OCD/depression combination... online therapy?

[Ollie46]

OCD's wonderful partner in crime has been a constant in my life since I had my bad relapse a couple years ago. It's mainly what made dealing with the relapse so difficult since I was now dealing with an extremely low mood all the time, which made it difficult to celebrate those little victories you have against OCD.

I'm sure I'm not the only one here who suffers from depression or extremely low mood alongside OCD, and I was wondering two things... First question is: does anybody have some survival tips about dealing with depression and OCD at the same time? I find it very hard when depression robs me of feeling happy when I beat my OCD back- it feels like it slows the process down massively.

Second question is: What does everybody think of online therapy, if any of you have done it? Is it worth maybe getting involved with? I didn't do it the whole of the UK lockdown because I felt like I'd prefer to see somebody in person, but I'm willing to try anything at this point. Therapy would have probably saved me an awful lot of pain through this lockdown and I kind of regret not trying it out.

[malina]

Hi Ollie,

I'm not sure if I've suffered with depression per se but OCD has definitely gotten me to very low points in life. So my general advice is that when you have very bad days, you just have to focus on putting one foot in front of the other, so to speak, and have faith that things will get better. When I was at my worst with OCD, I really had to make an effort to stick to a normal routine and not to let things slide. So to get up each morning, shower, make myself eat (which was really hard sometimes), go to work or whatever and just not let my routine slip. I also find that doing something physical really helps, even if it's not necessarily sport but something with your hands, for example. The other day I re-potted some of my plants and I felt so much better about life! I think it's about the little things, even if you struggle to feel happy doing the things you normally like, stick to them. To some degree, I've always seen it as an endurance game, you just keep living, keep moving forward, until things start to feel better. 

I've been doing my therapy sessions online and I'm finding that it's still useful. I also prefer the sessions in person but I definitely wouldn't discard the idea of online therapy, I think it can be a really useful tool until things return to normal. 

[Ollie46]

Thanks you for the response malinga, it was very helpful.

I think it's pretty clear, now that I've read what you have said, that I have a really big problem with 'just letting things slide' when it comes to mental health, which definitely explains a lot about why I have OCD. We all relate to compulsions feeling like the most distressing itch ever that you just HAVE to scratch, and I used to have my coping mechanism down with it... But unfortunately, that coping mechanism allowed a degree of compulsion engaging that, now, I can't allow any more because the extreme low moods make it that much more difficult to bounce back.

Keeping to routine is also something I usually do, and have found helps, but has been difficult the past 3 months dude to lockdown. I'm a bartender, and have been furloughed, meaning routine for me as I knew it basically flew out the window. However, I have recently tried to incorporate physical activities such as playing basketball at a local court into my life and have felt better for it overall, so that's a positive I suppose!

I will see about looking into online therapy as well, I basically forgot how good it is just to talk to people sometimes and have only been reminded after I spilled my guts out to my friend recently about everything on my mind. Even if somebody just listening is all I can get from online therapy, it may be worth it for me