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Inspire me! What have you achieved you are proud of despite OCD?


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I was thinking how this forum has shown me how awesome people with OCD are - despite the suffering and difficulties we all face. And I thought it might be inspirational for me and others to talk about the things we have managed to do with our lives despite our condition. Things that OCD told us not to do, but we did it anyway. 

For example, I'm really proud that I had a second child, knowing that I would get pre and postnatal OCD again after having a dreadful dreadful time with my first. I was really brave looking back.

i also managed to travel round the world on my own in my twenties and carve out a career in graphic design despite it being highly competitive.

yes I am being unashamedly complimentary about myself. But maybe it's about time????

Now it's your turn forum! :clap:

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I had a great amateur singing "career"  aside from ny schooling and my work. 

The church choir I was in once led the morning service live to the nation on radio 4, my school choir I was in were twice on radio 4, I appeared in many light operettas and I sang in the chorus for the Handel Oratorio "Messiah" at The Royal Albert Hall. 

When I got married I no longer had the time for singing, but do the odd turn of bass harmony singing of carols at Christmas. 

And thanks to the support of my therapists family friends and OCD-UK and its forums I was able to complete a full career in insurance broking. 

Edited by taurean
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Thanks for this post - I think it's really good to point out what we achieve in spite of our OCD and use this to motivate and inspire ourselves and others. 

I completed my degree without a break and achieved a 2:1 in the midst of OCD. I wish I had got a first, but I'm grateful I completed it and didn't drop out or push it back a year. 

Within a couple of months of my degree I got an admin job and during that time looked for a permanent position with charities. I'm now working for a charity and have some clear goals of what I want to learn before pursuing my next job. In February it will have been a year ( Time Flies! ) :) 

When my Grandad died earlier this year I didn't let OCD take full hold again, I did need to start medication, but I was adamant not to let my mental health ruin my accomplishments so far. I've now moved out into my own flat and am feeling much much better, and of course with this forum I can always drop in if I need a little advise or encouragement. 

 

Looking forward to hear others share stories of resilience and accomplishments.

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I've only suffered from OCD for 2 years, but the first year of that was the final year of my BA degree in Performing Arts, I graduated with a 2:1 whilst struggling big time with my harm OCD, and then the second year of that (still occasionally struggling damnit) I have graduated from my MA degree in Philosophy and Critical Theory with a Pass/Merit :) I'm pretty proud, being able to do all that, with part time work and keeping great relationships with my friends family and boyfriend is a lot to keep up with!! 

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I managed to attain Associateship of The Chartered Insurance Institute - involving extra curricula professional studies over a few years in my case. 

My wife would literally shut me away in our dining room and make me do the study - plus also I used commute time to read the course books. 

Keeping busy has always helped re my OCD and it does now too. 

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All of your comments are just amazing. I know this forum is mainly to work out how to resist OCD.

But for me personally, even knowing what a few of you have achieved really makes me want to aim for things again, to do the things in life that are important to me. It's feeling more and more like that is the motivation for me. Its about self esteem, feeling proud and having reasons to do the hard work that needs to be done with my OCD.

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It's important to have ambition. 

My sister, also with OCD, went to uni to obtain a music degree, married, brought up two children (adopted as she was unable to bear her own) and teaches music to children in her and her husband's own musicroom at home. 

Apart from using ambition and purpose to encourage us to work on therapy, it is important for sufferers to remember we simply have a mental illness. 

It need not hold us back from our goals, we are not underclass citizens, we are not bad, should not feel guilty or be afraid or ashamed to be with other people. 

We are simply sufferers who can get help and support to overcome a mental illness. But as lost said, we can learn - but only we can do the work - good motivation is very helpful as carrying out thinking and behavioural changes isn't easy. 

Edited by taurean
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 I have mixed feelings about this thread! This is because:

On the one hand it is brilliant and inspiring to hear about what people have achieved despite OCD.

