Next steps

[Emsie]

Hi everyone,

I haven't posted for a while, I'm in a much better place and OCD is very much on the back seat. I kinda feel in remission as its not really about right now. This is partly due to CBT that's currently cracked some of my themes and they've 'gone', partly due to recognising intrusive thoughts (for themes that I feel weren't successfully tackled) when they appear and not responding and urges are consequently weak, but also partly due to the nature of my OCD as it waxes and wanes. I had a major relapse in 2017 that lasted nearly 3 years and it's finally fizzled out in recent weeks/months.

I am not recovered, and it's that third reason of why my OCD appears to be in remission that I am seeking advice over....my OCD is waning. The fact that it's waning has tipped me in to remission, which is wonderful, but I do not take that for granted and I know that it could wax again and at any time.

So what can I do now to prevent another replase? I didn't do any work during my CBT on relapse prevention, in fact when my CBT finished (over a year ago now), I wasn't in the greatest of places. 

Any thoughts would be gratefully received, but there's no urgency in me needing advice either. 

One thing I would like to say is the lovely people on this forum have been one of the major factors in getting me to where I am now, helping me to do the CBT and understanding the disorder and I can't thank you all enough. Too many to mention, but you know who you are and I have so much respect and love for you all. Thank you. For those of you that are struggling, it's hideous, I know, but it can get better. X

 

 

Edited December 30, 2019 by Emsie

[Handy]

You need follow up therapy to keep it in control. 

[PolarBear]

No, she doesn't. Emsie is as knowledgeable as any of us.

You are going to get intrusive thoughts. They will happen. Whether you dlip back into OCD mode has everything to do with what you do about future obsessions. They could be more of what uou are used to or they could be completely new.

Recognize the thought as intrusive.

Take on a, Yeah whatever, stance. 

Continue on with your day.

If needed, tell yourself you're just not going yo deal with that thought.

The above takes me one second to complete. No time wasted on obsessions.

[paradoxer]

7 hours ago, PolarBear said:

No, she doesn't. Emsie is as knowledgeable as any of us.

Bud, nipped. 

[gingerbreadgirl]

Hi emsie 

I'm glad you're doing well at the moment  

It can be worrying the thought of having a relapse. Pb has given some great advice and I don't have a lot to add. I think truly accepting that one day you will get an intrusive thought that your ocd tries to wrestle with...you will at some point get that initial surge of anxiety. That's when you step back and observe, almost with curiosity, "ah yes hello ocd I was wondering when you might make a return" and just get on with your day. Ocd can't hurt you if you don't give it attention - it's like fire needs oxygen to spread. Without it it just snuffs out. 

But otherwise don't give it too much thought. Enjoy not having it in your life right now. I think if you give too much concern to relapses it can almost make them a self-fulfilling prophecy if that makes sense. None of us knows what will happen in life and all you can do really is enjoy what you have right now. So enjoy your remission for what it is right now and do all the things you wished you could do when ocd was bad  

[Avo]

so glad to hear you sounding positive Emsie, I go along with what Polar Bear says 

[Emsie]

On 31 December 2019 at 00:39, PolarBear said:

No, she doesn't. Emsie is as knowledgeable as any of us.

You are going to get intrusive thoughts. They will happen. Whether you dlip back into OCD mode has everything to do with what you do about future obsessions. They could be more of what uou are used to or they could be completely new.

Recognize the thought as intrusive.

Take on a, Yeah whatever, stance. 

Continue on with your day.

If needed, tell yourself you're just not going yo deal with that thought.

The above takes me one second to complete. No time wasted on obsessions.

 

On 31 December 2019 at 08:07, gingerbreadgirl said:

Hi emsie 

I'm glad you're doing well at the moment  

It can be worrying the thought of having a relapse. Pb has given some great advice and I don't have a lot to add. I think truly accepting that one day you will get an intrusive thought that your ocd tries to wrestle with...you will at some point get that initial surge of anxiety. That's when you step back and observe, almost with curiosity, "ah yes hello ocd I was wondering when you might make a return" and just get on with your day. Ocd can't hurt you if you don't give it attention - it's like fire needs oxygen to spread. Without it it just snuffs out. 

But otherwise don't give it too much thought. Enjoy not having it in your life right now. I think if you give too much concern to relapses it can almost make them a self-fulfilling prophecy if that makes sense. None of us knows what will happen in life and all you can do really is enjoy what you have right now. So enjoy your remission for what it is right now and do all the things you wished you could do when ocd was bad  

 

On 31 December 2019 at 13:39, Avo said:

so glad to hear you sounding positive Emsie, I go along with what Polar Bear says 

PolarBear, GBG, Avo, thank you so much, this is all brilliant! I really appreciate all of your advice and support. Interestingly, the day after I posted, and the next day, I had loads of intrusive thoughts from various themes, but I did well not to engage, with only slight hiccups that I nipped in the bud. Going to enjoy what I have right now. Thank you, all and I hope you're all ok. X 

[Handy]

On 30/12/2019 at 16:39, PolarBear said:

No, she doesn't. Emsie is as knowledgeable as any of us.

 

What are you talking about? Your advice I believe is so wrong. She says so right here if you looked,

“So what can I do now to prevent another replase? I didn't do any work during my CBT on relapse prevention, in fact when my CBT finished (over a year ago now), I wasn't in the greatest of places. “

Return to CBT, work on relapse prevention if the counselor recommends it. Simple. Good luck!

[PolarBear]

I missed that. My apologies.

[Emsie]

8 hours ago, Handy said:

What are you talking about? Your advice I believe is so wrong. She says so right here if you looked,

“So what can I do now to prevent another replase? I didn't do any work during my CBT on relapse prevention, in fact when my CBT finished (over a year ago now), I wasn't in the greatest of places. “

Return to CBT, work on relapse prevention if the counselor recommends it. Simple. Good luck!

 

8 hours ago, PolarBear said:

I missed that. My apologies.

No I didn’t do any work on relapse prevention, but I only said that in my original post so that I didn’t get the response......’go back to your notes from therapy on relapse prevention.’ 

You don’t have to return to therapy to do CBT, that’s why I was asking here for advice on what my next steps were to prevent a relapse. So Handy, thank you for your advice, but I wanted help from the knowledgeable community here, which in my opinion are far more equipped to help me anyway. 

Also, in the UK, the NHS aren’t going to fund therapy for ‘I’m doing well, what can I do next?’ So it’s not simple. 

8 hours ago, PolarBear said:

I missed that. My apologies.

I don’t think your advice was wrong at all, it’s what I was looking for. Plus, you’re far more knowledgable and equipped to help me. So no apologies needed on my account. Thank you PB for all of your help. 

Edited January 3, 2020 by Emsie

[dksea]

On 03/01/2020 at 09:48, Handy said:

Return to CBT, work on relapse prevention if the counselor recommends it. Simple.

CBT isn't simply talking to a therapist, its about applying the techniques in your life. 
Yes, it can help to talk to a professional in some circumstances, but at the end of the day, you aren't always going to have direct access to a professional, and becoming overly dependent on them can create more problems.  At some point each person needs to take on more and more of the recovery on their own.  Its not wrong to seek out help when necessary either from a professional or from friends like on this forum.  But its absolutely necessary to do the work yourself and get better and better at handling it on your own.

So maybe it would be helpful for Emsie (or someone else) to try and see a therapist if they are struggling with relapse, but maybe its time to try and do these goals on their own.

Even if seeing a counselor is the better or more effective choice, its also not always a practical or realistic choice, so please understand that saying "talk to a professional" is not exactly simple for most of us.