curl-6 said:
G'day Alex, seen you around a lot but never actually said hi.
I also have OCD. At one point, in my late teens, I was unable to leave my house because of it. My OCD is focused on fear of illness and contamination like yours. Gaming and VGChartz are sources of distraction for me too, and your experience of being diagnosed after having a total breakdown is almost exactly how it happened for me too. (I was 18)
Here's what helps for me:
- Building up a resistance to the catalysts of my anxiety through gradually controlled exposure. For example, I used to be so afraid of contagion that I would walk two meters around a discarded cigarette butt and could not get close enough to a public rubbish bin to use it. I drew u a plan for myself where once a day I'd stomp on a discarded cigarette butt or force myself to throw rubbish in a bin. Just once a day, so as not to push myself too hard. Over time, these gradually became less frightening. Now neither bothers me, and I can do things that were unthinkable to me ten years ago like use a public toilet or ride on a bus/train.
Now, this is not a quick fix. It takes months. It takes years. I have been working on it since I was 18, I'm now 30, and while I have come further than I ever imagined I would as a teenager, it is still a work in progress, and I suspect it will be for as long as I live. But it has made a big difference.
- Delaying seeking relief. Often the anxiety can be relatively short-lived and I've found that if I try to distract myself and wait it out, I can often outlast it, and temporarily break the cycle.
- Medication. I've been on several different ones, but the most helpful was Efexor, though this will of course vary on a per-person basis.
The most important thing to remember is that just cos you feel awful now or in the moment, doesn't mean it will stay that way. Like I say, I've battled this thing for 13 years and when I compare myself now to where I was back then, the difference it night and day; as a teen I never thought I could reach the point I'm at now. You can't see the sun at midnight, but that doesn't mean it's not coming.
All the best to you mate
|