On the other OCD varies from person to person in terms of the impact that it has on each/every area of a sufferer's life and sometimes it affects every area very severely to the point of being incapacitating. If people have not met their full potential/achieved much because of their OCD then this thread may reinforce the negative feelings they have about themselves! It is a bit like saying 'What have you achieved despite your M.S.', it will vary dramatically person to person depending on their condition and it opens up opportunities for victim blaming. Although most sufferers on this forum seem to have moderate to profoundly severe OCD, it will of course be much easier for someone with mild OCD to achieve their dreams!

My personal experience: 

- My social life (friendships and any hope of a relationship) have been ruined by OCD. 

- My family life is severely affected by OCD- my relationship with my family is strained but they are amazing at showing unconditional love 

-  I achieved very good GCSEs and A levels and took my place at a top 10 UK University and although I achieved the highest mark out of my 200+ cohort for overall attainment in year 2 and all A grades in year 3 I was too unwell to continue and had to withdraw from year 3 of my studies due to my condition. My life has gone really poorly since! 

 

 

 

Edited by BelAnna
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After struggling with OCD for many years, I finally reached a point where I could get at least some pleasure and productivity from solitary pursuits. And at that point, one such solitary pursuit became teaching myself how to write programs for the Microsoft Windows Store, and I wrote one to help OCD sufferers implement a particular form of CBT called Exposure with Response Prevention. Unsurprisingly to me, it only has a modest takeup (about 10 users per month on average) and (intentionally) offers very simple functionality, but for me just getting it to Store was a decent achievement. 

Mike

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1 hour ago, BelAnna said:

 I have mixed feelings about this thread! This is because:

On the one hand it is brilliant and inspiring to hear about what people have achieved despite OCD.

On the other OCD varies from person to person in terms of the impact that it has on each/every area of a sufferer's life and sometimes it affects every area very severely to the point of being incapacitating. If people have not met their full potential/achieved much because of their OCD then this thread may reinforce the negative feelings they have about themselves! It is a bit like saying 'What have you achieved despite your M.S.', it will vary dramatically person to person depending on their condition and it opens up opportunities for victim blaming. Although most sufferers on this forum seem to have moderate to profoundly severe OCD, it will of course be much easier for someone with mild OCD to achieve their dreams!

My personal experience: 

- My social life (friendships and any hope of a relationship) have been ruined by OCD. 

- My family life is severely affected by OCD- my relationship with my family is strained but they are amazing at showing unconditional love 

-  I achieved very good GCSEs and A levels and took my place at a top 10 UK University and although I achieved the highest mark out of my 200+ cohort for overall attainment in year 2 and all A grades in year 3 I was too unwell to continue and had to withdraw from year 3 of my studies due to my condition. My life has gone really poorly since! 

 

 

 

You are right BelAnna in that the affect upon us of our OCD will vary. 

But I think then we can relate achievement against the severity of the disorder - so the concept still works. 

There are those of us whose OCD renders them housebound. But they manage to achieve good things despite that significant restriction. 

I, whose whole life including my work has involved being out and about,, struggle if I have to stay in for just one day. 

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On 29/11/2017 at 17:50, BelAnna said:

On the other OCD varies from person to person in terms of the impact that it has on each/every area of a sufferer's life and sometimes it affects every area very severely to the point of being incapacitating.

Apologies BelAnna. Something I struggle with on this forum is nuance. It sounded like I was just after some 'amazing achievement' stories like travelling or graduating and the like. And to hear such stories is very inspiring to me.

