Please help- don't want to relapse :(

[MissSparrow07]

Hey guys....

So I've had OCD for almost 2 years now and for the past 8 months or so I've been practically thought free! However, I don't know if it's because it's exam season or whatever...but thoughts are starting to pop up again, not as bad mind you, but bad enough and they're the worst ones for me the ones about being attracted to children I know 100% I am definietely now, and I know it's OCD....but having never spoken about it on here before now feels the time to get it out in the open and see how other people feel to? :/

Please help? Any support would be amazing! Thank you

[Guest legend]

How did you deal with the ocd previously sparrow ? blips arent uncommon, especially in times of stress etc.

Youve kicked its but before and youll do it again matey

[MissSparrow07]

Erm well I just told myself it was OCD thoughts, also I got put on medication which helped immensely! So yeah I just need to keep telling myself that this is the case, just looking for reassurance I guess?

So thanks

[Guest mondot]

OCD is a chronic condition. You can get it under control and become recovered, but at the present time, there is no cure and it is a potential that will always be there in the background, even if it is no longer affecting your life. I'm not trying to sound daunting or make you upset but these are just the facts. However, OCD is highly manageable and people can live totally great and fulfilling lives with this disorder. This is usually achieve through therapy (CBT) and maybe meds.

People can forget about their ocd & live without paying much attention to it, but inevitably in times of stress or life changes it can and most likely will pop back up and is virtually impossible to ignore unless you've learned some coping mechanisms. Otherwise we become filled with fear, rumination and hopelessness once again. So like Legend said, what did you do before when your ocd was bad? What is different now about how your dealing with these thoughts that is leading to a relapse?

It's great that you've had it in remission for awhile, but now the thoughts are returning but they are still just thoughts, no more real or true than they were last time. The best thing you can do for yourself now is to make room for the thoughts to be there and do not get anxious about them returning. You can't answer the question "Why is it coming back" So best not to ruminate over it and just move onto how you're actively and positively going to stop the ocd from being a big issue again. Getting well is 50 percent of the job, and staying well is the other 50 percent. We have to face obsessives and intrusives head on and not allow compulsions to occur again, because this is when we get stuck in the OCD cycle once more.

Question - are you still on meds?

As legend said, if you did it once, you can do it again!

Mondot

xx

Edited May 10, 2012 by mondot

[Guest sarah1984]

Hello MissSparrow,

Well done for doing so well over the past 8 months! Unfortunately OCD has a habit of rearing its ugly head at times of stress.

It's important to remember that everyone experiences distressing intrusive thoughts from time to time regardless of whether they suffer from OCD or not. Common 'themes' include harming loved ones, engaging in inappropriate sexual conduct (eg rape and paedophilia) and committing an unforgivable sin. However the difference between the OCD sufferer and the non-sufferer is the significance they place on the thoughts. While the non-sufferer perceives the thoughts to be unpleasant, they can see they are irrational and brush them off relatively easily. In contrast the OCD sufferer is unable to dismiss the thoughts for one or all of the following reasons:

• They believe the intrusive thoughts say something about them as a person eg they are mad, bad or dangerous
  
• They believe that having the thoughts increases the likelihood that they will come true
  
• They believe that the thoughts must be significant simply because they occurred in the first place
  
• They believe that having the thought is as bad as acting upon it. In reality the 'goodness' or 'badness' of a thought is dependent upon the thinker's willingness to act upon it. Although many OCD sufferers worry that they are capable of acting upon their thoughts, it's the last thing they want to do. As of yet, psychologists have not come across an OCD sufferer who has acted upon their thoughts!
  

It's not the thought itself but the sufferer's response to the thought that's the problem.

