foreverobsessing

I have PIP for OCD. Be as honest as you can about how it is affecting your life. I was helped to fill mine in by my therapist which helped me immensely, also any letters from psychiatrists/doctors etc confirming the evidence you are giving. I wouldn’t worry about the fact the degree that OCD affects you may change because when your situation changes you’d be expected to update them of any changes anyway, also they do re-assess every so often too. Good luck!

Love this idea- please have a think about this NLL & I look forward to hearing about it

I’ve seen occupational health for work before, and they were super kind and helpful! they had lots of suggestions and are very much there to help give you and show you the support you are entitled to. Hope things improved for you soon

If exercise alone would cure OCD I would be an athlete by now

Well done!

100% this

What would you say to a friend if they came to you in your situation?

@Nolightleft I’ve told my partner I’ve had sexual thoughts about his family members/ our friends etc but because he knows I have OCD and that I am not in control of what I think, he is understanding and doesn't make me feel bad. It’s also not something I feel I need to tell him each time it happens because I understand that it is the OCD and that it is the last thing I would really want to do. In fact it causes me a lot of distress. It took me a while to accept that the thoughts/ fantasies or however they are called was something I couldn’t control but saying to myself ‘ok I’m having these thoughts. I know I don’t want to do that. I know I have OCD and that OCD can cause this to happen. Let’s accept that the thoughts are there and that I can’t control that, but they aren’t a reflection on me’

@bluegas I understand you, I had nearly 30 sessions of CBT with my therapist and I worked SO hard. It got to the point where it had to be stopped because it was stressing me out so much they didn’t feel they could continue for my welfare. CBT did not work for me either, eventhough I continually put in the work. In my case it was realised I need to treat my ptsd first before my ocd so I understand everyone is different. Just know that I do understand where you and @Nolightleft are coming from x

That’s a great idea @Nolightleft

When I had CBT with erp I had some good results but ultimately it was stopped as I wasn’t responding well enough to it as I was getting too distressed. Later it was realised I also have another mental health condition that they were unaware of at the time that was limiting my progress. My CBT with erp was also done virtually, therapist was in training, I was still adjusting to different medications, had ALOT of life stressors, etc. However now, I am able to put what I did learn in CBT and exposure work into practice somewhat easier. I also had 0 faith in CBT practises and exposure work but have found that sticking with it it has very slowly started to click in my brain. sorry if this isn’t helpful to hear, just trying to shed some light onto the therapy in the sense that it doesn’t always work straight away and that it can be really bloody stubborn, and by all means I’m not ‘cured’ or close to it but it can be helpful

Lynz has completely summed up what I think too

To help them manage their ocd perhaps? Usually a common reason people take medication for OCD

I really feel for you NLL as someone with ocd too who understands how it works in the brain and how cruel and horrible it is. The way the mh services treat patients half the time make people even worse, makes you want to just scream at them to make them understand your pain. I feel your frustration because I’ve been there. Sometimes when I’m really struggling although the positive words and encouragement are nice to hear, sometimes I just want someone to agree with me that things are **** and join me being angry at the world. You are better than this though, and each day you get up and continue on regardless is a win. One day at a time x

Hi summer, I have been on risperidone before, and was told by my psychiatrist that using an antipsychotic alongside an antidepressant may help- so it’s definitely worth a try One thing I would recommend with risperidone is to ask for a blood test to check your prolactin level after you have settled on your dose for a while. Risperidone can lead to it increasing more than some other antipsychotics. My psychiatrist didn’t tell me about this until I had some side effects that suggested it. I hope I’m not doing the wrong thing but telling you this but it’s just something to be aware of I’ve spoke to a few people also who have found risperidone to be really helpful in treating their ocd, as well as helping manage other mh conditions. Let us know how you get on x

Don’t ever feel like you need to shut up, NLL. One of the hardest parts I’ve found in my own journey is the ability to open up and speak about what’s going on in my head, but I’m learning it’s so important to have someone to voice what’s going on. We are all here for you x

Well done! That was great you held off googling during the day eventhough you did in the evening, it’s definitely progress that you managed to fight the urges to google about it throughout the day. It shows you are capable of getting through this and you are going to come out the other end and be okay well done with work too! I can’t imagine doing that as a job it sounds so stressful but it does sound like it’s working as a good distraction for you

@bluegas I’m not very active on the forums and when I come on it’s often when I am trying to feel less stuck in life with my ocd and less alone. If I’ve come across a post of yours I have likely not replied because I’m cautious to reply unless it’s something I know I can give the best advice for, as well as using the forums when I am usually at a low point myself. I am sure though that even if you don’t get many replies, that there are many people still reading your posts and feeling similar to you or relating in some way but just not knowing what advice to give/ just giving you the space to get your thoughts out/ not in a space to give advice themselves. Please know that people do care about you though x

Perhaps now is the best time to speak to the charity about helping advocate for you as you don’t feel you are being listened to?

Hi Hazel, I am on clomipramine. I very gradually increased the dose up until I was at max dose of 250mg, as per what my psychiatrist said to do. I too also had plenty of side effects! What I can recommend is taking more time between in the increases to give your body time to get used to the medication more. It did take a while for the side effects to settle down but they did eventually in my case (minus the constant dry mouth). By all means clomipramine hasn’t cured my ocd but it has definitely helped more than any other anti depressant I have tried before. sending lots of best wishes and take care of yourself xx

I second this! monsters don’t have feelings and worry about the things you have mentioned in this post x

you’re not alone @hazel x you don’t sound ridiculous to me at all. For me now ocd can give me moments where I feel some relief and I think ‘ahh some bloody peace’ but then it quickly comes back, I think that’s what makes it such a cruel illness. I take clomipramine and I have found it to be helpful. Although it doesn’t stop the thoughts for me, it does help them feel less like they are going to burst out of my head (not the best description I know lol) I struggle to accept I benefit from meds but I try to remember I wouldn’t feel this way about a physical health problem. That’s good news about the specialist centre, fingers crossed they can give you some support. x

YAYYYY so pleased you went and had a great time. This can be an example to think back on that went really well when you fight against the horrible ocd xx

You say confession seems like the only thing to release this pain, but remember back to all the times you’ve confessed the fantasies in the past.. can you honestly say that has helped release your pain before? From reading what you’ve wrote before, it seems after confessing you are still distressed and negatively thinking about yourself. The compulsion of confessing works the same as any other compulsion with ocd, the more you act on it the more you are feeding into it. Obviously we all know it’s not easy to just stop, but try and think about what actually happens when you have confessed before, and remind yourself of the emotions you feel then. you’ve been out twice this weekend though! That’s great how was the roast?

That’s good you’ve got something planned to do tomorrow I find my antidepressant makes me overheat, as well as when I’m anxious so I can relate. When ocd is being the most cruel and difficult to handle, just getting out of bed each day and doing what you can to distract yourself is a huge achievement. On my worst days I have found that making a note of everything I am doing and then being able to look back at it at the end of the day, really helps me be able to realise ‘wait eventhough I am struggling so much I have managed to achieve things today’ - like a back to front to-do list