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On 23/11/2019 at 17:41, Hopingtorecover said:

Maybe you share what you would have done in my situation and I’d share what I’d do in yours and that’s how we should respond ?

Sorry I didn't reply to this on Saturday I'd calmed down a bit and didn't want to think about it! 

The situations you describe would cause me anxiety re contamination but different kinds of contamination. I try and watch what other people are doing in these situations, the problem is I just think they haven't noticed and aren't aware so that's why they are not reacting! I think I need to find out how people without contamination fears behave and react in situations. 

I hope you are doing okay this evening ??

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I don't know if its a UK specific thing or what but I've never heard of threadworms growing up in the US.  However one problem that does occur here that strikes me as somewhat similar is head lice.  Unfortunately I had first hand experience with it when I was young, my siblings and I caught it either from school or childcare, I can't recall which.  It wasn't the most pleasant thing in the world, we had to replace our bedding, seal our clothes and fabric based toys in plastic bags for a few days, wash with a special shampoo for a few days and get daily checks for them, etc.  It was a hassle, more for my parents than us kids I'm sure, but we got through it as basically everyone does.  I'm sure it would be similar with threadworms. Sure it would be unpleasant and annoying to deal with, but form what I gather its not super dangerous or anything, you just deal with it if it happens.  You need to try and shift your thinking from treating threadworms as an unimaginable disaster to a minor annoyance.

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13 hours ago, Hopingtorecover said:

I have just received a message from the school to say there is threadworm in one of my kids classes. And PANIC!

Gee whiz! 

12 hours ago, Hopingtorecover said:

Maybe if they got it it might help my ocd 

That's a good way to think. I agree with the comments from dksea above--they probably would be annoying to deal with but not more than that, as long as you don't let the OCD take over.

I'm glad for you about the sertraline--that's what i'm on and i think it helped me a lot. You seem well grounded with the CBT approach so hopefully that will just give you the extra boost you need.

Wishing you well!

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3 hours ago, leif said:

Gee whiz! 

That's a good way to think. I agree with the comments from dksea above--they probably would be annoying to deal with but not more than that, as long as you don't let the OCD take over.

I'm glad for you about the sertraline--that's what i'm on and i think it helped me a lot. You seem well grounded with the CBT approach so hopefully that will just give you the extra boost you need.

Wishing you well!

Thanks 

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11 hours ago, Hopingtorecover said:

Any tips on how to do this?

in the us I think it’s called pinworm 

Do you know what thinking you have that is behind threadworms being a disaster? That is usually a good place to start with changing your thinking around it.

What kind of work have you done in the past with OCD thinking?.There seems to be a few approaches on this forum, but I find what works for me is usually when I can sit with the uncomfortable thoughts/feelings of contamination without doing the compulsions. So I try not to distract from the thoughts or reassure myself that it will be OK. That is my goal anyhow!

How are your skype sessions going with the psychologist--this would be a really good thing to talk out with them.

 

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Im not entirely sure why it’s such a disaster. I definitely have thoughts that I should be able to prevent it (this emerges from a miscarriage I had) and also an inflated sense of responsibility. I think the uncertainties of it as well, the eggs are microscopic, how could you know you cleaned them all. And a sense of anxiety about anxiety such as “this is how bad I feel about it when we don’t have it, if we did have it the anxiety would be unbearable, I’d never be able to cope, we’d never get rid of it and I’ll end up having a breakdown”. 
 

Only had two Skype sessions but so far so good. On day 2 of sertraline and the side  effects are a bit unpleasant. 

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On 25/11/2019 at 13:39, Closed for repairs said:

On top of that on the way to Lunch I have become convinced I have left my cap in such a position it will cause some unspecified terrible thing, and I need to go and check on it, this is pure magical thinking, and I'm not quite so worried about it..

 

Sorry for going off track, but i love your nickname:)

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On 26/11/2019 at 09:57, Hopingtorecover said:

Im not entirely sure why it’s such a disaster. I definitely have thoughts that I should be able to prevent it (this emerges from a miscarriage I had) and also an inflated sense of responsibility. I think the uncertainties of it as well, the eggs are microscopic, how could you know you cleaned them all. And a sense of anxiety about anxiety such as “this is how bad I feel about it when we don’t have it, if we did have it the anxiety would be unbearable, I’d never be able to cope, we’d never get rid of it and I’ll end up having a breakdown”. 
 

