OCD - anything help?

[change]

hey I have severe Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Does anyone know anything that has worked for them?

[craola]

Hi :)
I don't have OCD but I have a friend who does and I struggle with obsessions and rituals related to something else. My friends OCD got to a really really bad stage and she responded really well to a mixture of medication (prozac worked for her) and CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) she works with a Psychotherapist and I really am amazed at how well she has responded.

Do you see anyone for help with it? If not I would recommend you go to see you GP and get a referral, there are other techniques that work for different people depending on the manifestation of your OCD. My friend has a problem with hand washing related to radiation, its not just simple handwashing though it goes above and beyond that. As I said I don't have OCD but one of my obsessions is that I have to have everything in alphabetical order or height order if they are not the same size so if I was going to get help it might be that something different worked for me.
I hope that makes sense and is a little bit helpful :/
Aimee x

[-Tough-Cookie-]

As Aimee says CBT is good. If you can learn to change the behaviour its really good but alot of hard work at first. Also understanding what causes your thoughts can be useful (though painful) if there is a specific trigger etc.

[rob]

hi. ive got ocd. really depends how it manifests in u particually. if its more compulsions (rituals checking hording) then i think cbt is worth a try, if u havnt already. if its more pure 'o', obsessional unwanted thoughts, with less obvious compulsions, then i think its harder. im not a big fan of medications, but it can help with the anxiety caused by these thoughts, and group therapies and support groups (ocd tribe. org is great) can be helpful in making you understand how common ocd and come to terms with the way your mind works.

good luck! x

[Popple]

cbt is can be really fabulous
and also I found having people force me not to do things helpful ok not in the short term as I ended up going mad and punched several people in the face but yeah it helped me to learn bad things dont always happen if I don't do certain things.

sorry pretty useless reply
*cuddles*
hope you alright

much love
katy
xx

CBT helped for me but it was a long haul, about two years before it improved. Medication too, I had tried about four meds when I finally stabilised on clomipramine.

I found Exposure Therapy (for the compulsions) utterly awful and traumatic though.

[change]

thanks guys, i wil talk to my psych about that. i ges im just scared that th therapy wil make it worse.

[cutupangel09]

Luvox and CBT therapy has helped me tremoundously. Try talking to your GP. These things take time also so don't give up on trying to find something that works for you.

[craola]

As long as you make sure that you're being supervised at all times during the therapy you should be ok because they will be able to monitor your progress and stop if anything gets to hard or too much or makes things worse.

[songbird]

I did CBT plus was on Paxil....also....there's a website called jjsplace.org that may have some advice. But CBT is really hard (it's amazing once it works...but it's so hard) so you probably will have to have someone help you with it. Best of luck.