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Worthing OCD Support Group Discussion


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Unfortunately the April Worthing OCD Support Group as been cancelled.  

This discussion as been opened for members of the Worthing OCD Support Group to offer them a place to reach out for support in the absence of the group, and will be actively monitored by Claire1704 and Ashley during the times that the support group usually operates (7-9pm).  Group members are welcome to create an account and join in the conversation, and regular forum members are also welcome to offer our group helpful advice and support.

Should any of the Worthing group prefer to talk one-on-one then OCD-UK will offer a telephone call back on the Wednesday (8th).

 

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  • Ashley changed the title to Worthing OCD Support Group Discussion

Hey!

So this is the spot for the usual Worthing support group attendees. We'd be meeting tonight, but for obvious reasons, the Community Centre is closed....

I'll be here from 7pm to 9pm for chat and support.

Speak to you soon!

Claire

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It's been a weird old month.... It feels like weeks since the last Worthing group.

I found this this whole lockdown thing really difficult on my mood in the first few days, but by and large I'm getting into the swing of things. I'm lucky enough to be able to work from home.

I think I had mild symptoms of Coronavirus a couple of weeks ago, with a persistent dry cough and a wheezy chest, but seem to be ok now.

Initially my OCD had a field day with telling me that I was probably going to kill my parents with the virus. Or that I wouldn't be able to look after my gerbils properly and would have to have them put down. Catastrophising much?! But I'm  pleased to say I got on top of this fairly quickly, and not I'm a bit bored and frustrated like everyone else, but largely ok.

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2 minutes ago, Claire1704 said:

I found this this whole lockdown thing really difficult on my mood in the first few days, but by and large I'm getting into the swing of things. I'm lucky enough to be able to work from home.

I was just preparing something for the charity newsletter/magazine today that somebody had wrote, and she made the point that even those without OCD are struggling with the lockdown and the mood of being couped up etc.   We will be making that freely available this time .... whenever I find time to complete!  Hopefully by this time next week.

3 minutes ago, Claire1704 said:

I think I had mild symptoms of Coronavirus a couple of weeks ago, with a persistent dry cough and a wheezy chest, but seem to be ok now.

I think everybody is getting symptoms, myself included, or rather we are sometimes letting our OCD run away with itself to convince us we have.   It's a fine line I think between what is genuine worry/concern/safety behaviour and what is OCD.

But anyway, welcome back Claire and hello all the way down there in sunny Worthing. 

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Hey Ash! Yes indeed. I found myself thinking 'this is going to go wrong, that's going to go wrong' and then I thought... 'hang on a minute!', I'm pleased that it didn't take me too long to get things straight, and sort out the reasonable amount of concern from the excessive. I think I had one stressful evening and that was it!  It's a strange old time. I think hearing your government say 'you can't go out. you can't see your family' etc...was a bit of a shock for us all.

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2 minutes ago, Claire1704 said:

I think hearing your government say 'you can't go out. you can't see your family' etc...was a bit of a shock for us all.

Unless you have been practising self isolated for the last two decades (mainly because of OCD) :D   I am the opposite to most people, this is my norm, and I am fine with the not seeing people.  That said, I know when this is all over I need to do what Paul Salkovskis often talks about, I need to reclaim my life back and live again now I am more or less OCD free most days. 

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8 minutes ago, Jane Tomlinson said:

HI claire - Its Jane Louise mum here - how are you?

Hey there! Lovely to 'see' you!

 

I'm not bad at all thank you. My OCD was a little troublesome at the beginning of the lockdown, but fine since. Happy I'm able to work.

 

How are you and Louis? x

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Claire  I just wanted to thank you for being here and available for all in Worthing and the surrounding areas - very much appreciated especially as the sistuation can cause all kinds of anxiety for everyone but especially OCD sufferers. Do you have any coping strategies we can use?

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Just to add you can use whatever name you like on the forum, real name or an alias.   If any of you have already registered with a username they would prefer to change, no problem email me ashley@ocduk.org and I will change straight away for you (just let me know preferred alternative).