Only had two Skype sessions but so far so good. On day 2 of sertraline and the side  effects are a bit unpleasant. 

So for me what seems to work best is to just allow the thoughts and the feelings be there. Not that I can do it all the time, but my most success has been to just acknowledge the fear. so thinking--yes maybe there are eggs somewhere, but just moving along without doing any compulsions around it. People seem to have different approaches though which is why i would talk about it with a therapist. Also i wonder if there would be different approaches depending on where you are at on your hierarchy... I just know that when i am trying to push the thoughts away,it tends to get worse.  It would be interesting to hear how other people would approach it. 

what dose of sertraline are you on? How is your anxiety today?

Edited by leif
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On 26/11/2019 at 14:53, Hopingtorecover said:

Any tips on how to do this?

in the us I think it’s called pinworm 

Yeah I looked it up and its apparently called pinworm here, but I've never heard of it by that name either, maybe its more of a regional problem or something?

Anyway, how do you shift your thinking?  By making choices over and over to change how you react.  By being vigilant of when you catch yourself doing a compulsion that you stop and remind yourself its probably not as bad as you think and that OCD exaggerates and lies.  By accepting that "feeling bad" (i.e. anxiety, stress, feeling 'not-right', and being in danger are not the same thing.  Basically act like things are ok, or at least not so bad and you'll start thinking it too.  Fake it til you make it.

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7 hours ago, dksea said:

Yeah I looked it up and its apparently called pinworm here, but I've never heard of it by that name either, maybe its more of a regional problem or something?

Anyway, how do you shift your thinking?  By making choices over and over to change how you react.  By being vigilant of when you catch yourself doing a compulsion that you stop and remind yourself its probably not as bad as you think and that OCD exaggerates and lies.  By accepting that "feeling bad" (i.e. anxiety, stress, feeling 'not-right', and being in danger are not the same thing.  Basically act like things are ok, or at least not so bad and you'll start thinking it too.  Fake it til you make it.

Thanks. When I read that it sounds so simple (and I guess it would be if it weren’t for the anxiety). 

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8 hours ago, leif said:

So for me what seems to work best is to just allow the thoughts and the feelings be there. Not that I can do it all the time, but my most success has been to just acknowledge the fear. so thinking--yes maybe there are eggs somewhere, but just moving along without doing any compulsions around it. People seem to have different approaches though which is why i would talk about it with a therapist. Also i wonder if there would be different approaches depending on where you are at on your hierarchy... I just know that when i am trying to push the thoughts away,it tends to get worse.  It would be interesting to hear how other people would approach it. 

what dose of sertraline are you on? How is your anxiety today?

Thanks that’s helpful. I definitely get tied up in knots when I try and get rid of the thoughts. I’m also best when I can shrug it off. 
I’m in 50mg of sertraline. It’s a tricky week with a few things and it’s definitely making me feel worse at the moment but hopefully it’s short lived. 

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47 minutes ago, Hopingtorecover said:

Thanks. When I read that it sounds so simple (and I guess it would be if it weren’t for the anxiety). 

Well it is simple, but that doesn't mean its easy!  Far from it, recovery is challenging and painful and seems painfully slow, but the alternative is worse.
Its basically like exercise.  Despite all the ads and hype and fancy this or that, when you get down to it, if you want results you just have to do the work.  If you want to run a marathon, you have to run a lot for a long time.  if you want to be a champion weight lifter, you have to lift a lot for a long time. 
Or if you want to be a great musician, you gotta practice, probably every day.  
Simple.  But hard.

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I am spectacularly failing. I’m giving in to any compulsion, I’m absolutely exhausted. Started sertraline 11 days ago and not sure it’s making any difference. I feel so low and fed up. I just feel like I’ve got no resolve to resist compulsions and just sit with anxiety. 
 

not really sure why I’m posting, just needed to share with people who understand and have been where I am right now

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Totally with you.

Since my online Therapy finished, I've been backsliding, into compulsions, a bit at a time, I've been fighting the new ones and doing the old favourites, and now I'm in a mess again, I've even got compulsions trying to get me to do opposing things, I'm worried if I do my job I'll screw it up, and if I don't I'll get sacked, I can't even hide as I keep finding things that worry me in my plant rooms.

So I'm totally with you, but we just have to ride it out and when we can start doing the work(CBT) again, Fake it till you make it. 

Good luck

Edited by Closed for repairs
OCD!!!!!!!
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