Is OCD curable?

[Heather]

Sorry I was trying to help and can see that I confused the issue and you more!

I know that meds is sometimes something that no one wants to take, but it is important and it is nothing to be ashamed of, many people cope on meds or with other treatments. For example my mother needs to have her meds for diabetes, my sister has to have her meds for her allergies, a friend of mine has meds for her heart condition and so on, it is just like this it is another disorder or whatever that needs to be treated.

Hope that helps.

Heather...

 

[Cat Dancer]

Heather, I promise you that you did not confuse me. Actually you helped me clarify something in my mind, that I am afraid of the stereotype. And after 7 months in therapy I confessed my diagnosis to my husband. He said he could see it, but now he's saying things like "Don't obsess about this or that or whatever." I guess he was trying to help, but it seemed somehow to increase the anxiety and now I wish I hadn't told him.

I am ok with being on the medication now. It was very hard at first. I'm just not sure if it's helping me with this yet or if most of the help has to come through therapy.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know you didn't confuse me at all. I confused myself and that happens pretty often.

 

[stargazer]

Janet, what medication are you on? (You might have said earlier, but I didn't catch it.)

 

[Cat Dancer]

I'm on 80mg of fluoxetine (Prozac) a day and I'm supposed to take 1 mg of Klonopin at night to help me sleep, but I'm trying splitting the dose between morning and night. I think the medications are helping with the anxiety overall.

 

[Cat Dancer]

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.

Stargazer, somehow I missed this. This is good. I like doing puzzles online and playing some computer games. They seem to distract me from the dark thoughts. Maybe they're not productive in the scheme of life, but if they can help me get my mind off the self harming thoughts, then I think that is ok.

I also want to get back into the things I really enjoyed, photography, woodworking, crafts, writing, being outside, planting flowers. Things I've let go in the last four years.

It is a good thing to refocus. I'm not very good at it yet, but I'm working on it.

 

[stargazer]

I also want to get back into the things I really enjoyed, photography, woodworking, crafts, writing, being outside, planting flowers. Things I've let go in the last four years.

That would be great, Janet, if you can gradually get back into any or all of those things. All would be constructive and enjoyable, and they would also serve the purpose of diverting your energies from the things that trouble your mind. Perhaps you will also receive a new sense of purpose or life-fulfillment once you take up these things again.

 

[Cat Dancer]

That would be great, Janet, if you can gradually get back into any or all of those things. All would be constructive and enjoyable, and they would also serve the purpose of diverting your energies from the things that trouble your mind. Perhaps you will also receive a new sense of purpose or life-fulfillment once you take up these things again.

Thanks for the words of encouragement.

I liked the person I used to be better than the person I am now. I don't like how I am now at all.

Maybe if there is one positive thing about the OCD diagnosis, it's that it does explain a lot of things for me, the worrying so much that I've always done. I always thought everyone was the same way and I just didn't know how to deal with it, but maybe it's just the way my brain works. And maybe it isn't my fault.

I don't know.

 

[Cat Dancer]

Now I'm worrying about excusing my behaviors by blaming them on OCD.

 

[Into The Light]

what do you mean by this? what behaviours are you excusing that you think you shouldn't be?

i think it's ok to give yourself a break. you have OCD. it's tough. don't beat yourself up over the fact that you have it. as long as you take responsibility in the sense that you work on it through therapy, excusing it is fine (in the sense that you don't beat yourself up over having it). you need to be kind to yourself. being hard on yourself isn't constructive. you're doing the best you can.

 

[Cat Dancer]

I get overwhelmed so easily. I want things to be perfect and ok, and life just doesn't work that way. It's messy and icky sometimes and hard and I think and self-destructive to deal with that. The OCD, for me, really does explain a lot, but I'm worried about starting to say to myself when an issue of anxiety or worry comes up, "Well, that just my OCD." I don't know if that makes any sense. Or maybe it means I've accepted this diagnosis.

Thanks for your kind words. :hug:

 

[Into The Light]

well, probably in more cases than not, it IS your OCD and if you happen to wrongly make that assumption, it's not the end of the world. you're learning to recognize things, and like anything you learn, it'll probably be trial and error. don't try for perfection. perfection doesn't exist. do the best you can and when you make a mistake, it's ok. mistakes are good in that you learn from them

 

[Cat Dancer]

Thanks, ladybug. I am trying so hard to overcome this or live with it the best I can.

