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OCD Diagnosis?


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Hello, 

How would I start the process for getting diagnosed with OCD? I have made an appointment with my GP and that is coming up in a few days, but I don't want to be sent just to be 'assessed', I was told I need a formal diagnosis that I actually have OCD by my university and student finance in order to get support.

If I don't get support I'm sure I will definitely struggle at university, as when I have my 'episodes' of OCD I'm not in the right space to study or do any sort of work, I just become crippled with anxiety.

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Hmmm not sure.

I’ve never had a formal diagnosis myself and in fact it was a counsellor from the Iaps service that showed me stuff about OCD that convinced me I had it.

 

I don’t tend to do rituals or anything, mine is purely based on intrusive thoughts.

A GP won’t be able to diagnose you but it’s possible they will refer you to someone who can. 

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Your right you need a formal medical diagnosis for the sort of help you require.  I think a GP will do. I have also had consultant psychiatrists assessments but these days these can take a long time.

I am a believer in examples to flesh out your self diagnosis.

In the same way that when you are in a job interview you simply don’t assert that you are, say,  a team player rather you give examples of how you helped a team achieve a target be it a sports team, burger bar team or fund raising team for a charity. Likeness examples of how OCD impacts on your life e.g. with my checking it takes me x time to leave as I feel I have to……..

Incidentally, if the GP did refer you for assessment you might get  better help. For the student disabled scheme isn’t there an assessment stage?

Good luck with the GP.
 

Edited by Angst
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42 minutes ago, Rem said:

How would I start the process for getting diagnosed with OCD?

You state that you do not just want to be assessed but taking into account your later statement below, how have you arrived at the conclusion that you have OCD?  Have you already had an assessment?

45 minutes ago, Rem said:

as when I have my 'episodes' of OCD

 

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20 minutes ago, Angst said:

For the student disabled scheme isn’t there an assessment stage?

No, they told me I'd need an official diagnosis from a medical professional. 

4 minutes ago, northpaul said:

how have you arrived at the conclusion that you have OCD?  Have you already had an assessment?

Years of suffering, misleadingly thinking it was just anxiety. Then the past year I started struggling even worse and decided to look up help online. I started looking into OCD and saw that it really links up to what I've been experiencing. Things like responding to intrusive thoughts with compulsions is what I've done my entire life but I just assumed it was all anxiety. Also, multiple of my close family members have OCD too.

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3 minutes ago, Rem said:

No, they told me I'd need an official diagnosis from a medical professional. 

I have a diagnosis of OCD. To get to that point this was the process I went through:

  1. My primary carer contacted my GP because of concerning mental health issues
  2. Nurse Practitioner from GP practice assessed me
  3. GP then assessed me and referred me to mental health team
  4. Triage team assessed me and passed me to an IAPT team
  5. IAPT team assessed me and said I can have CBT
  6. CBT therapist and worked with me.

That took 13 months in total.  The therapist's letter to myself and GP simply states that I had CBT and the discussion was regarding OCD.

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31 minutes ago, Rem said:

@northpaul @Angst Also, how long after a diagnosis will it take to start having CBT? Have you two had it - If so, how did it go?

 

Goodness knows! I would ring the office of OCD U.K. I think there are marked regional variations. For me, it went well. But for me stressors in the environment reduced so the intensity of my distress reduced prior to therapy. The therapists were top notch. On the scale of OCD I was in the top 2% it really was debilitating. 
 

What worries you about your future course? 

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@northpaul how did you find CBT? Was it hard?

 

5 minutes ago, Angst said:

Goodness knows! I would ring the office of OCD U.K. I think there are marked regional variations. For me, it went well. But for me stressors in the environment reduced so the intensity of my distress reduced prior to therapy. The therapists were top notch. On the scale of OCD I was in the top 2% it really was debilitating. 
 

What worries you about your future course? 

I'm glad CBT worked well for you. What do you mean by future course?

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6 minutes ago, Angst said:

What you are going to study.

Oh apologies, I thought you were talking about a 'course' of CBT or something. I'm not worried about my course directly, it's just when my OCD plays up (most days to be honest) I find it extremely hard to do anything - let alone studying. I feel as though I can't take in information because I'm always worrying about an 'obsession' but I'm starting to doubt if I even have OCD now because as @northpaulsaid, I haven't been assessed lol.. 

It's just hard to do normal things in general, I stop going out when I'm worrying and I just sit in my chair and worry for hours. My friends have invited me out multiple times this month and I can't go out.

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54 minutes ago, Rem said:

how did you find CBT? Was it hard?

I would not say hard but it did take time.  It also required me 'wanting' to take on board the therapy and wanting to see some recovery.  It also requires time commitment, not just in the therapy sessions but also by me doing my homework between the sessions.

The other thing I realised that CBT alone does not mean I am recovered.  CBT was the start of my recovery journey, I am still on that journey 9 months after therapy.  I still need to refer to my therapy notes regularly.

Having said all that my reason for persisting with CBT is because I want my quality of life to improve.  I can say that I am in a better place now than I was in late 2020.

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