Caramoole Posted June 18, 2019 Author Share Posted June 18, 2019 That's great. Try and keep building on the time. Looking at things like the sky can be part of Mindfulness. See how many stars there are, whether it's cloudy or clear. Listen to the sounds, what do you notice. Are there any scents, the smell ofgrass, flowers, foliage or even of traffic? Link to comment
Caramoole Posted June 18, 2019 Author Share Posted June 18, 2019 Who else has any news on their challenges? Link to comment
taurean Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 Well I deferred trying a drop down in meds till after summer, as we desperately want a good summer as my wife Julie was so unwell through three seasons last year. So I will take on that challenge then. But meantime my ongoing challenge is to keep more or less OCD free. I found that the key for me getting better originally and keeping well was to remember the cognitive side of OCD and believe my advisers, not the OCD. Then don't connect with intrusions and gently refocus. Whilst not avoiding, keeping up my exposure work, practising meditation and relaxation exercises, keeping busy and moving my mind into the mindful state when I need to anchor in the present and not be drawn into any obsessing and compulsing. The crowning glory to this therapy is to be kind to myself and quickly cauterise any unintended wrong with a "bandage" of forgiveness and self love. We have made some wonderful friends in our new community, and it's a real joy to keep up with them and often we laugh so much we nearly cry Laughter really is the best medicine Link to comment
Lost_in_a_Dark_Maze Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 On 16/06/2019 at 12:14, taurean said: That's good. I noticed that there was almost a full moon visible last night as the rain clouds had, temporarily, cleared. It was a lovely sight 7 hours ago, Caramoole said: That's great. Try and keep building on the time. Looking at things like the sky can be part of Mindfulness. See how many stars there are, whether it's cloudy or clear. Listen to the sounds, what do you notice. Are there any scents, the smell ofgrass, flowers, foliage or even of traffic? Thank you both for your messages. It wasn't yet dark, so I didn't see any stars. (Not that I would anyway with my eyesight!) I'm not sure if it's part of my agoraphobia, but looking at the sky scares me - I feel like I'm falling into it. I always keep my ears open, but for sounds of 'danger'. Link to comment
Caramoole Posted June 18, 2019 Author Share Posted June 18, 2019 So.....there are one or two small challenges in there that you could gradually add to the task. You know that you can't fall into the sky and that's one of the irrational fear thoughts that your anxiety produces. Look for those sort of false thoughts, try and identify what they are and see if you can make a list of them Link to comment
Lost_in_a_Dark_Maze Posted June 19, 2019 Share Posted June 19, 2019 17 hours ago, Caramoole said: So.....there are one or two small challenges in there that you could gradually add to the task. You know that you can't fall into the sky and that's one of the irrational fear thoughts that your anxiety produces. Look for those sort of false thoughts, try and identify what they are and see if you can make a list of them Yes, I know I'm not actually going to fall into the sky. I think it's more of a feeling than a thought. I don't know. Link to comment
taurean Posted June 19, 2019 Share Posted June 19, 2019 (edited) Thought, feeling, urge - all can be created by OCD. As a child I regularly, when travelling by train, had the urge to pull the emergency chord. I didn't know then it was OCD, but I did really see it was completely nonsensical and was able to refocus away. In fact I now know I was doing the right thing in terms of cognitive behavioural therapy. I accepted that it was false (no emergency) irrational and nonsensical, and I resisted the urge and got busy on other things. Edited June 19, 2019 by taurean Link to comment
Guest OCDhavenobrain Posted July 3, 2019 Share Posted July 3, 2019 I am less and less believing in dwelling on obsessing and attacking specific obsessions and more and more believing in the need of a totally new mindset. Having OCD is extreme, a person with OCD can't figure their way out of it, we need to totally readress the thoughts. It might seem cruel to say to someone with a frear of X that X is possible but it is the only accurate thing to do and that person need to do this. This is NOT extreme. Also sadly believing less and less in actually helping people over the internet. There is a reason after all that people doesn't get the same effect even when they just talk about things, depending on if that other person is a therapist/priest or a friend. Even if it just is the setting where the sufferer "gets that it is serious" it is doing a huge difference. Sorry guys but this is not that tricky, it is really simple actually, sadly we somehwere got it all mixed up, thinking it is difficult, that doesn't mean it actually is. And yes it is a time waste, at least in some sense, one could argue that life itself is a waste of time, life just is. BUT I do know that I am NOT enjoying anxiety so I will keep on fighting the OCD for as long as I can see, that haven't changed one bit! And also, be prepared for setbacks, OCD probably is a life-long condition Link to comment
