Can we actually beat OCD?

[Kranky123]

Can we actually beat OCD? 

I read: Unfortunately, OCD is a chronic disorder. That means it will be ever present from the time you first exhibit symptoms until the very end. While there are treatments that can effectively get the symptoms of OCD under control, there is currently no cure. Research is constantly being done to try to uncover a way to cure OCD but, unfortunately, that is still years away. While treatment can help you live a happy and ordinary life, OCD will always be lingering in the background

If that is true then what does recovery even look like? 

For example, Would someone with an obsession about cleaning their hands always be obsessed by this or can they get over that obsession etc?

 

[discuccsant]

I would word it differently: 

I think all people with OCD have a certain thought process, that is different to people without it: 

- They are perfectionists
- They are fairly quick in mastering certain skills
- They can easily focus on certain topics 
- They question certain methods and find better one 
- They ask questions, nobody even dares to ask
- They are able to rationalize superb
- They have very high morals
- They have strong empathy for others
- They are very forgiving people 
- They try to find excuses for people, offending them

Sounds all good, right? But with this kind of brain, you can easily suffer from OCD. And thank god, we have methods to overcome OCD. 

For me personally, though, people who are capable of having OCD are generally different people. They are unique. They are not autistic or something like that, but like them, their perception of things seems to me to be different in comparison to regular people. Is that bad? Nope. And this is what I think people mean, when they say, that OCD is chronic. I think we are just perfectionists, which in itself can easily lead to OCD, but having this type of perception isn't the mental illness OCD in itself. It's like being a gun. It doesn't mean we will kill someone, but we are capable of doing so. So your thought process is chronic, but the mental illness in the form of OCD is not.

[northpaul]

3 hours ago, Kranky123 said:

If that is true then what does recovery even look like?

Recovery has different meaning to diifferent people.  I asked this question several months ago in the members only section.  Nobody came up with a definitive answer.  What people saw as recovery was based on their own recovery journeys.

At this point in time recovery to me means that I am currently much more in control of my life than OCD is.  I would say that my OCD is sometimes chronic (as in your above quote) but there are times when it can be quite mild.  In my case this episodic cycle has been the case for a long, long time and is often directly linked to my mood (depression).  I have given up on the idea of looking for a 'cure' and would prefer to use the phrase 'condition management' in my OCD journey.  Each episode is a learning opportunity - I learn how to manage with OCD each time I go through another episode.

Instead of getting myself stressed out looking for that OCD 'cure' I find it more beneficial to look at ways of occupying my mind in a positive way that lifts my mood and that in turn reduces my OCD thinking.

[discuccsant]

1 minute ago, northpaul said:

Recovery has different meaning to diifferent people.  I asked this question several months ago in the members only section.  Nobody came up with a definitive answer.  What people saw as recovery was based on their own recovery journeys.

At this point in time recovery to me means that I am currently much more in control of my life than OCD is.  I would say that my OCD is sometimes chronic (as in your above quote) but there are times when it can be quite mild.  In my case this episodic cycle has been the case for a long, long time and is often directly linked to my mood (depression).  I have given up on the idea of looking for a 'cure' and would prefer to use the phrase 'condition management' in my OCD journey.  Each episode is a learning opportunity - I learn how to manage with OCD each time I go through another episode.

Instead of getting myself stressed out looking for that OCD 'cure' I find it more beneficial to look at ways of occupying my mind in a positive way that lifts my mood and that in turn reduces my OCD thinking.

It's the same for me. Perfectly worded. 

May I ask you if you also feel, as if you are still different to others in your non-OCD episodes? For me, it feels like that. I don't think I change my thought process when I'm not, but more like shifting my focus on other things, that don't cause me distress. 

You could say, that I have for example "OCD about being a good husband", where I try to focus on helping my wife as much as possible, which makes me feel good. But once my brain focuses on things, that causes me anxiety, it is the classical OCD you read about: Guilt, anxiety and so on. 

I'm really curious how it is for others in here. 

[northpaul]

22 minutes ago, discuccsant said:

May I ask you if you also feel, as if you are still different to others in your non-OCD episodes?

When I did some vocational training at the local college my tutor described me as being 'fastidious'.  I would tend to agree with that wether it be OCD related or not.  I would not want to give that up - I have solved some problems when others gave up.

[Handy]

I see it as a coping mechanism for stress.  I'm always going to need a coping mechanism for stress. Alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, sex, food, gambling, exercise,washing,  anger, etc are all coping mechanisms.  Food as a coping mechanism can cause people to get fat. Exercise makes people thin. I can often see peoples coping mechanisms by looking at them. 

Coping mechanisms are what people do for self soothing. Recovery is having decent self soothing mechanisms.