Very anxious

[HDC]

Hi guys, 

 

So my OCD has latched onto the topic of me doing mad, or having schizophrenia. I keep thinking I'm hearing and seeing things but I think it's my brain playing tricks on me.. I am shaking with anxiety, and feel like i need to check every little sound or sight i have... i almost walked out of a room and back in again this morning to see if i saw what i thought i saw again but I've stopped myself. I know OCD is making me notice things I wouldn't usually notice because i wouldnt turn air! But I'm on high alert at the moment and i feel it... I saw my gp 2 days ago and she's upped my meds... I've gotta not let this get the better of me today. 

Any encouragement? 

Thank you

 

HDC

[Guest OCDhavenobrain]

I don't know if you are having schizophrenia I am not a doctor. But it could be anxiety which makes you "see things". When I am having panicattacks I oftentimes mistake signposts and stuff as humans. So not a really a hallucination or it could be I don't know. Hallucinations is not so clearcut, not even psychosis is. You can get a psychosis in your lifetime, it doesn't mean that it will be chronic..

The question here is what you are going to do about you not being able to breath, the thoughts about you not being able to breath will probably lead to hyperventilation and shallow breathing.

Edited November 8, 2018 by OCDhavenobrain

[HDC]

14 minutes ago, OCDhavenobrain said:

I don't know if you are having schizophrenia I am not a doctor. But it could be anxiety which makes you "see things". When I am having panicattacks I oftentimes mistake signposts and stuff as humans. So not a really a hallucination or it could be I don't know. Hallucinations is not so clearcut, not even psychosis is. You can get a psychosis in your lifetime, it doesn't mean that it will be chronic..

The question here is what you are going to do about you not being able to breath, the thoughts about you not being able to breath will probably lead to hyperventilation and shallow breathing.

I saw my gp and have spoken to other people who have OCD and have been through exactly the same thing... everyone seems to think its just anxiety and OCD. But I'm so so scared... I feel like I need to check to make sure that what I heard or saw was really there, if I don't do this the anxiety fades... if I do this I burn all over and totally withdraw into myself. I've been analysing for about a week now, and I'm getting no where 

[Guest OCDhavenobrain]

You see where it leads you.

[HDC]

8 minutes ago, OCDhavenobrain said:

You see where it leads you.

It leads me feeling frozen with anxiety, and just wanting to go to bed

[malina]

Hi HDC,

I saw your post a few days ago and it's too bad you're still going through this!

I know how you feel, I've had Schizophrenia fears before, once I saw a big spider in the bathroom and thought I was hallucinating, so I asked someone else to take a look at it was really there! Your GP clearly doesn't think you have Schizophrenia, they just see that your struggling with OCD more than usual. I think you also know that you don't have Schizophrenia and your logical self is aware of that, but OCD is playing tricks on you.

 

[HDC]

13 hours ago, malina said:

Hi HDC,

I saw your post a few days ago and it's too bad you're still going through this!

I know how you feel, I've had Schizophrenia fears before, once I saw a big spider in the bathroom and thought I was hallucinating, so I asked someone else to take a look at it was really there! Your GP clearly doesn't think you have Schizophrenia, they just see that your struggling with OCD more than usual. I think you also know that you don't have Schizophrenia and your logical self is aware of that, but OCD is playing tricks on you.

 

Hello Malina, yes I am struggling a fair bit- It feels so real sometimes like I was sitting in the vets convinced that I could hear beeping or whooshing or shhhh sounds and I cant work out where they're coming from... even if I go to the gp, they cant even test for that sort of thing can they? ... i had a nap in the car and feel a bit less anxious now... its horrible as I cant work it out 

[malina]

4 minutes ago, HDC said:

Hello Malina, yes I am struggling a fair bit- It feels so real sometimes like I was sitting in the vets convinced that I could hear beeping or whooshing or shhhh sounds and I cant work out where they're coming from... even if I go to the gp, they cant even test for that sort of thing can they? ... i had a nap in the car and feel a bit less anxious now... its horrible as I cant work it out 

But hearing random noises is completely normal too, we all have that thing where we think we heard someone calling our name and they haven't, and we don't all have Schizophrenia! Plus, what you were going through at the vet sounds like classic OCD - thinking you heard something, then checking and doubting yourself.

I think you need to keep in mind that Schizophrenia doesn't involve just having a single and subtle symptom. It would be a cluster of symptoms coming together at the same time and you wouldn't be uncertain if you were experiencing it, they would be very obvious to you and others around you and would cause huge impairment to your daily life. It's kind of like when people are very organised and claim to have OCD, but we (who have it) know that OCD isn't just about liking your things to be organised, it's so much more than that. I think we are doing the same thing with our Schizophrenia fears and thinking "I hear a noise that doesn't seem to be there, I have Schizophrenia", when in reality the condition involves so much more than that. 

I think you need to treat this as you do all your other OCD symptoms and trust that it's OCD that is making you believe this and nothing else. Don't allow yourself to question whether you're hearing strange noises, if you hear them, so be it. Nothing bad is going to happen. 