taurean Posted July 3, 2019 Share Posted July 3, 2019 (edited) 5 hours ago, OCDhavenobrain said: And also, OCD probably is a life-long condition I wouldn't agree with this though. To my mind OCD is a package of unhelpful learned behaviours and responses, built up in negative layers like the leaves on an onion. When through CBT, hard work and endeavour, coupled with additional aids such as relaxation skills refocusing and distraction, we change that thinking and behaviours, then we can recover from OCD - completely or substantially. The more layers that have built up on our OCD onion, then perhaps the more difficult this recovery may be. But it's very possible and achievable. Edited July 3, 2019 by taurean Link to comment
felix4 Posted July 3, 2019 Share Posted July 3, 2019 7 hours ago, OCDhavenobrain said: I am less and less believing in dwelling on obsessing and attacking specific obsessions and more and more believing in the need of a totally new mindset. Having OCD is extreme, a person with OCD can't figure their way out of it, we need to totally readress the thoughts. I agree, but for me, different mindsets have come in the form of different antipsychotics. My OCD initially started one month after taking an antipsychotic back in 2003/4 for something else. CBT & SSRI's had little effect until more recently after taking a different antipsychotic. The way I see it, one has skewed the thought process & potentially induced OCD, & the other has skewed the thought process back again to where CBT/ERP have the desired effect. I am now only on a small dose of A/P and a minimal dose of antidepressant, which is used for depression only, & should not have any effect either way on OCD. Link to comment
Guest OCDhavenobrain Posted July 3, 2019 Share Posted July 3, 2019 3 hours ago, felix4 said: I agree, but for me, different mindsets have come in the form of different antipsychotics. My OCD initially started one month after taking an antipsychotic back in 2003/4 for something else. CBT & SSRI's had little effect until more recently after taking a different antipsychotic. The way I see it, one has skewed the thought process & potentially induced OCD, & the other has skewed the thought process back again to where CBT/ERP have the desired effect. I am now only on a small dose of A/P and a minimal dose of antidepressant, which is used for depression only, & should not have any effect either way on OCD. It is great that you found a great effect from antipsychotics, I myself was too scared to ever try them. I wish I had taken them, I was obsessing about the sideeffects, or one specific: the tics. However it could be that you ascribe it to antipsychotics? I know myself that I have tried to figure out when or why my OCD started and then at some points in my life I have thought that "now it is undone", "the brainlock is deactivated". Well... I don't know if it is that useful to think about OCD in terms of before and after. Link to comment
Guest OCDhavenobrain Posted July 3, 2019 Share Posted July 3, 2019 (edited) 6 hours ago, taurean said: I wouldn't agree with this though. To my mind OCD is a package of unhelpful learned behaviours and responses, built up in negative layers like the leaves on an onion. When through CBT, hard work and endeavour, coupled with additional aids such as relaxation skills refocusing and distraction, we change that thinking and behaviours, then we can recover from OCD - completely or substantially. The more layers that have built up on our OCD onion, then perhaps the more difficult this recovery may be. But it's very possible and achievable. I know, I just keep that door open if it turns out to be true. Also, I do think that if one isn't working on their mental processes (I don't really like the term "mental-health, it indicates that some state is better than another), they could get in the grips of things again. Nowdays I do not see myself as "having OCD" or "being free from it". Everyday is another day and anxiety is a very scary thing to feel so I will do my best to find ways to attack this faulty state of anxiety. AND I am trying to figure out how to help other with this, because at it is now I have a bleak wiev on things on that front. It would be intresting to get to help someone 1 on 1 with OCD (the help I am inclined to believ in nowdays), however I have no qualifications to do so. Here is a organisation in Sweden which works with OCD but as I have understood it they are mostly engaging in "managing the disorder", almost like they are building their whole organisation on this "managing", I don't know if this is true but I do know that there are too little information abotu the actually "way out of things" on their website. Take care everybody. Today is a day with or without OCD Edited July 3, 2019 by OCDhavenobrain Link to comment
taurean Posted July 3, 2019 Share Posted July 3, 2019 20 minutes ago, OCDhavenobrain said: I know, I just keep that door open if it turns out to be true. I see how you came to that. I have been free for over two years now, but there is of course the possibility of relapse, though I certainly hope not. That's why I have not changed my status to ex-sufferer. Hopefully I will feel that I can do that at some stage in the future. Link to comment
