GreenJet68

I think this is called positive reframing and may be worth a google search.

Hi everyone, I started what will be my third round of therapy on Wednesday just gone. For the first time ever I have someone who specialises in OCD. Also, I've decided this time to just splurge everything. If we are going to start a family I've got to get the OCD in check. I was asked about past traumas, not sure how it came about in the way of therapists, but it dug up some really unpleasant events in the past, namely being attacked in a case of mistaken identity on a night out when I was 18, being inches away from a stabbing while at work, bereavement, trauma to do with my old flat and a drug operation taking place in the flat above me, all sorts of rubbish in my early to mid 20s. It's been properly buried, and this new therapist said something I've not heard before, that lots of people with OCD also have PTSD, around 40%. She said that all of my obsessions, compulsions, depressive and anxious behaviours are all to do with safety-seeking due to several experiences of feeling unsafe in my formative years. Has anyone experienced treatment for PTSD, or had both OCD and PTSD at the same time? Please by the way don't read my post as having conflated the two, those of you with intrusive thoughts don't need to worry about whether they are actually PTSD, it's comorbid rather than being two parts of the same thing. If anyone can share some experiences I would appreciate it. Very up and down at the moment, moments of light but mostly dark, withdrawn, quiet and fearful, always hypervigilant and frankly miserable. Hope you're all having better days, or will do so soon if you're going through a rough patch. Best wishes, GreenJet

Hi mate, My number obsessions came when I started to become a half-decent cricketer in my youth. Suddenly 111 became a cursed number, for obvious reasons if you know your cricket. Then it turned into 11, or 1, or 1111 or just ones in sequence (good job I don't have to use binary code in my job), the only way out was exposure and response therapy, deliberately doing something 11 times and sitting with it for increasingly long periods of time. Hope that helps or at least gives you something to google.

So to rationalise this, when you wake up your body dumps cortisol into your system, the stress hormone, to get you up and out. However, because of OCD you're already stressed, which is the only reason why you feel dread - it's a chemical imbalance, not a sign that you're in any actual trouble. Easier said than done I know, but rationalising is half the battle.

Been there with contamination but no matter what type of OCD I'm going through mornings and around 6pm at night are by far the worst times. Figure out when your 'OCD times' are and try to plan ahead with a step by step schedule while you are spiking.

OCD is ego-dystonic, which makes you think that you're something that is completely in opposition to your moral code and who you actually are. Would a paedophile feel horror at the intrusive thoughts you're experiencing? I'd bet not.

The generalised sense of dread is so difficult to deal with. Does it happen in particular at certain times of day? Before bed or just after waking are common ones. All it is is a feeling, try to rationalise and ground yourself in the present. Is anything bad happening right now?

Morning, Just wondering if it's normal to have far worse OCD attacks first thing in the morning and last thing at night? In the day I'm almost gaslighting myself, e.g. do I even have OCD? Do I need therapy? At work I'm really busy and feel almost normal at times, but then at 5am and 7pm it absolutely hits me like a train. It's leaving me feeling exhausted. On the plus side, the last two bad relapses I've had I waited months before getting help. After two very bad weeks I start therapy on Wednesday. Thanks to all who have contributed on here in therapy threads and to the OCD UK website itself in advising how to pick a therapist. Any advice as ever gratefully received. Wishing you all a good day, as OCD free as possible.

Sorry posted before I'd finished. Thank you for your help and taking the time to reply, really appreciate it. Had a win today, put his entire poo bin out, tied up the big bin liner with all his mess in and just distracted my mind until it was done.

Yes mum and dad are being amazing and coming to see him every weekday even on days where the walkers are here. It's to let him adjust to more time without his humans while we are working gradually before he goes to doggy day care. Can only go to doggy day care once old enough and neutered.

Thank you for such a supportive reply. He's just slept through his third night in a row but is very clingy this morning after lots of fireworks last night. I'm just exhausted from constantly worrying about doing the right thing and the non-linear, entirely natural jaggedy progression curve with his training.

