To 'ex-sufferers' of OCD- what is life like?

[TriangleFace2]

What is the endgame of someone who has gone through therapy with OCD like? Do you still get intrusive thoughts? Do you still relapse and have horrible 'episodes' of OCD where you start obsessing and worrying? 

[Nicnac]

I had a great time. Happiest I had been, Still had obsessions and intrusive thoughts but not as often and could brush them off  With things learnt in therapy 

I've relapsed though and I'm back to square one, slightly more warped obsession than last time but related. Had to restart medication and only just under 5 weeks into that so not feeling much improvement at the moment.

 

[PolarBear]

I don't much like the term 'gone through therapy'. It makes it sound like sitting there like a good student for 10 or 20 sessions fixes things.

Overcoming OCD is hard work. It's about doing. You have to actively engage with therapy. You have to get really, really uncomfortable. 

I am coming up to my seventh year of being an ex-sufferer. It means I don't suffer. I still get the odd intrusive thought. I shrug them off or chuckle at them. They aren't accompanied by a jolt of anxiety. I spend no time on them. I do not do compulsions. 

[TriangleFace2]

2 hours ago, PolarBear said:

 don't much like the term 'gone through therapy'. It makes it sound like sitting there like a good student for 10 or 20 sessions fixes things.

It wasn't my intention to make it sound like that- I just meant people who had therapy, and therapy assisted them in getting to a stage where they would consider themselves an 'Ex-Sufferer'. I know of some people who didn't go to therapy too, and just did self-help, but from my understanding therapy is the more favourable choice. 

4 hours ago, Nicnac said:

Happiest I had been, Still had obsessions and intrusive thoughts but not as often and could brush them off  With things learnt in therapy 

With all due respect, could you have even considered yourself an 'Ex-Sufferer'? The fact that you still had obsessions would suggest otherwise to me. Perhaps I'm wrong. 

Edited December 15, 2021 by TriangleFace2

[Katrin1994]

I would also very much like to hear the stories of those who have been on this forum for a long time. The stories of your ocd's and how you dealt with it. I am sorry if this is inappropriate. and sorry for the mistakes (I am writing with the help of a translator).

[Nicnac]

8 hours ago, TriangleFace2 said:

It wasn't my intention to make it sound like that- I just meant people who had therapy, and therapy assisted them in getting to a stage where they would consider themselves an 'Ex-Sufferer'. I know of some people who didn't go to therapy too, and just did self-help, but from my understanding therapy is the more favourable choice. 

With all due respect, could you have even considered yourself an 'Ex-Sufferer'? The fact that you still had obsessions would suggest otherwise to me. Perhaps I'm wrong. 

Isn't it a chronic condition though, so will not be rid of it completely?

By obsession I mean still get intrusive thoughts along the theme every now and then but not the constant and crowded mind where you wish your brain would just shut off for a bit. And not suffering 

[snowbear]

6 hours ago, Nicnac said:

Isn't it a chronic condition though, so will not be rid of it completely?

Let's answer that one because it's important and often misunderstood.

1. Everybody, including people who've never had OCD, gets 'intrusive thoughts'. Thoughts they find uncomfortable, disgusting, or the opposite of 'the kind of person they are'.

So you can't completely and forever be free of intrusive thoughts because they are a normal part of normal life. 

Even being 100% free of OCD means you will get intrusive thoughts from time to time. Guaranteed! All that means is you're not dead yet, your brain is still functioning - and functioning normally.

2. If somebody is obese and loses lots of weight they are no longer obese. Are they free of obesity? Yes. As long as they don't go back to their old ways of managing food, overeat, and regain all the weight they lost.

Can someone be free of OCD? Absolutely!

As long as they recognise what OCD is and don't go back to their old ways of reacting to their intrusive thoughts by doing compulsions.

It really is as simple as that.

OCD is a thought disorder. Correct the disorder (how you react to intrusive or unwanted thoughts) and you no longer have a thinking disorder.

You think normally, you react to intrusive thoughts normally (shrug them off as unimportant and don't take any further action) and you are 100% OCD free.

But we're human! Now and then people slip up. Now and then they get a thought which upsets them and they allow it to become an obsession. They treat the thought as important, try to push it away, do compulsions to make the anxiety stop. And they go from 100% free of OCD back to someone with a thinking disorder.