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My pleasure :)

I think for me, I have made a point of reminding myself of how my anxiety can be. That is, (as is fairly typical with OCD) I know I have excessive feelings of responsibility and I tend to immediately jump to the worst possible conclusion.  It was helpful to remind myself of this, because it helped me spot the unhelpful thought patterns.

For example, my assumption 'lots of shops are closing, therefore I won't be able to get what I need for the gerbils and they will die'. I leapt to that conclusion, fully in the knowledge that I have supplies here and others would be in the same position as me, and there is always a way around these things. I had to ask myself 'are you catastrophising?. Yes it might be a pain, yes it will no doubt be difficult, but that doesn't automatically mean the worst is going to happen.

I also look out for my own personal physical warning signs. For me, excessive worry/anxiety is a knot in my stomach. If I feel that knot, then I know I'm very possibly worrying excessively.

Has Louis every mentioned his anxiety having a physical feeling?

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Well i wish i could spell my own sons name correctly -i don't think that has anything to do the the lockdown!

I think working will really help keep some normality in everyones world - we are all furloughed but the garden is looking great! For those that have time on their hands and want some brain stimulation if they want, the Open University is offering nearly 1,000 free on line courses - some for fun but some you can add to other qualifications - started with Italian today anything from 1 hour I believe.

Thanks Ashley - Im OK with Jane

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4 minutes ago, Jane Tomlinson said:

Well i wish i could spell my own sons name correctly -i don't think that has anything to do the the lockdown!

I think working will really help keep some normality in everyones world - we are all furloughed but the garden is looking great! For those that have time on their hands and want some brain stimulation if they want, the Open University is offering nearly 1,000 free on line courses - some for fun but some you can add to other qualifications - started with Italian today anything from 1 hour I believe.

Thanks Ashley - Im OK with Jane

Ugh, how frustrating for all of you to be furloughed. Courses sound like an excellent idea though.

Can I ask, has Louis found his OCD to be affected by things that are happening?

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5 minutes ago, Jane Tomlinson said:

For those that have time on their hands and want some brain stimulation if they want, the Open University is offering nearly 1,000 free on line courses - some for fun but some you can add to other qualifications - started with Italian today anything from 1 hour I believe.

I didn't realise that, that's so helpful to know Jane, thank you for sharing. I will message our users via social media tomorrow to let them know and get it in the magazine to let members know. 

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I believe he gets that knot and eats less - we are making the day as normal/usual for all as much as possible accepting that none of us are working,  We still keep to working week days and weekend jobs etc - I think it helps us all a little bit.  A daily walk and cooking fresh good food everyday as well.

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He says not really (being affected by the current situation) however he is not used to us all being together pretty much all day everyday - none of us are really but I guess there must be a different 'feel' to his day.  I think it may give a hiatus to some points of recovery - mixing, working etc

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1 minute ago, Jane Tomlinson said:

I guess there must be a different 'feel' to his day.  I think it may give a hiatus to some points of recovery - mixing, working etc

This is a really interesting point. I think Ashley was saying further up the thread, it's kind of getting in the way of the things we need to do to challenge our OCD. Isolation is not what's good for us. And being cooped up either on your own or with the same people is not usual!

I know that when we last spoke, he was looking at his fear ladder, and mentioned that he hasn't looked at it for a while. I wonder if there's anything more on there he could be getting on with?

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2 minutes ago, Claire1704 said:

Good!  And how are you doing?

That's always important to ask, sometimes carers get overlooked I feel and important that all carers try and look after themselves, recharge their batteries when they can. 

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Yes... at least other parts of the world are now seeing an improvement, so that's encouraging.

I also meant to say, thank you for messaging me the other day to see how I was; I really appreciated it :) 

There's been a lot of stuff in the media about OCD recently I've seen. I try not to get too involved in it as it just winds me up! There was an article written by  A DOCTOR recently that said something like 'we all need a bit of OCD at the moment'! I know OCD-UK have given an official response to it, but it really makes me cross. It's difficult when you're limited in the people you can interact with, as we are at the moment, to keep the conversation going and raise awareness.

Have you seen anything like this, or am I just looking in all the wrong places?!

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4 minutes ago, Claire1704 said:

I know OCD-UK have given an official response to it

That cost me a bloody fortune in the office 'Ashley moan/swear' jar that Zoe introduced. 

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