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Psychosis or OCD false memories


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Hello, I'm new here. After hitting a crisis point last year with delusions/ false memories ? and a lot of researching as to what was going on me with the thoughts and feelings I was/am having, I contacted my GP earlier this year to seek help. I was and am quite sure what I am experiencing is false memory OCD. 

They suggested I refer myself to the local iapt services. After waiting sometime I explained the situation to them and they have referred me over to CMHS. After a video assessment they have passed me over to the early intervention psychosis team for yet another assessment( yet to hear back from them) 

No one seem to recognise or confirm that they have heard of pure o OCD or false memories and are taking what I’ve said to them as more in the realms of delusions and paranoia. Can OCD be misdiagnosed as psychosis can they over lap be happening at the same time? Has anyone had similar experiences?

I very grateful for any response, thank you 

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Yes, OCD can be misdiagnosed....and unbelievable as it may seem, even amongst mental health professionals.  I don't suppose you know the qualification of the person who made the assessment do you?  I only ask because I've seen several people mention that Initial assessments have been carried out by CMH Nurses who (I personally feel) don't have sufficient knowledge to make that diagnosis accurately.

You refer to yourself as having Pure O.  This is a term that we don't use.  It literally means Purely Obsessional and yet all OCD is accompanied by compulsions.  They may not be as apparent as someone who has compulsions like cleaning or checking but they will be there, I can assure you.  Over time many people used this term to describe OCD that related to unpleasant thoughts like fear of harming someone or thoughts of a sexual nature as opposed to the type of OCD where someone worries about contamination or illness etc.  It's better to simply describe it as OCD and explain that your OCD involves you experiencing intrusive, distressing thoughts.

It would appear that you seem pretty clear that your problems and thoughts are as a result of OCD, explain this to whoever you speak to.  Don't be afraid to say that you are pretty confident that the problem isn't any form of psychosis.  If you feel that you are not being understood or listened to then contact the charity who may be able to help you out.

Try not to worry too much, you describe your position very well & with clarity.  That's part of the irony with OCD.......you do appear to know the cause of your problem,  it's just the level of doubt and anguish "in the moment" that is posing a problem and that you want help with :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

@Caramoole thank you so much for your reply and input. I did have my CMHS assessment with a nurse. (Head nurse I think ). I had already spoke to her in triage when IAPT plus my Dr referred me over to them. After having that assessment I had to chase them up a couple of times, as I hadn’t heard anything back ( assessment was done 4thJuly ) to find out what the outcome is. I was then told that they have concerns it could be psychosis. IAPT guy said that to me initially hence why he referred me over ( which scared me a bit as you can imagine!) I have yet to be contacted by the early intervention psychosis team! It’s coming up to 2 weeks now! 

I understand that some parts of the OCD community are happy to use the term pure O, and some not so much as they find it misleading.

Intrusive thoughts that fall into the pure OCD (all that f@ked up nastiness bullsh@ite ) plus the constant compulsions eg ruminations, memory checking, reassurance seeking is what I am / have been dealing with. I am choosing to refer to as pure O false memories. 

I truely believe I’ve been suffering with OCD on and off through the years since being young around the age of 10, a long flipping time ! I’m 44 now a mum to 2 little ones. How on earth did I not know, like the majority of people about the other side of OCD and how it can display itself, the symptoms and torment that people deal with needs to be out there. Everyone needs educating!

I’d still be in the dark about it all if I hadn’t had that crisis last year that made me research what the bloody hell was happening to me.

I am relieved to hear that I can contact the charity to maybe help me out, if needs be. Thank you for pointing that out caramoole ?

Thank you also @ashipinharbor ?

 

 

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I had ocd since I was 14/15 possibly before hand, don't know why but got worse from intrusive thoughts about family deaths. I only got diagnosed at 29, I'm now 31 but I knew I had OCD many many years before, but I was too scared to ask for help as I thought it might effect my job having ocd xx

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