Hi all new member here

[Bluebird_605]

Hi, I suffer from anxiety in many areas of life and mild OCD. I feel that recently the anxiety is taking a firm grip. I hate calling people on the phone or leaving the house without checking my bag 10 times for my keys. I get so worked up about driving somewhere new I literally have panic attacks, stomach upsets and sweats. I hate living this way and my husband just doesn't get it. Any advice on coping mechanisms would be great.

[BballJ]

Hi Bluebird_605,

Firstly, welcome to the forums. I saw you posted the same thread twice, so I will just reply in this one.

Sorry to read what you are going through, I also suffer from anxiety and mild OCD. Coping mechanisms are one thing but trying to work out the root cause of why this is all happening is something that may need to be addressed, put simply, if you can work out why you get in such a panic when you drive or have to check your bag 10 times for your keys, then it will be a good start to not letting it control your life. I know how hard it is, I have to do the same routine every night before bed. Have you ever spoken to your GP about this or a psychologist?

Please, post back as much as you like, I am always happy to talk.

My best for you,

Jay

[geoff]

hi Bluebird, OCD puts so many constant challenges out to us which involve irrational habits/traits and obsessions so that we feel safe and comfortable but they do take an incredible amount of time doing and may well be a lifelong illness.

The net will fill you with many different ideas, ones which you you didn't know and contains a lot of misinformation, so just be careful and remember alcohol can worsen your symptoms.

Don't fight it, the more you do the more obsessions you wil have to do and anyone who who doesn't have OCD can't understand why you have to check your bag 10 times, it's something they can never work out, so as soon as you start doing it your husband will be watching, then your sweats, and all the other problems will begin.

What I have learnt over my 58 years of OCD is that I hide it from everybody, so work out something you maybe able to replace checking your bag, hang your keys on a hook instead, get a hook installed and do some other habit that no one can see.

There is medication which I take for the purpose of helping OCD, but under the search bar at the top of this page type in OCD, then an enormous page will appear, people on BB who have spoken about this illness. Geoff.