 

[Nigel H]

Just ONE description I found of OCD .......... an anxiety disorder in which a person has an unreasonable thought, fear, or worry that he or she tries to manage through a ritualized activity to reduce the anxiety. Frequently occurring disturbing thoughts or images are called obsessions, and the rituals performed to try to prevent or dispel them are called compulsions.......

So - the simple answer I believe is YES it can be 'cured'. We have to be careful how we use that word though ... 'cured' because hypnotherapists and the like are always trained that we are not allowed to use that word when treating clients.

So, if we re-phrase that to allow someone to experience the behaviour that their limiting beliefs create, to be dealt with to the degree that they experience 'that behaviour' going away - then yes it can be done.

From the example/description above - people with OCD [though I hate giving a behaviour someone has a label in that way - it is simply a pattern of behaviour] create certain behaviour to give them a coping mechanism to deal with some form of belief or emotion held internally.

Usually they will not consciously know what the true cause of the behaviour is. For example, someone who compulsively washes their hands - thinks it is a reasonable behaviour to avoid being dirty in some way - but the real cause will be the belief they hold about what happens if they have dirty hands - i.e. "how is it actually a problem for them?"

How many times do they have to wash their hands before it is considered OCD? 5 - or 10 - or 20+

Doctors & Nurses have to keep clean hands in hospital - therefore the same behaviour has a valid reason - hence is clearly NOT OCD. So there is more to it than simply the behaviour on it's own. At what point does it become a problem to the individual?

Helping someone delve in to the unconsciously held beliefs and negative emotions that exist, which create the problem, and then helping them release those - will enable them to experience the problem disappear, because the things creating that behaviour have been let-go, so there is no longer any need to undertake that behaviour - the anxiety has been dealt with.....

Although perhaps a thought for another topic on this forum, I often find that giving something a certain label can make it SEEM insurmountable, when in fact it is a 'behaviour' that can be dealt with.

Food for thought perhaps!?!?!?

Nig

 

[Cavi]

I had severe OCD by the time I was 4 years old...I hid it from everyone...
I am very stubborn and through that stubborness and persistence to break the OCD, it only acts up when I am under extreme stress...But its nothing like it use to be...I go days w/o having a problem...I feel for anyone that struggles with OCD...its like all disorders...it isnt fun to have!...just wish people that didn't have it realized that...RIMH

 

[Cat Dancer]

Although perhaps a thought for another topic on this forum, I often find that giving something a certain label can make it SEEM insurmountable, when in fact it is a 'behaviour' that can be dealt with.

Food for thought perhaps!?!?!?

Nig

That is interesting. I think I've decide to refuse to accept that I have OCD. It must be something else and now I have to figure out what. Or if it matters.

I had severe OCD by the time I was 4 years old...I hid it from everyone...
I am very stubborn and through that stubborness and persistence to break the OCD, it only acts up when I am under extreme stress...But its nothing like it use to be...I go days w/o having a problem...I feel for anyone that struggles with OCD...its like all disorders...it isnt fun to have!...just wish people that didn't have it realized that...RIMH

I'm glad you overcame that.

 

[Cat Dancer]

Maybe labelling people can be overwhelming to the person, but I guess insurance companies require some sort of diagnosis.

 

[Halo]

I think I've decide to refuse to accept that I have OCD.

Janet, what has changed that you now have decided to refuse to accept the OCD and look for another cause? I think you were just beginning to accept and understand how OCD is playing a part in your life and there seems to be a switch all of a sudden, what happened?

 

[Cat Dancer]

I don't know. I don't want there to be a cause or a condition or a problem. I want to go back to before. I think things were ok before.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

I think things were ok before.

Before what? They certainly weren't okay before you started therapy. That's why you started therapy.

 

[Cat Dancer]

I don't know. Maybe it just seems like it was better before all this conflict inside my head trying to figure out my thoughts.

Maybe it's not OCD, but some kind of psychosis. I keep thinking this and worrying about it.