This is painful

[psychcoffee]

Hello! So lately my OCD has been kicking me around and at certain points I literally have to stop breathing to stop doing something that could worsen my anxiety and this resulted me into having chest pain. If it's possible, could any of you please share with me what I could do to reduce the intensity ause having chest pains is not the best thing ever. I hope you guys are doing well.

[nkotbjoeymc]

Same.

[OCDbooks]

Hi psychcoffee, it's me again. That sounds really hard, I'm glad you're reaching out and hanging in there. Something that sometimes helps me when my anxiety gets overwhelming is counting my breaths. You can also try the 5-4-3-2-1 mediation technique; you'll be able to find descriptions of it online. If you have to stop breathing to keep from doing something that could worsen your anxiety, I would suggest trying to reach out to your therapist, another clinical health professional, or a mental health hotline to try to see if you can talk with someone a bit even with the social distancing rules in place right now. And even if they can't see you, your therapist might be able to give you a suggestion of somewhere else to turn to for support.

[psychcoffee in reply to OCDbooks]

Hello, OCDbooks. I hope that you are doing well. So far, I am distracting myself away from the anxiety and compulsions although it's not necessarily working, I am okay. Thank you for your advice and I'll be sure to contact my therapist soon.

[OCDbooks in reply to psychcoffee]

Good to hear from you, know that we're all here with you in solidarity!