treatment, offer at home treatment and are specialists in the treatment of OCD. You would need your CCG to fund the referral, but if you are supported by your local mental health team then that should work in your favour. The reason you would use as an argument for OHSPIC over the other clinics is that they can offer outreach nationally for when OCD affects someone at home. Has anyone yet made a referral for you? Gemma
  17. Hi CaringParent, If you son is registered with a GP in England, then he can self-refer to his local Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) service. IAPT services can offer Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, which is the current recommended psychological treatment for OCD. Your local IAPT is based on where your GP is registered, so his local IAPT may be where he is now, or where his family home is. Either way, most services can offer remote therapy via telephone or video call, so it might not matter if he lives near his IAPT. You can find local IAPT services here https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/mental-health/find-a-psychological-therapies-service/ Gemma
  18. Hi Df84, I think a lot of people on here will relate to this. You went out on a night out that sounded quite challenging with your friend being drunk. You then felt doubt about what happened that evening, which you then exacerbated by starting to think back and worry. One of the specialists always says 'you can't remember something that never happened' and it sounds like that's where you are at the moment. OCD wants certainty, but you're not going to be able to get it. Try your best to let the doubt be there, get on with your day and persist with that over time. I'm sure you know all this after having such helpful therapy, you will get there Gemma
  19. Hi angels, I'm so sorry you're really struggling right now after having some OCD free years. It absolutely sucks but that doesn't mean you can't get back to where you were or even a better place still You mentioned that you keep questioning your personality, if you are confident/strong, why do you think you're questioning yourself in this way? What is worrying you about if you are confident or strong? Gemma
  20. Hi Summer, Just wanted to highlight this This is what OCD is using against you. If you feel like cheating is the worst thing you could do, or anything like cheating, then OCD is going to go looking for that threat. That's why when you're in conversation with your supervisor, OCD is essentially wanting you to be sure that you haven't been disrespectful in any way. If you can see what OCD is looking out for and how it's making you feel, then it is easier to not engage with the doubt. Good luck with your new position. Remember that you can ask for reasonable adjustments, and if you do find it is too much then you are allowed to say so and leave if you choose to. No one will force you to keep going. Giving it a go is a massive achievement so be proud of yourself Gemma
  21. Hi Nolightleft, Can you consider how you might react if your wife came to you feeling unbelievably guilty about fantasies she had had in the past? Or if not your wife, a dear friend? What would you say to them, what would you suggest they do with this dilemma? Gemma
  22. Hi Buttonheart, I'm sorry to hear how hard things are at the moment and how frustrating your experiences with the NHS have been. I'm assuming that your local CMHT have suggested you go back to IAPT, is that correct? This is a good and a bad thing. IAPT typically have much shorter waiting times than your CMHT, however, they may have less experience dealing with OCD (although this depends) and only offer shorter term CBT. You have a couple of options. You could self-refer back to IAPT, try a course with them and if you are no better then ask them to refer you to the CMHT stating that they have helped you as much as they can. You could alternatively look to see if there is another IAPT locally that you could try. Gemma
  23. Hi 000, In terms of accessing CBT locally, it depends on where you are in the UK. If you are in England then some IAPT services (adult mental health services) take on patients from 16 years old. You can find your local IAPT on the NHS database here https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/mental-health/find-a-psychological-therapies-service/ For some IAPT services it's 17 years old and for others it's 18 years old. You can self-refer to IAPT so you wouldn't need to speak to your GP. For elsewhere in the UK, it would probably be a referral to your local CAMHS, who should be able to help with this problem, as it is clearly OCD. I agree that you should try and stop the cleaning and trimming as much as you can, completely if possible. The feelings of contamination will fade in time. It's obviously easier to tackle OCD with the support of a therapist, but some people find self-help books good too. One good one is Break Free from OCD. Gemma
  24. Hi Jess, People's experiences of medication vary massively, but yes on the whole medication helps alongside CBT. It can make the feelings that come along with OCD and challenging it in CBT easier to cope with. Sometimes the effect of a medication wears off and that might be where you want to change dosage, but it would be completely up to you Gemma
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