# Anxiety Disorders > Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) >  >  Has anyone had OCD treatment?

## Grunge blossomed

I was diagnosed with OCD yesterday and my therapist said there is a specific treatment for it involving talk therapy, activity things, and other stuff. he hasnt classified my OCD yet. but it definitely has more to do with thinking rather than performing rituals and the typical ocd stuff.

what was your treatment for OCD?

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## foxy

I was on antidepressants for OCD  about 5 years ago. I tried 3 different types. I took them for about 9  months before reducing my prescription and jacking them in. As well as  attempt to rebalance your brains chemical levels (pretty unnatural in  itself); they act as a mild sedative to help calm the anxiety in order  to help you better deal with the disorder or depression. That's the  theory anyway. Though I now personally believe antidepressants are a  short term fix which can merely only suppress the issues.  

Just like I did, anyone may feel inclined to give them a try because  they want to get better. But from experience now, I recommend to anyone  not to take them and ride it out without. After a while they made me my  brain/mind feel a bit numb, not clear in thought. I know of others  who've taken antidepressants and experienced the same. 

Another option is psychotherapy. You have to bear in mind that the only  person who can resolve any issue, is you. Psychotherapists will only  ever try to help you, help yourself. Having said that, a psychotherapist  should offer positive advice.  

It's also important to keep independance. You don't want to become  reliant on anyone else for support or relief, as it's just going to  prolong dealing with the issue.  

Don't be too taken in by the terminology "OCD". OCD is really just a  more serious form of a habit. But essentially it's the same thing. As  with any habit, the only way to stop it is to break the cycle and keep  breaking it. Curing OCD isn't usually an overnight fix, so it may take  some time and there maybe the occasional relapses etc. But if you keep  breaking the cycles, you'll get over it. 

Letting go, as well as not giving in to, the obsessive compulsions is  the only way to cure this. OCD tends to come about as a form of escape  from dealing with your fears. You've got used to giving in to it for the  short term relief it provides. But you're just prolonging dealing with  the fear. Whenever you give in to the obsessive compulsions you're  reinforcing the behaviour (just like a habit). This is why you need to  break it and keep breaking it. It's not just going to go away. You need  to be brave and make yourself do it. The more you can do this, the  quicker you'll overcome it. It's the only way. 

Whenever you experience OCD try to relax yourself. OCD makes you anxious  which increases the intensity of the OCD, making it more difficult to  deal with. So, relax... and remind yourself that what you're doing is  irrational and that you know you have to break the cycle.  

Regular exercise and eating healthily is going to be beneficial. Finding  focuses and goals is a good way to keep yourself moving in a positive  direction.

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## Honeybear

It depends if you have obsessions or compulsions.   

Exposure/Response Prevention (ERP) therapy is the gold standard for managing compulsions.  The success rate is around 70%. 

Cognitive, Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is used for obsessions, but obsessions are more difficult to treat.   

If you only have obsessions, this might help you...... 

OCD thrives on resistance. If you have obsessions, don't try to reason  with the obsessive thoughts as this will only intensify your symptoms.  OCD is not rational, and you cannot reason your way to serenity. It may  be helpful to simply accept the obsessive thought. For example, try  telling yourself, “Big deal, so what?” So what if touching the shopping  cart means I will contract pneumonia and die? I'm going to enjoy what  little time I have left. It may sound counter-intuitive and even  ludicrous, but this technique is often used in therapy and works. Simply  acknowledge the thought and accept whatever worst case scenario your  mind has concocted and move on. 

I hope that your therapist is qualified to treat your OCD.  You may want  to visit www.ocfoundation.org to find a qualified local therapist.   

Traditional talk therapy does NOT work for OCD.

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## kc1895

> Whenever you experience OCD try to relax yourself. OCD makes you anxious  which increases the intensity of the OCD, making it more difficult to  deal with. So, relax... and remind yourself that what you're doing is  irrational and that you know you have to break the cycle.



Very true.  The more anxious you get, the more worries that come up.





> OCD thrives on resistance. If you have obsessions, don't try to reason  with the obsessive thoughts as this will only intensify your symptoms.  OCD is not rational, and you cannot reason your way to serenity. It may  be helpful to simply accept the obsessive thought. For example, try  telling yourself, “Big deal, so what?” So what if touching the shopping  cart means I will contract pneumonia and die? I'm going to enjoy what  little time I have left. It may sound counter-intuitive and even  ludicrous, but this technique is often used in therapy and works. Simply  acknowledge the thought and accept whatever worst case scenario your  mind has concocted and move on.



