felix4

On a couple of occasions I have had people having a right go at me on social media accusing me of being racist. I really am not, & I don't like seeing people being racist. However, the way I see it, accusing non racists of being racist is on a par, & in some ways perhaps worse than being racist. I fired back & said this to them, & said that YOU are the problem too, which seemed to shut them up. Honestly, I can in a way see how this could turn people racist. Right, not sure why I have post this, & I don't really have much to say other than hi Malina & Cora, & Cora, stop the reassurance seeking! Take care both!

Hi @Gemzi3 I just wanted to say hi! I was just passing by on here, & thought "I recognise that name as one of the old skool on here". Sorry to see that you are struggling, & I hope you feel better soon! Take care, & all the best! x

I used to be a pilot, & yes, I used to get very anxious! Okay, I have always been into 'Aviation', & learnt to fly gliders in the 1990's. One of my biggest regrets has been taking a wrong turn in life soon after with a bad relationship & letting the stress, anxiety, depression, & ocd take over & put a stop to what I used to enjoy. @Angelina K. DON'T let anxiety, OCD, & so on get in the way! Battle on past it, & don't let anxiety disorders dictate! You will have a lot of distractions tomorrow & will be busy with check in, security, & so on. Enjoy it! You'll be fine!

I received a phone call for a psychiatric assessment over the phone. This was with a new psychiatrist, & he asked me to simply stop taking an antipsychotic, & double up on an anti depressant. I then received a letter saying I had been discharged from psychiatry (been with them 20years). I did as advised with meds, had a complete psychotic meltdown (with limited access to GP only), & I am now in the process of trying to get myself back to how I was pre discharge.

Blimey Caroline, it sounds like you'd have more help from Dr Paul Gachet from the 1800's! I know you are very desperate to get better, but might it be best to step back from all the videos & articles for a while? Give yourself a break, & fill this time with something enjoyable instead for say 2-4 weeks & see how things go. All the best.

Are you saying that being "aware" about paranoia in advance of using cannabis stops this happening? If so, I think this far from true! As for hypocrisy, misinformation, & moralising, I would tend to think this may actually be genuine accounts from users, or family/friends of users that have experienced or seen ill effects. Don't get me wrong, I am all for these alternatives if done in a controlled way, but from past experience, I can't condone promoting say self medicating with some unknown substance.

Hi Matty, I think some psychiatrists think more antidepressants = more happy & reduction in OCD. From personal experience, I would say more antidepressants = apathy & a chemical cosh reduction in OCD! Having done the max citalopram, & Prozac dosage & so on, I found a minimal dose of Venlafaxine helpful, alongside a minimal dose of aripiprazole helpful & good quality CBT/ERP! If allowed, try venlafaxine first before antipsychotic addition route, get better, & slowly wean off meds!

The thing is Nick, I get the impression that some Drs & psychiatrist think there a correlation with more pills = more happy, but I get the impression it not the case. I was at one stage on dosages of citalopram above those recommended as the maximum for depression. Yes it helped numb the OCD, but I felt numb with apathy and more depressed. Whereas, I took the smallest dosage of venlafaxine & aripiprazole and it worked wonders. Same with diazepam, apparently it can be more-ish, but I felt benefits on lowest possible dose, & increasingly unwell and anxious on anything higher. Maybe I went in with the wrong mindset being told how addictive they are, & very reluctant to take.

Hi Snowy, The envelope was sellotaped up, so I am not sure? The neighbour was a bit odd, & had 'problems', but I did occasionally talk to her on passing. I used to question some of the random content of conversations, as if she had read something sensitive.

I was referred to psychiatry in 2003 and during my initial assessment I felt it quite a challenge being open. I found every now and then the pair doing the assessment would quickly scribble something down as if I had said something wrong and it an evidence gathering exercise. To be honest, I regret discussing some mental health related things with my GP. I partly told him stuff as a kind of dual cry/plead for help, & catastrophising, and in many ways/times I were beyond crisis point! When referred I was diagnosed as having psychotic depression, & following med treatment, then OCD. I found my very private/sensitive initial assessment report the other week, the one they addressed to my neighbours flat!

