ocd again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[tyra]

[:I]hi everyone who is suffering from ocd i need help or advice or for that matter both ! i am currently taking 60mg of fluoxtine (prozac) ive been on them for about 4 mnths the only thing they seemed to have helped me with is clearer thinking but i cant say they have rid me of the thoughts or rituals .I am also awaiting cbt terapy which i have had before .Please anyone with any similar experiences please help ,i also am still getting through bottles of soap -hands are old and sore ive tried aqueous cream as a substitute but i still felt my hands werent clean enough
thanks for listening
tyra

[chucklehound]

Hope this helps

OCD LECTURE TO VOLUNTEERS.

I want to start off straight away by challenging the mystery that seems to cloud peoples’

ideas about OCD. OCD is an anxiety disorder, which is no different from any other

anxiety state or phobia in the sense that without the basis of fear there would be no illness.


Anxiety levels rise in line with the amount of fear created by the way we think and how

we react to those thoughts. So it is fairly obvious that to begin recovery we must deal with

the symptoms of anxiety and begin to get control of our physical reactions to panic and

fear. Once we understand our bodily reactions then we can tackle the thoughts and the

values we place on them.


Everyone has an odd thought at times but unless a degree of anxiety is present they don’t

normally worry about it. They may wonder where that thought came from, even examine

it for a while but then they forget about it and dismiss it as inconsequential. Someone

with a high anxiety level will possibly be shocked or horrified and will toss the thought

about in their mind constantly until their anxiety reaches an unbearable level. At this

stage something will occur, or they will do something, that happens to alleviate the

anxiety. The urge is so strong to get rid of the thought that anything that they can do to

combat it and the terrifying feelings it produces becomes very important and as a

consequence a ritual is born.


We can liken rituals to the common practices used by most people to ward off ill luck.

Knocking on wood, not walking under ladders etc., solutions, which are supposed to keep

us safe from simple superstitions. If you can equate OCD with hugely magnified

superstition it becomes easier to comprehend.


There are various categories of the illness but it does not mean that they have to be treated

separately, it just means that people differ in their obsessions according to their nature and

maybe nurture, the way they were brought up and/or their life experiences.


So how do we deal with it? Well, we start by giving an explanation to the sufferer so that

they understand the various pieces of the jigsaw that add up to the way they feel. We

teach them how to relax their muscles and de-sensitise their body. We challenge the

thoughts, how realistic are they? Is it likely that the horror they are contemplating will

occur? Will they succumb to carrying out the action that is consuming their every

thought? A thought they dread? Here we can give great comfort to sufferers by stating

categorically that their worst nightmare will never happen. In fact they are extremely

caring people living in misery and it is totally against their nature to cause harm. They are

straining every bit of their mind and body to fight against the thoughts they are producing.


Just consider child molesters for a moment. Child molesters are typically people who

enjoy having thoughts about sexual activity with children. They are not horrified by these

thoughts and they don’t try to stop having them. They like to fantasise about children.

The typical child molester is in denial; they don’t really believe that they are hurting

anybody. They have no problem with their thoughts. This is the reason why they re-

offend because they are not bothered by what they think. An OCD sufferer who is

tormented by thoughts of harming is sickened by his/her inability to dismiss these

thoughts and will never transfer thought into deed. They are the complete and exact

opposite of a child molester.


The media, television and newspapers, when reporting on cases of violent behaviour, use

phrases like ‘compulsive child abuser’ or ‘compulsively violent behaviour’, which is really

inexact. If we are going to use the term Obsessive, Compulsive Disorder correctly then

we are talking about obsessions that upset people, not about thoughts and actions that

bring pleasure. People with