That is a mindfulness technique that my therapist had suggested I look into.  Its hard to describe when I have urges to compulse in checking things.  Its almost like a physical craving like hunger or thirst, and the delicious chicken is right in front of me.  Why can't I just take a bite?  Its a continuous battle anyways and I can't always win...

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## On a level

exercise is beneficial providing you dont get obsessed about it, which I did. I was running eight miles a day, seven days a week and only consuming around 500 calories per day, i was doing this for months and went down to 10 stone, looking tired and drained according to others. I was diagnosed with ortherexia and OCD at first, then body dysmorphic disorder which related to my endless running and lack of eating.

I was put on fluoxitine going from 20mg and im now on 60mg per day.

I had my treatment and took my medication and felt on top of the world until i had a stint on the beer, which knocked my for six. I thought I was better but it interacted with my medication and in anger and ignorance I quit my meds Completly. 

Im now back on them at 60mg daily and I must admit they make me happy and a hell of a lot more laid back as before I was an angry, miserable, horrible person.

Fluox certainly works for me and im now going on a mindfulness course at me college, in the process im seeing my therapist to cut out my drinking Completly as I love to do it but really hate it as it makes me like I dont want to be here anymore.

My conclusion... medication works for me but you cant beat therapy as meds are jist another hurdle to get over.

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## Misssy

treatment = settling with being identified as eccentric

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## TheCARS1979

Not really, only a little bit

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## cathering

my dad has a bad one for the last 20 or 50 years he collects paper clippings for radio segments as if he was still back in his community radio days. I think deep down he misses being with the radio group and it would do him the world of good to get back to it and do some more but has all these paper clippings that he thinks are good reads and would read on-air .... he has scrap books full of them as topics to talk about or whatever... i think if he put his time to better use and cleaned up we would have less rubbish as well... he needs to be back doing radio and not being so moldy.... i think some of the people at the community radio station gave him and the others who started the station up a hard time and bullied them out of jealousy and my dad is a sensitive person and he is too proud to admit he was hurt by how they dumped on him at the station he put his heart and life into after being unemployed and making it his purpose for living while unemployed and so many people have benefited from his hard work and have walked over him and the older people who started the radio its a shame they were not given a go at it more... i think my father is a proud man to admit he misses being needed or liked and they seem to [BEEP] at people for no reason and cause terrible conflict bullying people like my dad with mental illness and child sexual abuse issues etc or just unemployment... and the stigma of being on welfare... but at least he did something for the community while all those egos are down there at BAYFM getting the rewards for my dads efforts and others who put in the hard years and treat them as irrelevant... or annoying time wasting rotten bothers who got in the way of the important people there now.... i dont think i could do radio, its not my thing but i did do a lot of office work for them too in the early days no-one cares about... like i did for another radio station too, and other community groups i did just a little and never got in the way ... but wished i had made more friends with people my own age or younger.... 

my dad worked in journalism for a long time writing sports reports for newspapers or doing stock exchange reports for radio etc... and other things - he just needs to be alive more...

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## ruru

My first treatment was Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with exposure therapy. I was still a teenager and very confused and vulnerable, and it just wasn't very effective. The CBT made no sense to me and I couldn't focus very well and had way too many underlying issues.

Over time I've also had EMDR (eye movement desensitization whatever), mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), hypnotism (yeah that was def. not worth my time), and a LOT of talk therapy... personally the most helpful thing for me was the MBSR. It's important for me to recognize my thoughts and see them as what they are - just thoughts - and to look at them without judgment. It's an ongoing process, but that's just been the thing that worked best for me to gain a foundation for improvement. I have a fear that if I allow myself to think about things/complete certain thoughts, they'll come true, so lately it's gotten more difficult. With a good therapist, you should be able to find the right treatment as long as you're honest about how things are working for you.

PS: If it seems like your therapist is really stuck on one method and won't change it even if it's not helping, your best bet is to find another therapist and start over... I've been in that boat and it's no good. Just a tidbit of advice. Good luck! You can do this!

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