I have never tried mushrooms, but I did do LSD on several occasions back in the early 1990's. I was always anxious after taking it & wondering what effect it would have, bearing in mind once taken, you are stuck with it for the next few hours. I remember one time having a 'bad trip', & how scary that was! The hallucinations were very real! To be honest, I was quite open to taking part in research if it was done in a controlled medically supervised way with a far less amount. However, having recently experienced the effects of psychosis after being asked to stop/increase psychiatric meds, I'd be too scared to now!

Hi Summer, I must confess to never seeing a new generation SSRI anti depressant (escitalopram) prescribed alongside an old tricyclic antidepressant (amitriptyline)? That does not sound right? I am no expert, & I would say go with the professionals, but clearly you need a 3rd opinion! Are you able to discuss with another psychiatrist, or different GP? Crazy having to do this isn't it!

Hi Caroline, I am not sure what to suggest really, but I wanted to say that I am totally not convinced by what your psychiatrist say! To refer to differing kinds of OCD sounds wrong. Yes, there are differing themes & severities and so on, but beneath it all is essentially the same process/cycle. Many many years ago and prior to any diagnosis of OCD, I had problems with staring and focusing on breathing, so I have an idea how hard it must be for you.

Hi Summer, I use a pill cutter, & I must confess splitting the 5mg's are a flipping nuisance! Some are round, & others oblong, and after retrieving the bigger parts from the dust, I am sure some days I get 2mg & some days 3mg. I have always been led to believe there are smaller 2mg doses available, & 1mg as a oral solution. This from a google search, but maybe not available in all countries. All the best & take care! Generic names: aripiprazole (ay ri PIP ray zole), aripiprazole lauroxil (law rox il) Aripiprazole Oral tablet: 2 mg, 5mg, 10 mg, 15 mg, 20 mg, 30 mg Orally disintegrating tablet: 10 mg, 15 mg Oral solution: 1 mg/mL Brand names: Abilify® Tablet: 2 mg, 5mg, 10 mg, 15 mg, 20 mg, 30 mg

Disgusting! I too feel in a similar situation to Veryblue, & I am concerned (almost paranoid) as to what has been written about me on my GP records by one previous doctor in particular.

I think the smallest dose is 2mg. I get prescribed 14 x 5mg & have to use a pill cutter to get them down to 28 x 2.5mg. Summer, I would give them a go, & I have not heard of anybody getting psychosis from antipsychotics. I had issues with the silly psychiatrist telling me to just stop taking them, BUT, I have been on them years, and I was told to double venlafaxine at the same time. I am now down to dosage as before, & plan on coming off them in a controlled way. Personally, I would think you would be fine, & will benefit OCD wise, & I found less is more! (I have been on really high doses of other things in the past, and found they overcooked it, so to speak). Also, you will probably find it will help you engage with CBT. You sound pro active, so keep up with CBT & the sooner you come off of it! Give it a try, & say if no improvement after 8 weeks or whatever, tell them you want off of it.

How many times have you done CBT?

Thank you Snowy, that is very kind, is a week Saturday okay? Seriously though, I thought the scenery here with the hills of the South Downs & the cliffs at Beachy Head & the Seven Sisters just up the road were impressive, but yes, that walking program I watched really showed another kind of hidden side to Wales that I had not seen. Defo on my to-do list, along with camping at the Great Dorset Steam Fair.

Hi Summer, I've not been to Devon, but I have only heard good things about it, so I am sure you & your family will enjoy yourselves! It is weird, I have always had a perception of Wales being a dark dank mountainous place, but I watched a series on BBC2 the other week called "Take a Hike", & I could not believe how beautifully scenic it is, particularly Snowdonia. I am so going to have to try my utmost to visit there before travelling abroad again. I am sure you are doing the right thing, & you know you best, & will get to travel the world! Take care, & all the best!

