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What Can I expect?


Guest Pure Heaven

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Guest Pure Heaven

Can anyone reassure me?

I confessed to my doctor a few weeks ago that I have been trapped in OCD hell for 20yrs. It has varied over the years in intensity, but now very bad. I live with my elderly father, taking care of him and he recently became ill. I told my doctor i could no longer keep my secret. Getting up at 4am to clean the carpets with a dustpan and brush, for example, plus 1000's of other rituals were wearing me out, causing chronic back pain to be unbearable, depression worse and on it goes. The doctor was very good, had a long chat and she's sending me to see a therapist. The appointment is on Tuesday. Don't know what to expect? What is the normal procedure? How beneficial can it be?

We have since found out that dad has terminal cancer, lungs, liver, kidney, lymph, and is untreatable. He only has weeks to live. My husband is brilliant, helping so much, but 24hr nursing, OCD and everything else just seems too much to cope with. Help seems so far away, is it going to be worth it? Can't get positive about any of this.

Just need anyone to tell me it will all be ok. :help:

Pure Heaven

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Guest Dennis912

Hi,

I really can't tell you what to expect because everyones situation is different..

but I can tell you what happened with me: I donot have a cleaning compulsion nor do I wash my hands alot, I just have PURE O as they call it here, I get terrible, horrible thoughts in my head I can't get out..........so when I first went to see a therapist about it, she told me that I had anger issues and I hated my mother.

needless to say she was not the therapist for an ocd patient..

Therapy is good, it lets you spill everything that may be bothering you, it's an outlet with a caring person (a friend sort of).They will decide if they can help you or not.

I am currently seeking a professional now, I want a specialist in ocd - I am sick of medication and snap your wrist with a rubberband everytime I have one of those thoughts..

I'm sorry to ramble, i've had too many therapits tell me what was happening was brought on by my parents not loving me or something/my parents are good people and so am I & i'm sure you are too.....thats why we have ocd

:thumbup:

good luck,

Dennis

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Guest Beckett93

I'm very sorry to hear about your father. The stress of his illness may have affected your OCD. It is common for life stresses to make OCD symptoms worse. In the long run, you will be okay. Therapists ask about your history of OCD symptoms and then help you learn how to better respond. It will be hard, but you can do it and live a life more free of symptoms. You, your father, and your family will be in my thoughts. I lost my father to leukemia 11 years ago and know how hard it can be.

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Hi Pure Heaven :)

Can really sympathise with you.

I too have suffered for over 20 years; my father suddenly died just before christmas; and, on a nicer note I too have a loving and supportive husband! :)

But, my ocd was diagnosed a few years ago...I am due to start cbt again soon (have already started really but was 'allowed' a few months off in order to cope with our house moving!

Easy to say but you will feel really good after seeing a professional it's like sharing a burdon and you will feel like you are actually doing one of the first things to start to get rid of your ocd!!

Be encouraged, yes you'll probably feel nervous but absolutely everyone does when you go or do something different....that's normal!!

I'll be thinking of you :grin:

Lots of very best wishes Beth J :hug:

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Hi Pure Heaven

Sorry about your father and I do understand just how difficult it is managing this type of situation without having the added stress of OCD :hug: .

I think/hope your consultation on Tuesday will come as a welcome new start for you and the beginning of a journey which will be long but rewarding. Most therapists start of with some kind of assessment process where they try to find out what you see as being your main problem areas. The exact form this takes will depend on what kind of therapist you seem. Cognitive Behavioral Therapists (CBT's) tend to look at the 'here and now' and will be interested in your thought processes eg are they negative. The focus of CBT is to enable you to change your way of thinking and can include lots of practical work which will involve 'exposure' or 'response-prevention' therapy. Basically this will help you to overcome or minimise your compulsive behaviours.

Other, more traditional therapists may be equally as interested in the development of your OCD and look at issues in your past. Personally I've received a mixture of these therapies over the years and have benefited from both. I have to say I did a lot of work on just understanding my OCD and coming to terms with it and this in itself helped. It was a sort of healing process.

I do hope that your depressive thoughts are also addressed, although some therapists may take the view that if you can overcome your OCD then the depression will correct itself. I hold the view that depressive thought can be very deep rooted and need treatment in their own right.

I think it is perfectly reasonable to ask your therapist what there approach is going to be eg CBT work or psychoanalysis. If the former then you may also need to be clear if this is for a set number of sessions. CBT work tends to be quite intensive and short eg 6-12 weeks.

I always find it helpful to write down what I want to say and also any questions I want to ask the therapist. They will be fine with that and would want you to be at ease.

Therapy has helped me greatly and I very much hope it does the same for you. It was extremely brave of you to take the first step with your GP and I think you'll find it becomes easier from here.

Good luck and do let us know how it goes

Catherine :)

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Guest Hypnosinc

Hi Pure Heaven,

I'm sorry to hear you're having a really hard time at the moment, but hopefully the appointment will be the start of a turnaround.

What Catherine has said is absolutely valid. I think too often people attend therapy sessions without having considered what it is they want to get from them. Perhaps they expect some magic wand, or imagine the therapist will know instinctively what their needs are. It doesn't work that way. You just end up following the therapist's agenda, and not one that is tailored to you.

So make plenty of notes before you go. What are your aims in therapy? Draw up a list of your anxieties, in order from the least intrusive to the most devastating. When you get there, ask how the therapist will address those aims? Ask if your aims are even realistic in terms of how they practise? And then, TALK. Talk, talk, talk till you are blue in the face. Be honest and forthcoming. A therapist cannot work in a vacuum, or guess at what you are holding back for fear of airing the subject.

When depression, or any other condition, is complicating the OCD, it is often difficult to know which issue you should be addressing first. The depression or the OCD? Frankly, it doesn't matter. You can start anywhere. All that is important is that you are taking steps to do something about all this. Tackling the depression first can make it easier to find the motivation for challenging the OCD. Tackle the OCD first and you undermine the depression. So it doesn't really matter where you start, or what you do, as long as you do something. You are the only person who can properly evaluate what your priorities need to be.

Good luck. Hopefully, you are about to discover how beatable this condition really is.

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