Does anyone remember that Dr. Phil show On OCD?

[prayerbear]

Remember that show with Dr. Phil hosting a 18 year old woman named Liz who had one of the worst cases of OCD?
I felt so bad for her because she felt she had to count everything 42 times and had a fear of changing childrens diapers because her OCD brain would tell her that she was "molesting them?"
As a teen, my OCD was at its absolute worst! I remember thinking I was going to vomit in front of everybody, and this thought consumed me every minute of the day!
I havent remembered vomiting since I was 8! I am now 33!
Back to Liz(and her OCD) Liz felt that she was doing something wrong if she took meds for this Problem she was somehow"sinning against God!" I felt that way too! Now antidepressants have lifted me out of this "mind prison" a great deal! (Not totally!) She was a devout Catholic, and I am a devout Christian and I totally understand this!
Somewhere deep inside I know I am a good person, yet I have thoughts tell me that I am sinning or have done something wrong! UUUGH!
Anyone ever had a "bully inner critic" that would not leave you alone until you "Prozac" or "Paxil" them away?


Miss clean

 

[Banned]

Miss Clean,

I too am a "devout" Catholic and struggled for a long, long time with taking meds. I don't know why, because it's not like the Church says NOT to take them. For me, taking meds was like a resignation to my illness. It was acknowledgement that I am sick. I was also worried I'd be going through life on an artificial high, which of course, I'm not.

My current therapist is a chartered psychologist but he's also a Catholic priest. Therefore, when he really pushed me to go back on my meds (I'd been off them for a few years), it helped that I was able to ask "but what does the Church say?" and get a good, Catholic answer and know that he knows how important my spirituality is to me and would never misguide me in this or belittle it.

My advice to anyone who is in therapy and is a devout Christian (or strongly connected to any faith, for that matter) is to not do therapy alone, but make sure you loop in your spiritual director or minister, so they can help you with that side of the coin as well. It can be a very tough balancing act - to balance emotional health and spiritual health.

I still fight with myself over taking my meds. I'll take them for a few weeks, then stop for a week or so, thinking I'm stronger than they are or I need to prove to myself and I can get by with out them. Unfortunately, all I'm doing is getting by. In my last session on Saturday, both my therapist and I agreed that if I was not in therapy, I would probably (but not definitely) not need the meds; but because of the stuff that I'm dealing with, I need them to at least get through it, and after, we can re-evaluate.

 

[comfortzone]

Hi Miss Clean and BG,

I was so thankful one Sunday service to hear my pastor explain that if someone needed to take meds that it was not wrong or bad to do so. He explained that there were many Christians in today's world that were experiencing emotional difficulties that were not going to just "go away."

When I was in my Bachelor's internship I worked at a local psychiatric hospital. A woman was admitted for severe depression. Before the meds took hold (so to speak) I could have talked to her all day but nothing I said made any difference. The next day she was somewhat better and before long we were able to talk over things and explore different issues. She kept telling me that she was just being weak. This lady said that she should be able to take it all and be fine. I looked at her and said, "Why not look at the medication as a vehicle...a means of transporting you through the difficult times so that you can reach that point where you can work through your feelings and issues." Some people will be on meds for a season while others will be on meds for what seems like a lifetime. It just depends upon each individual. Medication may not be the most desirable means of "transportation" but hopefully the road traveled will be far more tangible with the needed meds. I hope you arrive at your destination but with good memories of your journey. Best wishes,

 

[prayerbear]

Why be hard on yourself?

I too, have spoken to my pastor and associate pastors about my taking 60 mg. of Paxil and asked them if they personally condoned(allowed)this. She said, "No problem, if you need Paxil, then by all means take it!" I felt so relieved when she told me this and I also apologized to her that I just could not seem to concetrate on the message because I keep being distracted by obsessive thougts! She realized that I wasnt trying to be rude or disrespectful.What a
relief!
My associate pastor has a masters degree in psychology and used to work for Family and Childrens Services(plus has a sister with severe mental illness) So she didnt get nervous when I told her about my OCD, PTSD, recovered two major depressions, social anxiety disorder, etc.
I even got brave and told the whole church, and they accept me completely!
Two years ago, I left the church because a member said to go off of Paxil and I crashed with severe depression(I was lucky I wasnt hospitalized!)My mom wisked me to the doctor and she gave me free samples of Celexa(40 mg.) I settled down after one dose!
The lady that browbeat me for taking Paxil(come to find out) was offending a lot of people besides me, and they booted her off the staff!
Are we just too hard on ourselves? I never recomend anyone going off their meds cold turkey. I know of two people that did that and literally self-destructed!(suicide)
I am a religious person who attends church twice a week, prays a few hours a day, etc.
I am also not too proud to enjoy the freedom of not suffering from continuous self-critical thougts and frightening obsessions!
Besides, my mom has a hangup about "straight-line-mouths". She wants to come along and move those mouth corners up and shes used to the cheerful daughter that I am now, and she hates to see me suffer in anxiety! Now thats a mom for ya!
Miss clean