Thank you, with it being the Saturday adjacent to Bonfire Night he has been a little jumpy and peed on the carpet. I feel awful, as if I let him down by failing to spot that he needed to go, but he's normally so good it isn't an issue. Feeling very blue. On the good side I'm a step closer to finding a therapist, just waiting on confirmation.

He's going to have his grandparents over for the first few weeks to help with the adjustment. We are doing the best we can and ultimately it's a much better home than where a lot of dogs sadly end up. The online world of dog training is very all or nothing and we've struggled with it at times.

Yes Howard it's great you went to the club. I'm sure the more you play the more you'll relax about what seems (to a non-chess player) a minor infraction that we with OCD would panic about in a hypersensitive way. I was the same in conflict situations in cricket.

Yes! This was one of the worst phases of OCD in my mid 20s. I am car mad, a complete petrol head with a penchant for old Alfa Romeos that break constantly. However when I first started driving my god, it was hell. I couldn't go anywhere unfamiliar, I was terrified of speed cameras, terrified of crashing and terrified of not leaving enough space around cyclists. You're on the right track having labelled it as OCD, but now work through it as you would with any other obsession. Do you have a routine for mentally challenging OCD thoughts?

I've had this before and also had extreme loss of appetite, eating less than one square meal in a day for say 4-5 days straight before some instinct kicks in. It can definitely mess with appetite. Cups of tea or other hot drinks help me when it's out of whack the other way and I'm eating too much.

I would work on lessening your competitive instinct. I played cricket to a good standard until my mid 20s. I once completed the dreaded Olympic rings - five ducks in five games. I am absolutely convinced looking back (before my diagnosis) this was to do with OCD. I was so caught up with compulsions that my feet couldn't move and I couldn't watch the ball/concentrate properly. You'll be a better player focusing on your love of the game and not being particularly bothered if mistakes happen. Perfectionism just destroys happiness in sport. I wish I'd have learned that earlier before a back injury finished me off.

Hi, I have harm OCD and I'm struggling at times with our new puppy. He's lovely in every way, but I'm absolutely terrified of doing the wrong thing or inadvertently harming him in some way. This then spirals completely out of control with links to all sorts of unrelated things. I was secure in a routine with relatively little responsibility. I had consistent sleep, consistent medication and was probably as healthy as I've been since being diagnosed 15 years ago. This huge change, on top of a new job 9 months ago and moving house 6 months ago (both after long periods of stability) has hit me like a train. I don't really know what I'm asking for, but I'm alone with pooch for the first time overnight today and I'm feeling it. If anyone can offer some advice or just share some positive experiences with pets I would be so grateful. Yesterday I messaged a therapist in the hope that I can start that again soon, because my gut feeling is that this one won't just go away without some help. Also, if anyone takes sertraline, how do you cope with it when sleep deprived? Thank you!

Yes can relate. Hung around in a toxic relationship far too long when I was younger, push away friends too much, read too much into people. I think it all falls under hypersensitivity and hyperawareness which makes sense for someone with OCD.

Yes being able to label and identify OCD thoughts is the first major step towards a recovery. Be wary of any doubt, if you think it might be OCD to any degree, it almost certainly is. Congratulations, that is a major breakthrough!

Let me know how you get on.

Not a direct quote but it's the main argument within Brain Lock, which is probably the book on OCD that did the best job of 'making it make sense' I guess. Or at least as far as it ever can make sense.

As usual the OCD starts off by jumping all over the place and now seems to have fixated on what bothers me most: going back to work and relying on a puppy sitter. We can't afford full puppy sitting at £40 or more a day, so he's getting a visitor twice a day while we are at work. At the moment I'm scared to get the bins in if I'm home alone with the dog. Not feeling very good today at all. No appetite, no energy. I know when my eating goes that's one of the worst signs.

Not at all, thank you for letting me know. I can't stand raisins and don't like grapes very much. Macadamias are just a bit meh so good to know on the rare occasion one might be around.

I've had it before too. Definitely one of the hardest forms of OCD to handle. But rationalising through the faulty brain activity that occurs helps, as did Brain Lock by Jeffery Schwartz.