HOWEVER, just as inspiring to me is the person who has severe OCD and manages to do any small thing. And equally if they don't manage to, because they are too unwell that's just how it is. I wouldn't want them to feel bad. That would be wrong. Let me explain one reason why I feel this: two years ago sister went from having a full and active life until she became unwell with ME. Most people think of it as an illness that just makes people very tired, but unfortunately it is so much worse and she can barely leave the house - and she lives in daily pain. She spends most of her life in bed. She lost most of her friends as they couldn't handle her illness and silently disappeared from her life. She is the most inspirational person I know and it is doubtful she will ever get better. She inspires me by the very small things she achieves. She has managed to foster a cat, she has made friends on ME forums and she managed small amounts of work from home. Although she hasn't achieved much by 'societies standards', she has in comparison to the challenges she now faces. 

I think you were right to challenge the topic of this thread. So let's make the achievements more wide ranging, from a much loved career, to maybe simply getting out of bed. I don't know, maybe even just reaching out and becoming part of this online forum. I wouldn't like to patronise or presume. It is for each person to tell their own story.

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On ‎29‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 19:14, taurean said:

You are right BelAnna in that the affect upon us of our OCD will vary. 

But I think then we can relate achievement against the severity of the disorder - so the concept still works. 

There are those of us whose OCD renders them housebound. But they manage to achieve good things despite that significant restriction. 

I, whose whole life including my work has involved being out and about,, struggle if I have to stay in for just one day. 

 

8 minutes ago, JennieWren said:

Apologies BelAnna. Something I struggle with on this forum is nuance. It sounded like I was just after some 'amazing achievement' stories like travelling or graduating and the like. And to hear such stories is very inspiring to me.

HOWEVER, just as inspiring to me is the person who has severe OCD and manages to do any small thing. And equally if they don't manage to, because they are too unwell that's just how it is. I wouldn't want them to feel bad. That would be wrong. Let me explain one reason why I feel this: two years ago sister went from having a full and active life until she became unwell with ME. Most people think of it as an illness that just makes people very tired, but unfortunately it is so much worse and she can barely leave the house - and she lives in daily pain. She spends most of her life in bed. She lost most of her friends as they couldn't handle her illness and silently disappeared from her life. She is the most inspirational person I know and it is doubtful she will ever get better. She inspires me by the very small things she achieves. She has managed to foster a cat, she has made friends on ME forums and she managed small amounts of work from home. Although she hasn't achieved much by 'societies standards', she has in comparison to the challenges she now faces. 

I think you were right to challenge the topic of this thread. So let's make the achievements more wide ranging, from a much loved career, to maybe simply getting out of bed. I don't know, maybe even just reaching out and becoming part of this online forum. I wouldn't like to patronise or presume. It is for each person to tell their own story.

Hi Taurean and Jennie,

I'm really sorry for sounding so negative!  Thanks for being so empathic Jennie. I'm so sorry to hear about your sister's illness. It must be upsetting to see her like that but she does sound inspirational.

Your intention was clearly to inspire and motivate other sufferers- sorry for my post!

 

 

 

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25 minutes ago, BelAnna said:

sorry for sounding so negative! 

BelAnna I think you had every right to say what you did. I am in agreement with you. I'm glad you said it and corrected the tone of the thread. 

Its sounds like you have every reason to 'sound negative'. But I don't think it WAS negative thinking, in the sense that it was you talking about your reality. and your reality is/has been full of challenges and hard. 

I am on this forum to learn about my OCD, but also to be challenged and to better understand people's lives with this illness. So for me your post was very useful to help me think about things from a different point of view.

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On 29/11/2017 at 19:05, Michael333 said:

I wrote one to help OCD sufferers implement a particular form of CBT called Exposure with Response Prevention.

Thank you for this post. Not to sound too patronising I hope, but to me this is a real achievement to be proud of. To be self taught and get a program like this on the Microsoft store is impressive. In another life I was a graphic designer and my husband works in digital. As an aside, to be honest, I get the impression that unless you have your program 'pushed' by Microsoft, or you spend a lot of money on advertising and the like, it will be hard to get large amounts of users. And it is a very specialised topic.

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I have been inspired by those who have real difficulties working because of the nature of their OCD. 