mw321 Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 (edited) On 19/06/2019 at 13:01, Lost_in_a_Dark_Maze said: Yes, I know I'm not actually going to fall into the sky. I think it's more of a feeling than a thought. I don't know. I know this post is a few weeks old, but I wanted to reply to say that you aren’t alone with this fear and feeling. It hasn’t been too much of a problem lately, but I’ve dealt with that fear for several years. I’m completely aware of how irrational it is to fear floating into the sky. In fact, it is probably the most irrational fear that I’ve ever experienced. Even with that knowledge, I still panic when those thoughts and feelings come. I remember one experience while I was panicking in an open/outdoor area, and I noticed that I had a very tight grip on a bench just to make sure that I wouldn’t float away. It’s amazing what anxiety can make us believe in that moment. Thanks for talking about this fear. This is something that I’ve never really discussed with others, so it’s good to know that others have dealt with it. Edited July 26, 2019 by mw321 Link to comment
Lost_in_a_Dark_Maze Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 57 minutes ago, mw321 said: I know this post is a few weeks old, but I wanted to reply to say that you aren’t alone with this fear and feeling. It hasn’t been too much of a problem lately, but I’ve dealt with that fear for several years. I’m completely aware of how irrational it is to fear floating into the sky. In fact, it is probably the most irrational fear that I’ve ever experienced. Even with that knowledge, I still panic when those thoughts and feelings come. I remember one experience while I was panicking in an open/outdoor area, and I noticed that I had a very tight grip on a bench just to make sure that I wouldn’t float away. It’s amazing what anxiety can make us believe in that moment. Thanks for talking about this fear. This is something that I’ve never really discussed with others, so it’s good to know that others have dealt with it. Thank you for writing. It's good to know I'm not the only one too. I'm glad it hasn't been so much of a problem for you lately. Link to comment
gingerbreadgirl Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 I am quite pleased with myself and wanted to share with you - I've reached level three of my exposure hierarchy (out of five). The stuff on level one which initially really scared me now doesn't bother me at all and in generally I am feeling considerably better. So onwards and upwards Link to comment
lostinme Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 That's fantastic gbg, well done, you've got this, keep going x Link to comment
gingerbreadgirl Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 1 hour ago, lostinme said: That's fantastic gbg, well done, you've got this, keep going x Thanks lost x Link to comment
PolarBear Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 That's what we want to hear! Link to comment
Lost_in_a_Dark_Maze Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 5 hours ago, gingerbreadgirl said: I am quite pleased with myself and wanted to share with you - I've reached level three of my exposure hierarchy (out of five). The stuff on level one which initially really scared me now doesn't bother me at all and in generally I am feeling considerably better. So onwards and upwards That's great, well done! Link to comment
Emsie Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 5 hours ago, gingerbreadgirl said: I am quite pleased with myself and wanted to share with you - I've reached level three of my exposure hierarchy (out of five). The stuff on level one which initially really scared me now doesn't bother me at all and in generally I am feeling considerably better. So onwards and upwards Wonderful! A huge well done! X Link to comment
Lost_in_a_Dark_Maze Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 I'm going to be facing a massive challenge in 2 weeks time, going to stay in a guest house for 9 days and also having medical appointments. I'm not sure how I'll cope with flooding exposure, but I can't afford to wait and do things more slowly as the house (and me) needs sorting now. Link to comment
gingerbreadgirl Posted August 13, 2019 Share Posted August 13, 2019 Good luck Lost!! I can imagine you are nervous but you can do this, you're stronger than OCD and we're all here for support if you need it xx Link to comment
Lost_in_a_Dark_Maze Posted August 13, 2019 Share Posted August 13, 2019 29 minutes ago, gingerbreadgirl said: Good luck Lost!! I can imagine you are nervous but you can do this, you're stronger than OCD and we're all here for support if you need it xx Thank you. I am very nervous as I haven't left the house for 7 years or spoken to anyone face to face except my mum. I can't see where I'm going very well either as my eyesight has deteriorated. It's going to be um fun lol xx Link to comment
Caramoole Posted July 9, 2021 Author Share Posted July 9, 2021 I think it's time to unearth this very old, 17 year old thread!! Who's up to setting themselves an OCD Challenge....something you know needs facing? It need only be a small thing but it's something we all need to do in order to break the stranglehold OCD has over people. Who's got something they'd like to work on specifically and share as they do? @Lollipop has done some brilliant exposures this last few months Link to comment
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