tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7250319231513853672.post1392316132563762510..comments2019-10-09T13:21:41.427+01:00Comments on The OCD Experience: Everything carries significance...OCD Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029991324831898750noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7250319231513853672.post-36960918836394320122011-11-20T23:32:16.602+00:002011-11-20T23:32:16.602+00:00Please remember that it will get better! Therapy h...Please remember that it will get better! Therapy helped me so much, and medications continue to help me. You want help and you're seeking help, and that is half the battle! <br /><br />I read Brain Lock a long time ago. Sounds like I need to get it down and read again!<br /><br />Thank you for your honest writing.Tina Fariss Barbourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15659018994558471570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7250319231513853672.post-80149929151983155292011-11-20T23:09:40.649+00:002011-11-20T23:09:40.649+00:00ocdtalk - Me too. I really want to get the ball ro...ocdtalk - Me too. I really want to get the ball rolling with therapy but it is just a waiting game until they have available space - Still, the bloggers who I have met and read about through this resource, such as yourself, have made things so much easier to cope with :)<br /><br />Thank you for commenting and 'following' me!OCD Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05029991324831898750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7250319231513853672.post-47837372005862994992011-11-17T21:18:14.834+00:002011-11-17T21:18:14.834+00:00Your writing is so heartfelt. I am so happy to hea...Your writing is so heartfelt. I am so happy to hear that you will be starting therapy soon. I look forward to following your journey to recovery.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7250319231513853672.post-49217975412364613902011-11-15T17:58:48.195+00:002011-11-15T17:58:48.195+00:00Karin - Thank you for your advice and support.
So...Karin - Thank you for your advice and support.<br /><br />Sometimes it feels that i'm making two steps forward and one step back, and the step back is so incredibly frustrating that I feel like i'm not getting anywhere. Sometimes the need to rant and vent frustration is theraputic in itself - I will not give in to OCD though.<br /><br />I read the four-step self-help therapy from Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz and have been practicing the techniques which has helped me to make advances to where I am now but I am kind of waiting for my first therapy sessions to begin so help can be tailored slightly more to me. With therapy will come meds I guess but as yet I am fighting OCD without much guidance.<br /><br />Thank you so much again for your kind words and wisdom!<br /><br /><br />Kat - Thank you to you too for your kind words and support.<br /><br />Sometimes I feel alone and think that maybe my OCD rituals only behave that way for me and it offers me no end of support to know that other's experiences are similar.<br /><br />The rituals do offer me some comfort and feelings of control but I guess I need to be more vigilant in ignoring the need to perform them.<br /><br />I really understand the example you gave regarding blocking difficult thoughts and numbing the pain as I believe some of my OCD rituals help to passify my anxieties and fears.<br /><br />Once again, thank you so much for you kindness.<br /><br /><br />Each day brings with it a new challenge and each day could be better or worse than the one before but, ultimately, things will get easier and more manageable.OCD Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05029991324831898750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7250319231513853672.post-32568100672654512022011-11-15T17:17:51.648+00:002011-11-15T17:17:51.648+00:00This sounds pretty normal for OCD. the obsessions...This sounds pretty normal for OCD. the obsessions and compulsions are your mind's way of comforting you and making you feel safe and in control. It is self-medicating. Rachel always tells me it's like an alcoholic who uses alcohol or an addicted who uses drugs to self-medicate and block the things they can't deal with, to numb the pain, etc. Rituals are our addiction. When you remove one, another one easily pops up to take it's place in an attempt to keep that balance of control and safety. It's only when you address the cause as well as the reality of what the rituals are and the fact that they are unreasonable and illogical that you can start to make headway. This is a difficult process with lots of ups and downs. Meds do help slow the brain's tendency to jump to the what-ifs enough to think things through and recognize these things a little more. Therapy will help address the root causes and triggers as well as the unreasonable and illogical thoughts and rituals. It will not be a quick process, but it will happen.Kathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13542984912834780882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7250319231513853672.post-4179734700103049532011-11-15T17:16:48.887+00:002011-11-15T17:16:48.887+00:00Hang in there! Ocd sucks. Big time. I hate living...Hang in there! Ocd sucks. Big time. I hate living my life backwards, too: Enjoying a trip AFTER it's over and the ocd dread and compulsions have faded. Then i can say it was a good trip/ day etc. Ocd sucks all the joy and energy out of life. And the more you give in, the more ocd wants from you. But you are finally going to start therapy, which does help. It will help you live in the present moment too. The spiral works the other way too. The less you give in to ocd's demands (by working your therapy/ taking meds?) the less ocd bugs you.<br /><br />I'm reading a book called Brain Lock by Jeff Schwartz. He has a behavior program for reducing ocd's hold on a person's life. He also shares many of his patients' stories and thots. I got it thru interlibrary loan. <br /><br />It does get better. It will take determination, courage and focus. And hard work. But doing rituals also takes determination, courage, focus and hard work, so you already have the tools you need to work your way out. Now you will use them to reduce or eliminate ocd's hold on you.Karinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17182813079850508907noreply@blogger.com