redrattle

Hi I haven't posted on here for a while but I'm struggling so wanted to reach our for advice. I have PTSD which then triggered OCD and was diagnosed about three years ago. I've gone through therapy for the PTSD and was going through therapy for the OCD but it all paused when my father died in 2015. Im now the main carer for my elderly and frail mother and although I've since tried to return to therapy, I've not been able to. I'm cut off with no friends outside my work colleagues and have recently started Levothyroxine and HRT for an early menopause which I am sure makes my OCD worse. As it's been creeping back I've tried to speak to my mum to clear my head but understandably she has the same response many people without OCD have to the anxiety which is incomprehension at the things that frighten me. All this makes me feel more isolated and the anxiety increases. I'm still getting triggered but feel more and more powerless to stop it. Any advice.

I've had OCD & PTSD for 4 years now. The PTSD, once finally diagnosed is improving but I'm still struggling with the OCD. I feel so ashamed that I have OCD and it's so difficult to try to explain to my family how I cannot just stop with the rituals. I've had 20 weeks of CBT on the NHS with partial success, but she completely missed my PTSD & couldn't understand why I was struggling. I now see a therapist privately but wondered if anyone had any advice on coping with feeling ashamed. Many thanks

Watched yesterday's programme on OCD. Looked promising to begin with, but to suggest that after one day they can get rid of someone's OCD simply by telling them that what they are doing is ridiculous is insulting to anyone who has gone through all the many sessions of CBT, etc. My own OCD came from PTSD. Unfortunately the PTSD was missed by everyone I saw and they only homed in on the OCD. Needless to say I did not improve after my CBT sessions. It was only when the PTSD was diagnosed that things changed. All this has taken many months of sessions both NHS and private. I see the Speakmans are tackling PTSD at the end of this week. I don't think I'll watch it.

Hi Has anyone else been diagnosed with OCD and PTSD? I first developed symptoms of OCD back in 2010 triggered by a traumatic death in the family. I finally sought help in 2011 which was 18 weeks of CBT with a trainee therapist on the NHS. This improved the symptoms somewhat, but not completely. I'd worked my way through just over half of my hierachy. I finished the CBT earlier than the planned 20 week after a less than helpful final session where my therapist rather bluntly told me that I would be like this for the rest of my life unless I tried harder, etc so I decided that I no longer wished to continue to see her. I left feeling quite low and something of a failure that I'd not got further than I'd hoped. Fast forward to this year and as I'd got worse, I tried to be referred on the NHS again. After waiting nearly a year for treatment I finally booked to see someone privately and it took her only half an hour to pick up the fact that I have PTSD which was making the OCD more difficult to get on top of. Does anyone else have PTSD and OCD? Did you have problems getting it diagnosed?? Thanks

Hi I've had OCD for three years and I've been on the waiting list for CBT for seven months now. However, things are getting worse. I've been back to my GP but his advice was more or less to just keep waiting. Does anyone know of a good private OCD/CBT therapist in the Buckinghamshire area who might be worth a try instead. Many thanks

Very powerful programme on OCD. I thought it was very good. When I realised Jon was visiting a charity I thought it must be OCDUK but surprised it was OCD Action .

Sounds good. I've read that he talks to one of the country's leading experts in OCD but I've no idea who it is.

Just saw Doctors yesterday and one of the GP's has OCD. On the episode I saw it looks like the strain for his wife was now becoming too much as she deliberately threw food on the floor and asked him not to clear it up. She did say something which I found alarming which was that if you live with someone with OCD you eventually get it. Did anyone else see this???

Hi, I've had OCD for nearly 2 years. I finally saw my GP last year about it and last month I finished the maximum 18 CBT sessions that I was allowed. As my OCD is still severely impacting my life my GP has now referred me to a psychologist but I'm not sure what to expect from this new therapist. To be honest I feel very ashamed that after many sessions of CBT I still need help so I'm very nervous about seeing another person and starting from scratch all over again. Any advice welcome.

Hi, I usually love Emmerdale and it's been very obvious for a while now that Nikhil Sharma has OCD. It's sad however that his character has always been mocked for his behaviour as I think they've missed a chance to send out a more positive message about OCD.

Hi, I posting this message to see if anyone has the same OCD thoughts that I do. My fear is that I can catch cancer simply by either touching someone who has it or touching an object they've owned. It was sparked off by the traumatic time I had in 2010 when a member of my family had a particularly aggressive brain tumour and it was only 6 months from the first symptoms to her death. Ive seen my particularly unsympathic GP many times. I cannot have antidepressant as it reactions with other another tablet Im on. I've just completed 18 weeks of CBT and although I've progressed in some areas this fear remains. Does anyone else have the same problems????

Hi everyone, I ve had OCD for about 18 months now and I'm midway through my cbt sessions. One thing I have not been able to shake at all is the amount of preparation and hand washing I have to do before having a shower. Its a horrible feeling to remember how I used to be able to have quick shower and now it takes me ages what with getting undressed in order and washing in between, that I end up having a panic attack most evenings just at the thought of all the rituals to do before bed. Does anyone else get this? My OCD was sparked by my aunt's death from a brain tumour and the fear I can catch it in some way. Despite all I've read on the subject that this cannot happen , the fear persists. As my hands are so sore now I'm ashamed for anyone to see them. I hope this improves on CBT. Has anyone else had found any good strategies? Many thanks.

Hi, just wondered if anyone else had major problems with their OCD interfering with shopping? My OCD is mainly to do with contamination and when it's bad even grocery shopping is a nightmare as I keep worrying who might have touched things before I pick them up. The only way I can do it is to hurriedly grabbed things from the shelves and dash to the checkout. Needless to say this time of the year is 100 times worse. I wondered if anyone else had experienced the same?

Feeling very guilty at the moment about how my OCD must drive those around me mad. I try so hard not to ask for reassurance,etc or to do any checking as I've read in many places that it's counterproductive, but it is so hard when you are feeling so low not to. I'm due to have cbt soon but would appreciate any advice on trying to alleviate the guilt.

Hi everyone I'm having a hard time at the moment worrying about catching cancer. My aunt died last year of a brain tumour and it was extremely hard in her final few weeks as it made her so aggressive. I'm convinced that I can catch what she had, even from gifts she gave me long before she was ill. I've had telephone cbt sessions but I have my first face to face one in about 5 weeks. Any advice on stopping these thoughts. My GP has presribed citalopram but I'm a bit concerned it works against the carbamazepine I'm on for epilepsy.