Hi Summer, I know it is hard, & your Dad should not trivialise, but if it is say just a 1 or 2 week holiday, then GO! As for the AA, well, I guess both OCD and alcoholism are very similar with regards to mental health problems, & he should have more empathy! (He would probably find OCD more debilitating than his addiction to drink)! Also, he should not be putting on you to go to AA on his behalf, & that is him buckling under drink demands more than you giving in to OCD demands! You should do a deal! Tell him, you'll go on holiday providing he attends AA, & learns about the effects of & similarities to OCD! Listen, I don't really know your circumstances, so please tread carefully & don't get into arguments with your family with what I have said above. I am just a bit bias, because I can remember going out on the odd did occasion and having alcohol when OCD was at its worst, & alcohol had absolutely no effect on reducing compulsions whilst 2 sheets to the wind, which is why I think OCD worse. I am sure your Dad does mean well, & a beach is his way of wanting to snap you out off your suffering. Please reconsider Summer! Try & convert all the what ifs & OCD related scenarios into say relaxing on a beach in different surroundings & exploring!

Not sure if this relevant, but I too used to be one that would get weirded out, & speak out, but I have learned not to comment. I remember a boss once telling a inappropriate joke to grovelling yes men. They responded by "way over reacting with grovelling fake laughs", & I responded by saying that I thought it quick sick, as in a bad thing to say and laugh at really. The thing is, I think part of the issue, & similar to OCD (or maybe was a OCD compulsion) was to kind of neutralize what went against my moral compass by speaking out. What I have also learnt is, be careful, because some of the more inappropriate reflect badly on the person telling them, & I think regardless of OCD, people do kind of judge and build up a profile. Swings & roundabout I guess.

Hi Summer, I just got the impression that they (2 ladies & the one leading being very French with a lovely accent) rigidly stuck to what they had been taught! The course was over 12 weekly sessions, & I think 2 hours per session. It was well structured, the initial CBT took the "sting" out of the following ERP sessions, which involved both actually doing ERP during latter sessions, & homework! The ladies were very clear & would go back over anything not quite understood. It was a small group of us. Initially 4 but one young lady dropped out, so 3 of us carried on, & ERP would involve suffers creating ERP for each other, & then going into my local town to carry out the ERP & the other 2 making sure it had been carried out! I will spare you exactly what other ERP type stuff we did, but like I say, it not as daunting after all with the right CBT & sting taken out. What made me laugh was, the 2 therapist suggested we have a tea or coffee together on the last session, which we did, but then they, the therapists contaminated! I thought we got on so well lol, but yes, it was a kind of mental contaminated relate to our individual themes. I think another thing was, although we got on well, they were quite professionally strict with ERP, whereas the other therapists seemed very/too relaxed. I hope this all makes sense.

Hi @snowbear I had lots & lots of CBT on the NHS, both group and one to one. It was only after attending a more specialised NHS linked OCD Clinic that I realised how useless the previous therapists had all been! No 2 out of 5-ish sets were the same, & it as if each therapist had learned CBT & gone off-piste with their own interpretations???

@Smithy29 is correct! Rather than sit waiting & risk worsening OCD, you need to be proactive! There are plenty of free NHS self referral services out there, such as this in Brighton, but I am sure other local NHS trusts must have similar. https://www.brightonandhovewellbeing.org/ I self referred and attended an NHS OCD clinic that was more specialised than the standard CBT offered by psychiatric services, and, it was right opposite the mental health treatment assessment centre that I usually attended.

Thank you Lynz, Actually, I think it best to amend what I said about forum moderation on the other charities forum, & I have just noticed that all/most the "moderator" replies seem to be automated responses advising the poster to call their helpline, & not a personalised OCD knowledgeable reply at all? I am glad you are recovered! I was about 95% there, but then got discharged by psychiatry in August & asked to stop 1 med & double another, a few weeks later I had a complete meltdown! It has been quite a scary time with, like so many others, trouble getting in contact with GP's & so on. Thankfully, I got a call yesterday from psychiatric assessment triage, & they have come up with potential reversal back to med dosage before changes, & a treatment plan! Thanks again, & like I said, onwards & upwards!