Hi Cat23
Welcome to the bb forum and thank you for sharing your story. I can relate to your struggle with OCD, as my daughter also has the illness and I have cared for her for the past seven years. I am not a doctor but I will tell you what I've learned.
I believe that you are going to need professional psychological help to get on top of your OCD. Unchecked this illness grows and spreads, as you are currently experiencing. I cannot emphasise enough how important it is for you to receive proper treatment.
It is not uncommon for people to struggle to find the right person to help them, particularly at the start of the journey (this also happened to my daughter). I encourage you to go back to your GP, update your mental health plan to reflect your new symptoms and try again with a new referral.
For my girl CBD, medication and lifestyle changes were essential. This included good sleep hygiene (you can't fight OCD tired and the illness itself is exhausting), a healthy diet and regular exercise.
It took time but she is now in recovery and enjoying her life and much success (e.g. studying architecture at university, friends, part time work, etc), whilst being symptom free.
It can get better with the right treatment. And the sooner you commence treatment the better.
I am happy to talk with you as long as it helps. And there are many others on the forum who will also support you.
Kind thoughts to you
