Is this normal?

[Kevin160]

My mental vulnerability is annoying me , in my first therapy session yesterday I discussed how easy it is to get triggered basically from anything , posts here and movies and just simple conversations started to make me anxious

And worrying about those things makes me worry about me developing them , eventhough you cant really develop something that way , my anxiety makes me get symptoms or like scary thoughts that i cant control , and i want to find ways on my ow as well as therapy because therapy might not be as frequent to it being high priced or overbooked ,

I just saw a movie about a women who kept forgetting everything and i started getting this brain fog , im nit forgetting anything but do you see the way it happens to me , i allow things to worry me eventhough they really shouldnt and i dont know how to fix it , it wasnt really that bad until i got triggered a few times here and when i also talked through it with my therapist yesterday.

Anyone familiar with getting triggered easily and overthinking certain things and worrying about them happening to you , youre more than welcome to tell me what to do to stop it or cope with it

[Poodie]

Hi Kevin 160.

Can you try to talk yourself through them. ? Tell yourself that they are not happening to you, etc. I really do not know how else you can cope. I am sorry this is happening. Medication can help anxiety. Try reading what other people on here go through or suggest. Plenty of people get overly anxious and worried . I did not know that I was anxious even tho I was and still am anxious and worried that something bad will happen to people I love. I was amazed that other people are not this same way and seldom think the way I do.

You are certainly not alone. People will help you on here. If you do not get more responses, write in again. I just got one reply at first and that one response helped me because I could tell she understood.

I wish you good luck conquering this. Keep posting. I will follow you to see how you are.

[Kevin160 in reply to Poodie]

Thats so kind of you , i was diagnosed with ocd , and i guess it gave me peace knowing what it is , but also it made me anxious because i thought i can just get soemthing by thinking about it , but its just my anxiety making me think this way , because its been weeks with these thoughts and i dont have any jrges its just the anxiety and fear of it happening when i read triggering posts , but i guess im feeling better and i will try to start follow up theray as soon as possible , because my therapist told me to either start with meds or cbt

[newbie1956]

Yes, your thoughts are normal, Kevin, very common with anxiety, and you have more control than you think. Coming forward here with such vivid descriptions of your emotions show you are aware and that's a good way to control your feelings and fears.

OCD causes such symptoms. Like asking for reassurance. I used to do that a lot. My youngest son does it constantly. It's good for you to re-read your own words. We can see you actually know that "you cant really develop something that way"

Now, be reassured, it's normal & repeat those words as often as necessary. Still love u, Kevin

[Kevin160 in reply to newbie1956]

The phrase “you cant develop something this way” always relaxes me , because i dont mind the anxiety if it means im ok at the end , yes its very hard to deal with but its ok

I was diagnosed with ocd so it makes sense that im acting this way and my thoughts are obsessive towards the topic , but i just got worried thinking that it might worsen , but i mean i dont have any urges the anxiety makes me feel this way so i guess that a great sign , everytime i calm i dont feel any urges or any discomfort about the scary things i think about or trigger me or worry about happening

❤️❤️❤️

[Depresseddoglover]

This sounds like OCD - I was easily triggered and became fearful that I would develop all kinds of symptoms. Then the thoughts would haunt me. There is an OCD support group on this forum. It may help to read how common this is and how others are handling it.

[Kevin160 in reply to Depresseddoglover]

This is so relieving to hear , because i do have ocd but i was diagnosed a few days ago and im new to the condition and how to deal with it , i dont develop any new urges its just the ones i always had , but the thoughts are scary and i guess i cant seem to relax knowing it

[MidnightBriarRose]

It definitely sounds like you are having symptoms of OCD. And I can completely relate, as I struggle with a lot of the same things that you do and I have diagnosed OCD. It is difficult to deal with, but my advice is to seek out a therapist that either specializes in OCD, or has at least worked with OCD before.

I hope you are able to find the help you need. Best wishes to you!

[Kevin160 in reply to MidnightBriarRose]

The funny thing is that my first therapy session was two days ago, and he diagnosed me with GAD, and we talked about ocd that i have alot of tics like movements , i cant control them but theyre uncomfortable if i do so and worsen when anxious , i am a germophobe as well and fit the description , but i never knew this was a symptom of it as well

[MidnightBriarRose]

I am not surprised to hear that your therapist didn’t diagnose you with OCD, as a lot of people either get mis diagnosed with other things, ie GAD, other spectrum disorders, or the OCD is just missed altogether. The thing is that OCD can be hard to diagnose, as a lot of the things that we struggle with are so internalized, ie obsessions and compulsions, that people and even therapists who are not trained in OCD don’t realize how much the person is struggling.

I totally understand what you’re going through, as I am a germaphobe, too. But on a more positive note, being a germaphobe is not always a bad thing, as it can potentially protect you from getting sick. It’s just when it becomes excessive to a point that it disrupts your normal life that it becomes a problem.

The tics are actually an off branch of OCD called Tourette’s Syndrome and if you Google it, you can find a lot of info on it. The two best treatments for OCD are CBT and ERP. I have had a little bit of CBT, but have never tried ERP. I need to get back into Therapy myself and am hoping to do that soon.

I hope this info is helpful to you. 🙂

[Kevin160 in reply to MidnightBriarRose]

Well the therapist mainly focused on GAD but we did talk about ocd , and he offered to start cbt or to take a benzo for a month , still unsure , a bit worried about taking meds especially since many tell me cbt is really helpful.

[MidnightBriarRose]

I know exactly how you feel about not wanting to take meds. Though I didn’t use to be as much this way, I am usually afraid to take most meds these days. And I know that most of this is because of my OCD, but I’m also a bit of a naturalist at heart. My advice would be to try to do it with just the CBT, as a lot of meds have side effects and I’ve also read that a lot of these drugs that are used for mental health issues are very bad for you; especially if they are taken very long term. Hopefully, you will be able to get the help you need, without having to resort to meds.

[Kevin160 in reply to MidnightBriarRose]

Yes i feel the same way , im all for the natural way and i feel bad enough im taking accutane for my acne which i really need but its a powerful drug , i dont really know alot about CBT and my next appointment is still in a few weeks , is there a way i can find some form of cbt related treatment online , or any toold that will help me manage the thoughts , especially since i fear alot of things i dont suffer from to happen to me ..

[MidnightBriarRose]

I have the same problem when I hear people talk about what happened to them, especially health related, I start to get afraid that it could happen to me. I do have health anxiety, which is also considered an off branch of OCD.

Yes, there are actually multiple online counseling sources that you could use while you are waiting to get in with your Therapist. I have tried several of them, but they really weren’t enough for me, as the people I worked with did not have enough training for OCD. But maybe it will work for you, so I would still give it a try. Out of the ones I tried, I liked “Better Help” the best. The only thing is that they don’t take insurance, so you would need to pay out of pocket for it. But it is all online and you can do it by phone, text, or both. You can find them by Googling them as “Better Help”. Let me know how you make out with it. Good Luck to you! 🙂

[MidnightBriarRose]

There is also another online service that I recently discovered that is specifically for OCD, but they only offer ERP Therapy. They are called “NOCD” and they also have a forum that you can post in. You can Google them and see what you think. I hope this helps. 🙂

[Kevin160 in reply to MidnightBriarRose]

Thank you so much for all the help ♥️♥️♥️ very grateful

[MidnightBriarRose in reply to Kevin160]

You are very welcome! Best of wishes to you! ❤️❤️❤️