Is OCD curable?

[Cat Dancer]

Or do you just have to learn to live with it and deal with the thoughts and compulsions? Could it ever totally go away?

 

[ThatLady]

Like so many mental/emotional problems we face, I don't know if OCD is "curable", per se. However, I do firmly believe it is controllable. I think we can learn to change the way we do things, and the way we think about things to make our lives more positive.

It's like diabetes - a chronic disease. Diabetes isn't curable, but that doesn't mean a diabetic can't live a perfectly normal, happy life. They just need to change the way they do things. So it is with most mental/emotional illnesses, in my opinion. With medication and therapy, we can learn to turn what might have been a problem into an asset.

 

[Cat Dancer]

I am having a really hard time accepting this diagnosis I guess. Even though I was up half the night worrying that I caused my nephew's death somehow. I don't know if that is OCD or just something else.

The thoughts go around and around and new thought come and then I worry about the thoughts. It's very tiring and overwhelming.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

That is most definitely OCD, Janet. Why does that diagnosis among all others so worrisome for you?

 

[Cat Dancer]

It's hard to explain. Maybe I'm not even sure why.

I'm trying to look at it as any other diagnosis, treatable with CBT and medication, but the thoughts just swirl around and around and I get so confused and tired. I start worrying about if I'm even doing therapy right and I'm sure I'm messing that up and it scares me enough to not want to go back.

There are so many thoughts that I am not sure about and it's tiring trying to figure out what is ok and what is not ok.

 

[Daniel E.]

but the thoughts just swirl around and around and I get so confused and tired...There are so many thoughts that I am not sure about and it's tiring trying to figure out what is ok and what is not ok.

One can literally spend all day trying to unsuccesfully manage obsessive/ruminative/negative thoughts. That's why a behavioral approach, e.g. focusing on a routine of positive activities, is sometimes the only thing that can help me become "unstuck."

 

[Cat Dancer]

One can literally spend all day trying to unsuccesfully manage obsessive/ruminative/negative thoughts.

I think that is what I have been doing and I am stuck. I have to figure out how to change gears.

 

[Heather]

It can be very hard to acept a diagnoses sometimes, OCD may be hard to accept because it is something that others resent and make fun of. No one wants to be resented and made fun of, but these are only a couple of things. When I was diagnosed with depression I chose not to believe it I was like no I am just having a bad day, but the bad day turned into a bad week, then month, year, and further. I found that I had to accept it to make it better and to cope with it. This is often so difficult to do, but is, I believe vital to managing and coping. If it helps I have lived with 4 people wth diasnosed OCD and one person who we believe has it, so it is not uncommon.

Heather...

 

[Cat Dancer]

Heather, I think what you said is true. I have this fear of the "stereotype" of OCD, like the television show "Monk." I mostly have obsessive thoughts, but not so many compulsions and no one but my therapist and people here know about the thoughts. Looking back I can see this thing in my life, but I didn't know what it was. I think now it was severe anxiety and OCD and other things, but no one ever knew or noticed because I tried to keep it all inside or take it out on my own body.

 

[Heather]

You know I actually thought of Monk when I wrote that reply. One of my flat mates used to watch it and laugh in front of my flat mate who had OCD, with insensitive people like that who can blame people for the shame that they feel for having OCD.

I do not know for sure but I would think that the thoughts could be more annoying that the actions as they would play over in your mind, but I guess they are equal.

I am sorry that you have had to keep how you feel inside or take it out on your body, this is not good as you know, I hope that you become more able to express these concerns.

I do not know if this helps but I believe that there is some OCD in us all (well most of us at least) for example me, I avoid touching rubbish bins, I try to get others to open it or I will do it (on the odd occassion) as long as I can wash my hands straight away, but I will walk a long way to use one i do not have to open and if I can not find one and can not wash my hands I will carry my rubbish around with me all day and take it home!

This doesn't change the minds of others though, sadly.

Heather...

 

[ThatLady]

I think you're right, Heather. I think we all have little "habits" that could be identified as OCDish. As long as they don't impact our lives in a really negative way, they're not a problem. I can't stand to see decor pieces lined up on a table, or showcase, like little soldiers. Everything has to be offset, somewhat. If things line up, I'll move 'em. I have learned how to leave other peoples' stuff alone, though.

 

[Heather]

LOL that lady I am pleased to hear that you can do that (leave others stuff alone that is).

Heather...

 

[David Baxter PhD]

I believe that there is some OCD in us all

I suspect that is true. We call it OCD when it reaches a certain level but I think of it as a dimension, ranging from less to more.

 

[Cat Dancer]

So maybe I don't have OCD?

 

[David Baxter PhD]

So maybe I don't have OCD?

No, Janet. You most definitely do meet the criteria for OCD. There's really no question about that.

 

[Cat Dancer]

Well, maybe it's not so bad that I need treatment for it. Maybe? It could be low enough to not need treatment. This is so confusing. That is what I wish.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Well, maybe it's not so bad that I need treatment for it. Maybe? It could be low enough to not need treatment. This is so confusing. That is what I wish.

I know you wish that to be true, Janet, but really it just isn't. You're obsessive thoughts and worrying tortures you. That's why you need treatment - to help you cope better with those thoughts so you don't have to be as stressed out all the time by them.

Look for a book called Brain Lock: Free Yourself from Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior (Harper-Collins, 1997) by Jeffrey M. Schwartz. You'll also find additional recommended books and internet resources here.

 

[Cat Dancer]

This is probably going to sound stupid, but even reading about it is too much. I feel overwhelmed and lost.

 

[Halo]

Janet I don't think that it sounds stupid at all. I too often find that when reading about something that is troubling me or affecting me (like reading and seeing exactly what I feel and think on a page) that I become overwhelmed and unable to continue. That is when I know that I need to step away and put away whatever I am reading and possibly return to it at a later time when I am feeling stronger and sometimes more able to concentrate.

If it feels like too much at this time Janet, put it away and come back to it when you feel you might be able to.

Take care
:hug:

 

[stargazer]

One of the tools in my WRAP workbook (Wellness & Recovery Action Plan) is "divert your attention to something you enjoy." I'm doing that right now, in fact, by posting about a topic I find interesting, on a forum (PsychLinks) I have enjoyed. If I were to focus on where my head's been leading me for the past two hours, I'd probably fall apart. So I think, as Nancy is saying, it's a good thing to stop focusing on what's troubling you. And it's also a good thing to re-focus your mind on something else--something you will enjoy--as best you can.