Doing ok but still feel not right

[stringbean]

HI all,
just thought i would touch base. i have been doing alot better, my meds have been upped to 225mg of clomipramine and an augmenter six weeks ago and really have been getting to grips with the ocd. I have been doing my erp and not finding it too difficult but one things still makes me uneasy.

Some times I wake up in the morning and think oh i dont feel right, then it follows me all day and i find it hard to concentrate and cannot be bothered. The Psych did say I had ocd and depression, does this mean the ocd is being handled but the depression is make me feel like this.
I always thought that once the ocd was being battled i would feel better in all ways

 

[Daniel E.]

Re: doing ok but still feel not right

Some times I wake up in the morning and think oh i dont feel right, then it follows me all day and i find it hard to concentrate and cannot be bothered. The Psych did say I had ocd and depression, does this mean the ocd is being handled but the depression is make me feel like this.

That may relate to "thought-action fusion, over-importance of thoughts, and need for control over thoughts" or other cognitive errors in OCD:

How Do Obsessive Compulsive People Think? | Psychology Today

http://www.cognitivetherapynyc.com/blog/ocdchart.pdf

http://forum.psychlinks.ca/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd/24305-key-cognitive-errors-in-ocd.html


According to the 4 Steps technique (which, like other forms of mindfulness, can help with lots of things -- not just OCD), it may help to label those thoughts/feelings as false messages from the brain. You may have considered that already, but I find it's easy to get pulled in to taking negative thoughts seriously (partly or largely because of the anxiety that is naturally distracting). If you are like me, you may not feel very anxious, though, at the time, because you may be intellectualzing/ruminating as a way to avoid feeling anxiety, sadness, or other unwanted emotions.

An example of taking the "odd" thoughts or feelings seriously:

Your obsession...sometimes leaves, even if only for a few minutes.Then when it reappears, your immediate thought is: “Oh no, there it is again; I can’t believe it...” Without meaning to, you are off and running into your wishing it was gone. And just like it is hard for an alcoholic to stop drinking once s/he has started, so too is it hard for you to stop obsessing once you’ve started...

http://forum.psychlinks.ca/obsessiv...lest-obsession-obsessing-about-obsessing.html

In any case:

Part of response prevention involves focusing on whatever little enjoyment is present and learning to enjoy the 20 to 40% that can still get through despite your obsessing.

http://forum.psychlinks.ca/obsessiv...lest-obsession-obsessing-about-obsessing.html

 

[forgetmenot]

Re: doing ok but still feel not right

Good question to ask your doctor when you see him or her next if the depression is being looked at as well or if the medication you are on will help treat both I hope you continue to feel stronger hun with each day that passes

 

[Daniel E.]

Re: doing ok but still feel not right

Does taking exercise brakes help? For example, self-help books for ADD mention exercise a lot -- more so than the books on OCD -- but certainly exercise can help in general with concentration:

http://forum.psychlinks.ca/adhd-and-learning-disabilities/27136-mental-effort-avoidance-and-distractibility-whats-the-difference.html#post190677

And, of course, exercise is also an antidepressant and anxiolytic. The same can be said for socialization and other forms of behavioral activation, with the opposite of behavioral activation (behavioral inhibition) being strongly associated with rumination, anxiety, and depression.

 

[stringbean]

Thankyou Daniel this is very helpful. I wasnt aware that me thinking 'i just dont feel right' could in its self be an obsession and also thought action fusion! I know that when i think it I am then hyper sensitive to how I am feeling i.e. oh no I am going to go mad, oh no i am getting bad with the ocd,if that makes sense. i am used to recognising the standard obsessions like fear of harm etc but this i realise now is an obsession as i check how i feel all the time, like a head check and body check.
Thanks also eclipse, spoke to Dr and the clomipramine for ocd and mood stabiliser for depression, so should have it all covered.

 

[Daniel E.]

Btw:

the dominant emotion in an obsession may be difficult for some patients to articulate but it is commonly anxiety. Some also experience disgust, especially when they think that they could have been in contact with a contaminant. Others feel ashamed and condemn themselves for having intrusive thoughts of, for example, a sexual or aggressive nature, that they believe they should not have. Occasionally, a person with ocd believes that they are responsible for a bad event in the past; in such cases, the main emotion is guilt. Many individuals are also depressed, with various secondary problems caused by the handicap; comorbidity with a mood disorder is relatively common. At times, anger, frustration and irritability are prominent. because of the range of emotions, it is not surprising that some patients find it difficult to articulate and untangle their dominant emotion.

Cognitive–behavioural therapy for obsessive–compulsive disorder