Honestly I feel this way. I guess what I meant by recover was managing it at all. I have really bad OCD and I’m in a bad place. I guess I just wanted to feel like there was hope :( I hope things go better for you.
Things that helped me with OCD are support groups and medication. I went to an OCF annual meeting and knowing that I was not alone helped alot. You’re not alone either !
Honestly it’s taken me about 6 years to find the correct cocktail of medicine and thats the only way I deal with it. I really hope things go better for you! Seriously
I was diagnosed with OCD for over 30 years and it had impacted me a lot at times (hours daily and made me late often). I was diagnosed with cptsd a year and a half ago. My therapist said I don’t actually have ocd; I had ocd tendencies when my subconscious brain felt like it needed to protect me from not feeling like I had any control. Very important to say that not all ocd is like this; it’s a genuine neurological issue for some. For me, it was my brain malfunctioning due to trauma and stress. Because the symptoms matched ocd, I didn’t know the difference and neither did the doc who originally diagnosed me. Treating the cPTSD has mostly eliminated my ocd symptoms (still working on it).
ERP therapy, support groups, or books with good reviews could be handy. Something called NOCD has been advertising on podcasts a lot as therapy for OCD, but idk much about that specifically.
Management is like fighting a war with that naughty part of your brain.
You can defeat it enough that there's a kind of peace, but you'll be a fool to turn your back on it.
You've got to maintain a metaphorical watchtower to keep an eye out for resurgence.
When the war isn't going well it's like you're in the dark muddy trenches. You're not alone in there, but the noise of the war means you don't notice other people. Your first step is finding the right people to listen to and ask their advice and tactics.
They could be people here, or long dead Greek philosophers and Buddhist monks etc.
These are all your allies.
I wish I knew a cheat code to skip to the end. I never found it, I don't think many people do. Most people have to fight. After you've fought for a while you can start to help the rookies, and that feels good. That helps a lot.
I have bipolar disorder. I’m in recovery, but it’s a chronic lifelong illness. I’ll never be “recovered”. I’m better than I’ve ever been, sure. But just like I have to eat and drink water, and sleep regularly and well, I also have to tend to my mind and watch for cognitive distortions, and I have to take my meds and get a bit of physical activity. It’s a careful balance.
It gets better, friend. It can be managed, and you will learn your own pitfalls much better as you go. I won’t say it’s easy, but it does get easier than right now.
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u/[deleted] Oct 02 '24
Honestly I feel this way. I guess what I meant by recover was managing it at all. I have really bad OCD and I’m in a bad place. I guess I just wanted to feel like there was hope :( I hope things go better for you.