Here I am thinking of people like those working with children and have paedophile OCD,who have gone through therapy successfully and overcome this theme. 

And others who get plagued with intrusions whilst at work, yet try to ignore them and keep going. 

By people such as my erstwhile therapist who had OCD harm thoughts, went through therapy and recovered, then decided to study to become a therapist and help others - wow. 

I find it inspirational that Ashley, with severe contamination OCD that threatened to stop him leaving home, worked hard to tackle his worst problems whilst co-founding this charity which he now runs, and gives so much help to us all. 

We are stronger than we think, we are sufferers but we can be real fighters and achievers. 

Edited by taurean
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57 minutes ago, taurean said:

We are stronger than we think, we are sufferers but we can be real fighters and achievers. 

Thank you for giving your time to this thread. I think you have given me much food for thought. You have understood where I am coming from and I hope other people find your examples as helpful as I have.

one day I'd love to be able to help others in some kind of career. I have not managed it yet as I struggle not to be overwhelmed. I take far too much responsibility for other people's welfare. And constantly worry I am to blame for any silly mistake or slight I might make. And I get obsessed by 'fixing' people, as a result of childhood issues. I hope by solving these issues through therapy I will find a fruitful and appropriate way to help people, with necessary boundaries, that means I can cope and that I can do my small bit of good for the world. It's good to hear that fellow sufferers have managed to do this.

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On 30/11/2017 at 23:26, JennieWren said:

Thank you for giving your time to this thread. I think you have given me much food for thought. You have understood where I am coming from and I hope other people find your examples as helpful as I have.

one day I'd love to be able to help others in some kind of career. I have not managed it yet as I struggle not to be overwhelmed. I take far too much responsibility for other people's welfare. And constantly worry I am to blame for any silly mistake or slight I might make. And I get obsessed by 'fixing' people, as a result of childhood issues. I hope by solving these issues through therapy I will find a fruitful and appropriate way to help people, with necessary boundaries, that means I can cope and that I can do my small bit of good for the world. It's good to hear that fellow sufferers have managed to do this.

You can solve such issues with CBT jennie - that is the wonder of it. 

It must be marvellous to become a therapist after being a sufferer and go on to help very many people. 

I do enjoy passing on information that may help others - I got involved in OCD Awareness Week through OCD-UK about 4 years ago, and that was a big catalyst for my own personal awareness work. 

Now, because I am well-known as a sufferer, people in my community approach me, or are recommended to me, if they feel they have mental health issues. 

These are often, but not always, OCD - and I become a signpost to steer them towards getting help. 

This gives me personally a massive lift spiritually and emotionally - and in some cases it has proved the making of a person and I have been able to watch them grow in activity, ability to be out and about and connect with others, and relationship development. 

 

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On 30/11/2017 at 21:27, JennieWren said:

Thank you for this post. Not to sound too patronising I hope, but to me this is a real achievement to be proud of. To be self taught and get a program like this on the Microsoft store is impressive. In another life I was a graphic designer and my husband works in digital. As an aside, to be honest, I get the impression that unless you have your program 'pushed' by Microsoft, or you spend a lot of money on advertising and the like, it will be hard to get large amounts of users. And it is a very specialised topic.

Thanks Jennie yes it was good. I remember before I had done it that I really wasn't sure whether it would happen or not - easy to dismiss one's achievements once they are achieved maybe.

I also managed to pass a part-time foundation in art and design, though I was annoyed with myself afterwards because I could have done much better at it (i messed up the second year due to social anxiety about going into college (and i kept changing my specialization, to weaker subjects for me in fact..! ) , and i messed up one unit in the first year by also not going in for it due to 'getting upset' by someone else on the course).

Mike

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A small thing but yesterday I was walking home from my therapy session and on the way I saw the track along a canal. Normally I'd be too afraid to walk down it but I thought sod it and walked home along the towpath. It did add 30 minutes to my journey but it was worth it! Really peaceful and beautiful.

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