OCD Question

[Kpb16]

Hi,

Hope all is well. 
Can I ask if OCD goes away completely? I developed it due to COVID and every time I feel like I’ve managed to get rid of one form of ocd, it comes up in a different area.

Thanks. 

[white knight]

Hi, welcome

I'm no expert on OCD. My wife has it pretty bad and I think I have what is a normal level eg what everyone else has unless you are super confident in yourself.

What I do know is that some forms of mental health problems take time to drift away, fade, and pop up from time to time depending on the circumstances. eg if your anxiety get bad your OCD might come along. If you are not a confident person it might remain. Essentially two things- acceptance of your illness helps eg not worrying about it all the time or seeing it as an annoyance rather a part of you and thats ok and seeking professional opinion and assistance.

This thread might help too.

https://forums.beyondblue.org.au/t5/staying-well/acceptance-is-this-our-biggest-challenge/td-p/14769...

I hope you feel ok and repost anytime. 

TonyWK

[Petal22]

Hi Kpb16,

Im sorry that you are dealing with OCD.

I understand OCD well,  I experienced this condition severely.

In my experience OCD felt like torture and it was exhausting.

You ask does OCD ever go away completely, from my experience with OCD mine was severe, this was until I received the correct treatment from health professionals so I could learn to manage and then master my OCD. ( this took time and perseverance)…..

I was taught how to recognise my OCD cycle and then how to disengage from it.

I have successfully not been caught up in it’s cycle for many years ……. This makes me feel recovered because it has no hold over me anymore.

Im now passive to it and not actively in my OCD cycle…… I have learned to just watch my cycle and not get caught up in it.

So my answer to you is that by having OCD and not engaging in its cycle… recovery is very possible.

I understand yours is popping up in different areas of your life and I believe it’s because you may be caught up in its cycle.

With the correct help you can disengage from this cycle and feel in control of your OCD from with in…….. instead of OCD having the upper hand you do..

Are you currently seeing a health professional?

I saw health professionals that specialised in OCD so this was a huge advantage for me because they understood the condition and gave me the tools I needed to be able to break free of the shackles of OCD and I believe you can too with the correct help.

[Summer Rose]

Hi Kpb16

I am really sorry to hear that you are experiencing OCD. I know the illness well. My daughter has OCD, diagnosed as a young teen, and I have been and continue to be her main support.
My girl has had an experience similar to yours. Using skills gained through Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, she would fight hard to eliminate a compulsion only to find that OCD had popped up somewhere else in her life. It’s very frustrating and exhausting.
Over the past decade she has fought more battles than I can count, and enjoyed periods of remission and others where she could keep OCD at low enough levels to function normally. However, OCD is relentless and does not like to lose and for her it’s an ongoing battle.

There are many therapies to try, medication helps a lot of people and a mentally healthy life style helps (eg plenty of rest, good diet, reduce alcohol consumption, exercise, etc). Beyond Blue publishes a pamphlet, What works for anxiety?, and you can find more information there about evidence-based treatments (you can download from the website).

Everyone is different and experiences different levels of OCD, so my best advice is to keep working at it. Remember that there is treatment available and always hope for better days ahead.

Kind thoughts to you

[Kpb16]

Thank you so much for your replies, appreciate it. It is exhausting when it won’t let your mind be normal and makes it go in loops over and over and over. Simple chores take triple the amount of time to get done. 
Is it okay to want help and support from a partner? 

[Summer Rose]

Hi Kpb16

It is not only okay to want help and support from a partner, it can be a real asset to your healing.

It could be helpful for your partner to take you to psychological appointments (if you are in treatment), even attend  if you think it could help, be able to listen to your concerns with compassion and without judgement and support your efforts to break routines and compulsions. The first step is for your partner to learn about your condition.

OCD is a complex condition that is often misunderstood. When my daughter fell ill I engaged a counsellor (a mental health nurse in private practice) to help me learn about OCD, better understand what was happening for my daughter and teach me how best to respond to various situations to support her. It was the best thing I ever did. Over time my husband and son also came along to appointments, so we could operate as a consistent support team.
I’m not necessarily saying your partner needs to do this, just making the point that it is challenging for others to understand the illness and know how to respond. For example, being able to recognise when you’re being drawn into a OCD routine and how to sensitively withdraw. Or, how to ensure that OCD does not end up ruling the household.

Are you able to talk openly with your partner and ask for support? What does support look like to you?

Kind thoughts to you 

[Petal22]

That’s ok Kpb16,

I understand that when your mind is in a loop it’s hard, have you learned any strategies for when your mind is doing this?

one strategy I learned when this was happening was just to treat it like a song was stuck in my head… eventually it would go away on its own because I wouldn’t feed it with my attention.

What we give attention to we give power to.

I think it’s important to have your partners support they may not understand what you are going through but they should show understanding and just be there for you.

Do you ask for re assurance?

If you are doing this it’s a compulsion and something you need to work on stopping.

I used to ask for re assurance a lot until I learned that what I was doing was a compulsion and once I knew I stopped asking for it mainly from my partner.

[Kpb16]

Thank you for your replies.

I’ve had to battle it on my own for 2 years and almost 3 now. I am seeing a psychologist but she can’t be with me on a daily basis and I currently live by myself. Sorry, what I meant by partner is also other people providing help and support.

I’ve also become so fearful of so many other things now. I feel like the anxiety and ocd just take fears to a whole different level. 

[Petal22]

That’s ok Kpb16,

Im sorry that you have been battling on your own, I understand this would be difficult.

Have you thought about doing a group therapy for OCD intervention?

This is the type of therapy I did, I did the therapy with another group of people who also had OCD, we where all given the same treatment and we didn’t have to disclose any of our thoughts in the group.

It made me feel less alone with my condition while working with a group.

I understand OCD can bring our anxiety into severe levels.

What type of strategies are you currently using?

Do you know what your OCD cycle is?

Im sorry you are battling the condition on your own, have you been able to speak to anyone close to you about it?

Remember you are resilient and you can learn to manage this condition but you need the correct help.

Many people have this condition and you are never alone in it.