'Pure O' OCD :(

[Lysanthe]

Hello,

I've recently been diagnosed with this and was wondering if any fellow sufferers have managed to get it under control and if so how?!

Mine is at it's most severe when I'm a passenger in a car - when the car's travelling on motorways or a-roads I've started feeling like I'm going to be unable to stop myself opening the door and jumping out. I'm not suicidal and wouldn't want to do this/ have never considered doing it, so I just can't understand why I've started getting this. Even if I was going to kill myself I wouldn't dream of doing it in a way where other people may be hurt as well.

I used to drive but had to stop a few years back because I thought there was something wrong with my vision as I kept feeling like I couldn't focus and was going to lose control of the car. I realise now that this was probably down to OCD as well.

I'm desperate to get this under control as I also have social phobia and related agoraphobia and so going out in a car for a drive with my guy is usually one of the few ways in which I can get out of the house anyway.

I'm on Citalopram at the mo and have had CBT in the past for my social problems, sadly without much success. Has anyone found CBT successful in treating OCD? I forced myself to go on a long drive a few weeks ago to try and see if the feelings and anxiety decreased, but it was absolutely awful and has left me more worried than ever about it all.

Sorry this is a little long Any advice very much appreciated.

[LAURA48]

Hi - sorry for such a quick reply but are you on the correct meds as I didn't think citalopram helped OCD, etc, mainly Prozac, sertraline, etc, I tend to get funny thoughts and I mentioned this to my doctor and he said the only meds that woud help are the two above. I had this about 15 years ago and the Prozac stopped it all - so it did something - just a thought - hope you get a better, longer response on the matter - Laura

[Stormsky]

Its quiet common.. like a common one is standing on a bridge and thinking your going to jump off...or the edge of anywhere high up...
these are fleeting thoughts, and the problem here is you have grabbed onto the thought...and given it importance and meaning because it frightened you when you very first had the thought in the car....
For me i had thoughts of harming family/pet and myself... i couldnt hold a kitchen knife without thinking i should just kill myself.....
these are obsessive intrusive thoughts, and they tend to strike in the form of the complete opposite of who we are... for instance i dont want to die and i would NEVER harm anyone!
Just as yourself , you dont want to kill yourself.... so the thought is scary... your obsessed about why you keep having it... so it now keeps coming back...
What i do is let the thought in, say to myself, i dont want to die, im bored of this thought, and im not interested in hearing it anymore.... and sure enough it started to fade when i paid it no more interest than that... im not scared of the thought....
its an untrue thought, and i dont believe it, so can let it go....
I also found CBT did nothing for my OCD or anxiety.

[clc]

Me! There are so many of us with this. I stopped driving for fear of crashing it. Ll, hated knives for fear of stabbing myself, hated bridges, trains, baths etc etc.

I'm a lot better now. I've been doing CBT and have a few books which help. I do meditation also.

I was on citalopram and it didn't help at all I'm now on seroxat and its is helping me now. So maybe you need to switch meds.

You won't kill yourself. I won't kill myself. It's all OCD! One thing that helped me was when my therapist said say to yourself don't stand up over and over in your head. Then she said stand up. I did. She was proving your thought are not in control of you. They are simply thoughts.

You also must keep doing the things you fear such as being a passenger. Exposure is a main therapy for OCD.

Hope I have helped x

[william wallace]

Have you ever considered, lysanthe, just how difficult it would be to jump out of a moving car? Even at 50mph it's very difficult to open the door any more than a few inches. By the time you took off the seatbelt, leaned towards the door and attempted to open it, the driver would be in a flap, braking and pulling over. By the time you got in position to chuck yourself out of the car it would be stopped, or moving so slowly, you'd be lucky to skin your nose.
You'll need to think of something better than this

[mck]

Hi Lysanthe,
I can definately relate to what you're saying, I also have this problem with travelling, I wrote a post on it not so long ago http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=106852 . I think theres some good advice there, sorry I can't offer much advice on the matter.

[Scared_11]

I am having a hard time with this form of OCD at the moment.

I had CBT for it last year which worked at the time but I think my CBT wa focused towards the wrong thing and I didn't get any info on how to prepare for a relapse so I have had a couple of relapses and it has set me back to square one. I am going back the doctors tomorrow to get some more therapy and maybe some meds.

I know this OCD is something that can be overcome. It's truly horrible and make me feel realy low which now adds to the OCD as I am constantly checking how I feel mentally as I am worried I am on the verge of breaking down etc. I know so much about OCD and I knows all my thoughts are my OCD.

U are not alone with this one it's quite common and something that can be overcome. I think exposure response therapy is the best thing you can do along with mindfulness meditation.

[Lysanthe]

Thank you all for your replies and the good advice

It's kind of comforting to know other people are going through similar things - of course I wish for all your sakes that you weren't - but it makes me feel a little less mad knowing others are the same. I think it's easy to feel like you're the only one losing your mind whilst everyone else appears to be coping fine sometimes, so it's good to get a reality check.

When I summon up the courage I'll try and go on another drive and see how it goes. Thanks again for all your help.

[Winniesmummy]

i have pure O and citalopram was my lifeline - feel free to ask any questions

[Emphyrio]

I have 'pure o' myself (usually revolves around causing violence/harm to myself or others even if I don't want to do anything like it).

Medication helped keep it under control, but in the last week I've started to do some 'exposure therapy' which is supposed to be more effective in the long term than medication is.