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G'day everyone

Doberman38
Community Member

Hey there.
I'm Doberman38. Despite my name, I'm actually more of a cat person and have a bit of a dog phobia (I love dogs, but my brain doesn't want to let me, ugh), but I find dobermans quite interesting and a bit similar to me personality-wise. I also love animals in general, so I had to chose one of course!
I've had major anxiety problems all my life and despite treatment it's still a real struggle. The craziness of the last two years has made me fall back on old fears and habits and I feel like I need a really supportive place right now.
I am very willing to listen to advice and offer some to those who need it as well. I'm sure my time here will be very worthwhile.
Cheers,
Doberman.

6 Replies 6

Petal22
Champion Alumni
Champion Alumni

Hi Doberman38,

Wellcome to our forums!

Great user name 😊

Im sorry that you have been feeling this way .

I understand anxiety I had severe anxiety OCD, this condition was a very scary place to be.

Ive now recovered thanks to the professional help I received.

Have you had any professional help to help you to manage your anxiety? There are skills you can learn so you can learn to manage your anxiety.

We are all a very caring supportive community and are here to support you.

Hi Petal.
Thanks for such a warm welcome 🙂
Hehe, glad you like it. Yours is really cool too!

Ah, I have OCD too and your description of it is spot on - very scary and draining. I'm very sorry you have had to deal with this monster too, but I'm extremely pleased that you've recovered 😄 Great job!

I have received professional help and it has helped quite a bit, but I do think I need a more systematically planned approach at addressing it (e.g one that involves weekly goals and psychologist provided homework, etc.).
I do know many management skills, but I definitely need to stick to them more XD. I'm sure there are some I haven't heard of yet and will be really pleased to discover!

Thank you so much for your very kind reply. I wish all the best for you too!

mmMekitty
Valued Contributor
Valued Contributor

Hello Doberman38,

Welcome to the forums, & I am sure you will find many people here have dealt with & continue to deal with anxiety in their lives. I do too, to some extent, & I tend towards the live with it attitude, & have learned to view it differently than I had before.

I love animals too, but the big ones scare me. I especially lov cats, & my avatar picture is of the cat I hadm who died several years ago. I still love her & miss her, & want to honour her when I can.

During your earlier therapy, what were the skills & tools you learned then, to deal with your anxiety? Can those methods help now?

There's info on this forum. many places which you can find. I'm no good at making links that work & there really are several places where you can find info. There is a whole Forum category for Anxiety. You certainly are not alone.

warm regards,

mmMekitty

PS Do you have a pet? 😸 I hope so, or that you know some animals ... They are so good to be around, aren't they?

Hi mmMekitty.
Thanks so much for your very kind reply!

Awesome to have another animal lover on here! 😄 Hehe, yeah big ones can certainly be intimidating, but they can also be gentle giants. Aw, I'm really sorry about your cat. She seems like she was really lovely. But this is such a lovely way to honour her and to keep her memory alive!

Oh, well I learnt basic CBT principles about recognizing cognitive distortions and the like, which I certainly need to work on a bit more.

It's wonderful to know there's a lot of help on here! Oh, don't worry about the links, I'm sure they are easy to find! 🙂 It's great that everyone's here for each other!

Oh, we did have a pet many years ago, a tortoiseshell-and-white cat. Unfortunately she has passed on, but will never be forgotten. We do have some random cats that visit our yard though and they're always nice to say hello to and watch. We also get a lot of possums at night, lol! They sure are great to be around, really helps melt away your stress!

Best regards to you too and all the best wishes.
Doberman.


Thank you Doberman38 😊

Im sorry to hear that you are going through OCD I understand how difficult it can be to manage unless you have been taught how to ……

Im one of the lucky ones to have received the correct treatment so that I could recover and stay in recovery….

OCD for me was like living in an internal hell it was such a horrible cruel condition to go through…. I’m really sorry you are going through it but please know if you ever need support or have any questions I’m here to help you.

The therapy I did is like the one that you are wanting to do…… mine was an intervention into the OCD it was a planned therapy and I had homework to do through out the 8 weeks of therapy….. I learned many skills in my therapy…. Skills I credit to me being able to disengage from the vicious OCD cycle. It took time and practice to master these skills but now that I have I am flying and if I can there’s hope that you can aswell.

In my therapy I learned what was keeping me in the vicious cycle of OCD and then how to disengage from it.

The therapy I did was meta cognitive therapy it was a group therapy, the therapy was run by trainees at a university and overseen by a doctor.

We also did meditation as part of our therapy I believe the meditation I learned got me over the line I learned that I’m not my thoughts but the watcher of my thoughts.

Have you ever tried meditation?

I have written two threads you may be interested in reading

From someone who suffered OCD and recovered

Effective treatment for OCD Metacognitive Therapy

Your not alone

😊

Hello Doberman38, and I too am so sorry you have OCD as I do as well, and as a kid growing up I was scared of dogs and fearful of any barking dog as I had been attacked by one and only if I knew back then that getting help back in those days, about 60 years ago, was available, especially as my Dad was a doctor.

Now, fortunately, there is, and I've mentioned this type of assistance before, but if can google 'desensitisation therapy' which you can be taught by a psychologist and then continue by yourself, offers a slow way to overcome this phobia.

You only progress to another level when you have overcome the previous one.

Take care.

Geoff.