Disordered thinking isn't permanent and with the right help it doesn't need to be lifelong. OCD isn't permanent and should not be viewed as 'a life long disorder.'

[Kcbell92]

I really wish I was an ex sufferer, I’m maintaining my ocd better and the days and weeks that go by and life continues to improve I just feel more and more satisfied, tho I have a long long way to go still

[PolarBear]

22 hours ago, TriangleFace2 said:

It wasn't my intention to make it sound like that- I just meant people who had therapy, and therapy assisted them in getting to a stage where they would consider themselves an 'Ex-Sufferer'. I know of some people who didn't go to therapy too, and just did self-help, but from my understanding therapy is the more favourable choice. 

With all due respect, could you have even considered yourself an 'Ex-Sufferer'? The fact that you still had obsessions would suggest otherwise to me. Perhaps I'm wrong. 

Two things.

Several studies have been done on the general public and it has been determined that virtually all people get intrusive thoughts, not just those with OCD. So my experiencing the odd intrusive thought means I'm like everone else.

I am an ex-sufferer by the simple fact that I used to suffer from OCD and now I don't. 

[Handy]

Being in recovery it’s called.  A person on medication for more than a few months is not recovered because the medication is the OCD compulsion. One must give up the medication & apply any tools learned in therapy to the anxiety to reach recovery. Just like someone with high blood pressure on blood medication. Once they are off it, it comes back but they can apply tools, eating right, etc & not have high blood pressure off medication.

I did not take medication but used tools learned fro the forum or books. It’s a bit like losing your “best friend,” but eventually one adjusts. 

Edited December 16, 2021 by Handy
Typo

[PolarBear]

Handy, some days.

Medications are not compulsions. 

[dan9911]

15 hours ago, PolarBear said:

Two things.

Several studies have been done on the general public and it has been determined that virtually all people get intrusive thoughts, not just those with OCD. So my experiencing the odd intrusive thought means I'm like everone else.

I am an ex-sufferer by the simple fact that I used to suffer from OCD and now I don't. 

PolarBear, may I ask how long it took you roughly to consider yourself having fully gotten over compulsions after going all into therapy? I know it’s different for everyone depending on their attitude towards it, how hard they’re willing to push themselves, learning proper techniques etc. but just curious to know.

[Handy]

On 15/12/2021 at 18:13, PolarBear said:

Handy, some days.

Medications are not compulsions. 

Buying the medication. Getting the bottle open, putting it in the hand, putting it in the mouth, watching a clock for the next dose. Compulsions.  

[Caramoole]

On 15/12/2021 at 10:13, Nicnac said:

Isn't it a chronic condition though, so will not be rid of it completely?

On 15/12/2021 at 16:47, snowbear said:

OCD is a thought disorder. Correct the disorder (how you react to intrusive or unwanted thoughts) and you no longer have a thinking disorder.

I think that sums it up pretty well

[PolarBear]

23 hours ago, dan9911 said:

PolarBear, may I ask how long it took you roughly to consider yourself having fully gotten over compulsions after going all into therapy? I know it’s different for everyone depending on their attitude towards it, how hard they’re willing to push themselves, learning proper techniques etc. but just curious to know.

Roughly, 18 months. Some obsessions/compulsions were relatively easy to deal with while others were just so ingrained.

Edited December 17, 2021 by PolarBear

[PolarBear]

9 hours ago, Handy said:

Buying the medication. Getting the bottle open, putting it in the hand, putting it in the mouth, watching a clock for the next dose. Compulsions.  

You have a real warped view of things. I know you are dead against psych meds but you're grasping at straws and your explanation is ridiculous.

[dan9911]

9 hours ago, Handy said:

Buying the medication. Getting the bottle open, putting it in the hand, putting it in the mouth, watching a clock for the next dose. Compulsions.  

In my opinion, meds should only be taken when the individual’s anxiety and stress levels are so bad that they’re unable to perform CBT. We all know those times when your anxiety is a 10/10 and focusing on anything else is just impossible, right? All you wanna do is get rid of it because it is unbearable. That’s when meds could come in handy because they would allow you to feel better and turn your focus to ERP. The whole point of ERP is to make yourself uncomfortable so if you were to take something that relieves your anxiety like a benzo every time you felt slightly anxious that would be a compulsion, yes. In ERP it is important to keep your anxiety high but only to the point where you can still manage not to perform compulsions (7-8/10 instead of 10/10) . What you’ll find at that point is that your brain will start to habituate to the discomfort and your anxiety will decrease on its own over time, allowing you to progress your exposures to some of the more fearful situations. 

