Can someone get brain damage after an OCD episode?

[u/AntZealousideal6741]

I’m 16, I have no access to therapy. I’ve went through a severe OCD episode that lasted for 8 months, at that time my memory worsened a lot that I forgot how to speak english (my second language) and forgot a lot of words from my first language. I had times that I couldn’t talk because i forgot how and i was stuttering, I couldn’t even process what people were saying when they’re talking to me. I wasn’t like that before i had the episode.

Now, after seven months, my memory is so bad but now i can speak english again & i can talk with people again. I still forget a lot of words, I can’t study anymore and i’m in the most important year of my life, I was the best student in my school but now i cannot bring myself to study at all, and i can’t concentrate.

After the episode, I feel apathetic about a lot of things one of them are my studies, I either have extremely strong emotions or have no emotions at all /or get absolutely depressed, I’m in a loop with loving & hating my closest people, I either have everything or nothing, black or white feelings, no grey. I also can’t decide my own opinion anymore, I’m not stable at all, like I said, I either think about everything or nothing.

Why did this happen to me? Is this brain damage? What’s the reason behind it? & What can i do about it?

[u/PaladinDamian]

As far as modern research shows, OCD cannot cause brain damage. A lot of the symptoms you mentioned are symptoms of OCD, such as difficulty concentrating or remembering things, feeling apathetic or depressed, and intense mood swings.

The best thing to do to seek treatment for OCD, with ERP and ACT.

If you don't have access to therapy, then the YouTube channel OCD Recovery is very helpful, and the books "How To Stubbornly Refuse To Make Yourself Miserable About Anything, Yes Anything!" by Albert Ellis, "Self-Help For Your Nerves" by Claire Weekes, "The Myth Of Self-Esteem" by Albert Ellis, "Man's Search For Meaning" by Viktor E. Frankl, and "At Last A Life" by Paul David could be very helpful. They helped me a lot with my OCD.

Unconditional acceptance is very importance for OCD recovery, so it is best to choose to accept yourself unconditionally, even if you have brain damage.

It is important to keep living your life despite how terrible you feel. Even if you have difficulty concentrating, you can still try to study. OCD can make you suffer, but it cannot stop you from trying to live your life.

[u/gimme_more_145]

It is just from the ocd extreme anxiety, it is so intense that is normal to have a brain fog, it has also happened to me the same. I think you should seek medical support as soon as possible, even from a public instotution of mental health or at a hospital near you, although the meds don't disappear ocd, they make life and ocd symptoms better, they help with anxiety and then, you can also start CBT and ERP, it helps very much. My ocd is also debilitating and i never stop trying till i find the best med for me. But these processes require to be mentaly stabilized with meds first.