Most OCD sufferers want to know why they are having such terrible thoughts. Such thoughts aren't just random. There is a pattern: loving parents are troubled by intrusive thoughts of harming or abusing their children; religious people are troubled by blasphemous thoughts; gentle people by violent thoughts and tolerant people by racist or homophobic thoughts etc. Sufferers experience overwhelming feelings of guilt on account of their thoughts. In contrast genuine psychopaths thrive on thoughts of violence and paedophiles get a kick out of thoughts of abusing kids - they certainly don't feel guilty for having these thoughts! The intrusive thoughts prey on a person's worst fears and they are so distressing because they are at such odds with the sufferer's true character.

When people first experience distressing intrusive thoughts the natural reaction is to want to get rid of them asap. The problem is that the harder they try to get rid of the thoughts the more they stick around and the more frightening they become. Simply stopping the thoughts is impossible: it has a rebound effect of increasing their occurrence and the accompanying anxiety.

A well-known example of the paradox of thought control is the 'white bear story'. Try as hard as you can not to think of a white polar bear: don't think about their furry white coats, their paws sliding across the ice and the cute cubs snuggling up to mum. What happened? I bet you couldn't stop thinking about that white bear! If it's so difficult to suppress thoughts about neutral subjects like polar bears you can see how difficult it is to suppress thoughts that cause us distress.

As well as trying to suppress the thoughts sufferers can spend hours ruminating in attempts to reassure themselves that what they fear couldn't possibly happen. I think it's very important that you are aware that your thoughts about abusing kids are OCD thoughts. However, if you repeatedly tell yourself 'These thoughts are OCD thoughts and they aren't real', this can become a compulsion and a form of reassurance. Just like thought control, reassurance doesn't work. It may provide you with a temporary sense of relief from your anxiety but sooner or later the mind will find a flaw in the reassuring thought and a nasty little voice will pop up that says, 'Ah, but what if these thoughts are not OCD and I am a real paedophile?'

So if thought suppression and reassurance don't work, what does? The most successful strategy is to accept the presence of the thoughts and to let them be without trying to push them away or seek reassurance. Obviously this is much easier said than done! The best way to learn to do this is through a course of CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy). To learn more about CBT and how it is used to treat OCD take a look at the following link: http://www.ocduk.org/cognitive-behavioural-therapy. The therapist will teach you ERP (exposure response prevention) techniques which are designed for you to confront the intrusive thoughts head on without engaging with them. Initally your anxiety levels will go up as you resist the urge to stop the thoughts and seek reassurance but through repeated practice they will gradually come down as you become desensitized to the content of the thoughts.

You may not be able to control the presence of the thoughts but you can control the way in which you respond to them.

I'd recommend you speak to your GP about a referral for CBT. I'd also recommend you take a look at the following books:

1. 'Break Free from OCD: Overcoming Obsessive Compulsive Disorder with CBT' by Dr Fiona Challacombe, Dr Victoria Bream Oldfield and Prof Paul Salkovskis: http://www.ocdshop.com/product_info.php?products_id=163

This is a v popular book with OCD UK members and it has dedicated sections on intrusive thoughts. It also features a case study of a father who experiences distressing intrusive thoughts about molesting his baby daughter while changing her nappy and who worries that he might be a paedophile.

2. 'Overcoming Obsessive Thoughts: How to Gain Control of your OCD' by David Clark and Christine Purdon: http://www.ocdshop.com/product_info.php?products_id=8&osCsid=db10dad47aa5209c521271fdeb80e408

3. 'The Imp of the Mind: Exploring the Silent Epidemic of Bad Thoughts' by Lee Baer: http://www.ocdshop.com/product_info.php?products_id=100

These two books have a specific focus on violent, sexual and blasphemous intrusive thoughts.

Hope this helps and good luck with your exams!

Sarah

[Guest June Rose]

Sarah... you said the right things I have OCD for almost 2 years...My OCD consist in blasphemous intrusive thoughts...When it all started, I was terrified...

Now...I'm okey , I really had some great times, and I know that you can have a normal and happy life with OCD.Of course those thoughts aren't completly gone...but I learned how to live with them. And I know everybody can!!! Don't lose your hope !!!

Peace & love <3 , June Rose