How effective are SSRI at treating anxiety and OCD

[Bluey_moon]

I am on an SSRI for GAD and obsessive thinking. I've been in them for about four weeks, I thought I was noticing some improvement but then bam the anxiety and obsessive thoughts are back. We are trailing a dose increase starting tomorrow.

Am I impatient, or expecting too much? 

[Zeal]

Hi Bluey Moon,

It's great you saw improvements with the SSRI you are on 🙂 Increasing the dose may be a solution - your doctor will monitor this, and may also suggest lifestyle changes.

I am also on an SSRI medication for my anxiety (specifically, OCD). I have been on the same medication for nearly 4 years, and I'm now on the highest dose. I was diagnosed with OCD at 13 (now I'm 22), but was taking other medication throughout much of my teen years (not antidepressants). SSRI's help to boost the neurotransmitter called serotonin, which makes it biologically effective for controlling anxiety. However, bouts of anxiety can still occur when taking SSRI's. When you have stressful events going on in your life, even SSRI's can't stop worries and anxiety altogether. I have experienced this over my exam period, which thankfully ends this Wednesday afternoon.

I hope you can continue seeing benefits with this medication. Ensure you limit alcohol intake, as it can negatively interfere with the effectiveness of medications like SSRI's. Also, good quality sleep and taking walks are basic yet very effective ways to help with anxiety.

Best wishes,

SM

[Bluey_moon]

Thank you SM so much for your reply. 

I guess I ve had a rough couple of weeks, my husband was made redundant and work us hectic and I have a 18month old (who dislikes sleep lol) and a 7 year old. 

The ironic thing is, I don't  worry about these things, I worry about the fact I think I'm getting paranoid (I've read a lot about scizophrenia) and believing I have  Scizophrenia. 

I mean I worry about the other things but not to excess. 

I think it is the OCD though as I have gone the same thing with ms and melanoma! 

[Zeal]

Hi again,

It does sound as though you have a lot going on right now! Your obsessive thoughts about illness and disease is characteristic of Health Anxiety, which is generally considered to be a subcategory of OCD. To my knowledge, sufferers aren't diagnosed with Health Anxiety. It occurs alongside other mental health conditions, such as OCD or GAD. If you Google the Centre for Clinical Interventions, you will find some great resources on different anxiety disorders, including GAD, OCD and Health Anxiety.

Keep in touch if you need support 🙂

[Bluey_moon]

Thank you so much again for your reply! 

I will google that! 

Thank you so much for your support, it means a lot and is one of the reasons I joined these forums! 

I wish you good luck with your exams! 

[geoff]

dear Bluey Moon, I'm pleased that SM has replied back to you as she's very knowledgeable about OCD.

I also take a SSRI for my OCD as well as depression and also on the maximum dosage, and I suppose it has stopped all those critical habits and rituals and lessened the need to do them, however I still have them.

Maybe if I can explain someone with OCD, not that any of us need to know, but I'm trying to justify you feeling as though you have  schizophrenia as an example.

When someone has to go back and check the door lock several times, they know that it is locked but the compulsion to go back is to justify what OCD does to us, and the same happens with you, you may believe that you don't have schizophrenia, but again it's this compulsion to believe that you have it, if that makes sense.

Having irrational thoughts is also a symptom of OCD, so I googled this 'how to stop worrying about irrational things', which you may find helpful. Geoff.

[Bluey_moon]

Thank you Geoff for your reply! 

Both of you are very knowledgable and very helpful! 

I'm so glad my psycologist recommended joining this forum. 

I will defiantly Google what you said Geoff and SM I  looking at the the sight you recommended! 

I really appreciate your feedback and advice! 

Many thanks

[Dwwmills]

Hello Bluey moon.

I found SSRIs very helpful as part of the treatment of GAD.
My psychiatrist told me that they didn’t actually treat the anxiety but they
helped mask it. I found them very helpful to stop the racing thoughts and the
circular thinking. This gave me enough headspace to be able to use cognitive
based therapy to tackle the underlying irrational thought processes I was
using.

Once we found a therapeutic dose of the SSRI I spent a lot
of time practising CBT. When the CBT took over and my anxiety was extremely low
we would lower the dose. I found that my anxiety would come back slightly on
the lower dose. I would then work hard with CBT for however long it took to
become stable again. We did this over and over until eventually I was off the
medication and only practising the CBT.

I found the medication definitely helped.

[Bluey_moon]

Thank you Dwwmills. 

I think it is starting to help and we are tweaking the dose atm . It was such a relief to read your reply! 

Skye