[HDC]

1 hour ago, malina said:

But hearing random noises is completely normal too, we all have that thing where we think we heard someone calling our name and they haven't, and we don't all have Schizophrenia! Plus, what you were going through at the vet sounds like classic OCD - thinking you heard something, then checking and doubting yourself.

I think you need to keep in mind that Schizophrenia doesn't involve just having a single and subtle symptom. It would be a cluster of symptoms coming together at the same time and you wouldn't be uncertain if you were experiencing it, they would be very obvious to you and others around you and would cause huge impairment to your daily life. It's kind of like when people are very organised and claim to have OCD, but we (who have it) know that OCD isn't just about liking your things to be organised, it's so much more than that. I think we are doing the same thing with our Schizophrenia fears and thinking "I hear a noise that doesn't seem to be there, I have Schizophrenia", when in reality the condition involves so much more than that. 

I think you need to treat this as you do all your other OCD symptoms and trust that it's OCD that is making you believe this and nothing else. Don't allow yourself to question whether you're hearing strange noises, if you hear them, so be it. Nothing bad is going to happen. 

Thank you so much for this post... it made a lot of sense to me, I think you're right, someone also mentioned to me today that OCD can give you intrusions other than thoughts... can be feelings and emotions too... I didnt recognise this before! 

[malina]

7 minutes ago, HDC said:

Thank you so much for this post... it made a lot of sense to me, I think you're right, someone also mentioned to me today that OCD can give you intrusions other than thoughts... can be feelings and emotions too... I didnt recognise this before! 

I'm glad it was helpful! I know exactly how you're feeling but you can get through this

[HDC]

3 minutes ago, malina said:

I'm glad it was helpful! I know exactly how you're feeling but you can get through this

The anxious feeling subsides if I try to let things go... however, it really does feel as though I am hearing something sometimes, it's scary. 

[malina]

5 minutes ago, HDC said:

The anxious feeling subsides if I try to let things go... however, it really does feel as though I am hearing something sometimes, it's scary. 

I know what you mean, I've managed to convince myself that I'm having vision problems, especially when reading. When I don't think about it, I don't notice. When I'm anxious about it, I have trouble reading a full sentence. I guess maybe anxiety just puts you on high alert, so it makes sense that you'd think you were hearing something when your body is in a state of panic, looking out for the slightest noises. 

[HDC]

2 minutes ago, malina said:

I know what you mean, I've managed to convince myself that I'm having vision problems, especially when reading. When I don't think about it, I don't notice. When I'm anxious about it, I have trouble reading a full sentence. I guess maybe anxiety just puts you on high alert, so it makes sense that you'd think you were hearing something when your body is in a state of panic, looking out for the slightest noises. 

Sometimes I'm not even looking though but I definitely panic as soon as I think I've heard something and don't like it if I cant work out what it was 

[malina]

5 minutes ago, HDC said:

Sometimes I'm not even looking though but I definitely panic as soon as I think I've heard something and don't like it if I cant work out what it was 

I think you're not conciously looking but your going through high anxiety at the moment so your body is experiencing it even though you may not notice

[HDC]

7 minutes ago, malina said:

I think you're not conciously looking but your going through high anxiety at the moment so your body is experiencing it even though you may not notice

Yes... so when I feel like I just heard something (it sounds like its inside my ear but very faint) what do I do?

[malina]

2 minutes ago, HDC said:

Yes... so when I feel like I just heard something (it sounds like its inside my ear but very faint) what do I do?

Tell yourself that we all hear random noises from time to time that we don't even pay attention to, but that OCD is making you notice every little thing. Stay cool and try to continue doing what you were doing before. Try to minimise the panic and to be engaged in real life things. 

[HDC]

1 minute ago, malina said:

Tell yourself that we all hear random noises from time to time that we don't even pay attention to, but that OCD is making you notice every little thing. Stay cool and try to continue doing what you were doing before. Try to minimise the panic and to be engaged in real life things. 

Thank you, 

[malina]

24 minutes ago, HDC said:

Thank you, 

No worries, I hope things get better soon! 

[HDC]

19 minutes ago, malina said:

No worries, I hope things get better soon! 

Thank you, I just think I'm on high alert...? I keep worrying about smelling things to that arent there...?! Which I've had before too -.- always something to worry about eh!

[ExpectoPatronum]

3 minutes ago, HDC said:

Thank you, I just think I'm on high alert...? I keep worrying about smelling things to that arent there...?! Which I've had before too -.- always something to worry about eh!

I absolutely get this. For me, I don’t think the smell is necessarily not there, but it is much more intense for me than others would experience. Like heightened sensitivity to external stimuli. 

[HDC]

2 minutes ago, ExpectoPatronum said:

I absolutely get this. For me, I don’t think the smell is necessarily not there, but it is much more intense for me than others would experience. Like heightened sensitivity to external stimuli. 

Glad I'm not the only one! Perhaps it is just a sensitivity thing? It made me really panic the other day... I could smell smoke in the cinema and thought I was crazy