[ashipinharbor]

Free. Prozac saved my life. I still get intrusive thoughts, as everyone does, but they don't control me, anymore.

It's one of the most amazing feelings, watching those thoughts fade, knowing they would've hurt you so much before.

I used to think OCD would rule my life, forever, but it didn't have to.

Recovery is possible.

[ashipinharbor]

On 14/12/2021 at 17:09, TriangleFace2 said:

With all due respect, could you have even considered yourself an 'Ex-Sufferer'? The fact that you still had obsessions would suggest otherwise to me. Perhaps I'm wrong. 

My theory is that, since I suffered from OCD for so long, it was a knee-jerk response of my brain to revert to the cycle.

That said, I consider myself an ex-sufferer, as I don't experience distress from that cycle, nor do I feel trapped in it.

To compare, I've stopped drinking, due to a problem with alcohol. Some people wouldn't consider me an alcoholic, anymore. But I think a more apt description would be a recovering alcohol.

I don't think recovery is an end goal, but rather a journey. 

We're all doing our best.

[ashipinharbor]

On 14/12/2021 at 22:16, Katrin1994 said:

I would also very much like to hear the stories of those who have been on this forum for a long time. The stories of your ocd's and how you dealt with it. I am sorry if this is inappropriate. and sorry for the mistakes (I am writing with the help of a translator).

Your English is just fine, and there was nothing wrong with your reply :]

[ashipinharbor]

On 15/12/2021 at 14:57, Kcbell92 said:

I really wish I was an ex sufferer, I’m maintaining my ocd better and the days and weeks that go by and life continues to improve I just feel more and more satisfied, tho I have a long long way to go still

I'm proud of you 

[Darwinia]

On 14/12/2021 at 22:56, PolarBear said:

 I still get the odd intrusive thought. I shrug them off or chuckle at them. They aren't accompanied by a jolt of anxiety. I spend no time on them. I do not do compulsions. 

I like that as a definition of what it means to have recovered from OCD. It's also how you can define people who don't have OCD in the first case? 

[ThRo]

As previously described, in my opinion and based on my knowledge/research (I am not a qualified expert however) everyone suffers some intrusive thoughts from time to time. How frequently these are experienced, and how much anxiety they invoke are dependent on a whole array of personal factors. But ultimately, OCD is a point on the spectrum. There isn't a neat dividing line between "OCD sufferer" and "Doesn't have OCD", rather it's a spectrum based on how often intrusive thoughts occur, how much anxiety they cause, how much a person ruminates on them, and ultimately how much they affect a person's ability to function and enjoy life. Each person will be at a different point on the continuum.

For me, recovery will be an ongoing lifestyle requirement. I still regularly experience intrusive thoughts, but please don't be disheartened by this, because I thoroughly enjoy my life now, and can normally handle the intrusive thoughts well with little anxiety. An analogy I'd use is that it's like living on a diet. When someone who is overweight tries to lose weight, maybe with the help of a trainer (OCD therapist), they may reach their ideal target weight after lots of hard work. However, there's always the risk that if that person then stops working hard themselves and doing the things that got them to their ideal weight, they could then put the weight back on, and need to repeat the process. 

For me, managing my OCD requires continual small exertions of effort, but lots of things are like that - eating well, exercising regularly, etc, there's not a finish line. As humans we have to constantly keep doing good things to stay healthy.

So in a sense, I read a quote purportedly from Dr Fred Penzel - "you can't be cured, but you can recover" which sort of echoes this. You can't be cured in the sense of "you'll never suffer an intrusive thought/obsession again now", but don't be disheartened by this, nobody could do that!!! You can recover and thoroughly enjoy life again though. I know it sounds trite and cheesy, but it's so worth it. I was completely miserable for years as OCD dominated my life, but with lots of help and perseverance, I'm hopefully through the worse of it, and have experienced so much with great friends and family.

Best of luck to you all.