Irrational thought

[U2_lover]

Hi. I’m new here and hoping you all can help. I was diagnosed with OCD about 25 years ago. Started taking Zoloft and it worked wonders! I was able to mange my OCD. For the past 8 months It seems Zoloft has stopped working. I’m having irrational thoughts. One in particular that really has me down. I love to go to spinning classes and have been doing so for 10 plus years. I was talking with my brother and he indicated that spinning hurts his lower back (and I don’t think he has ever done a spin class). Now I think spinning will hurt my lower back which just thinking about it causes me to have lower back pain. I know it’s crazy to think my experience is going to be the same as my brother but I cannot get it out of my head. I want it to stop but it won’t. Now when I think about doing a spin class I get anxiety which makes me very sad because I LOVE spin classes. Anybody have any suggestions?

[nkotbjoeymc]

Zoloft made my nose bleed.

[Hidden]

Sit with the anxiety and the feared consequences by focusing on it, in a room.

The anxiety will be high in the beginning, but it will get lower.

Do not interact or argue with the thought.

Let the thought be there.

The thought might keep popping up, but it will slowly fade away.

The thought will lose its importance.

Relabel the thought as an OCD thought.

I hope this helps.

[U2_lover in reply to Hidden]

It does help! It’s very hard to not interact or argue with the thought. Any tips on how to not do that? I try to just let the thought in but I immediately find myself thinking this is so stupid. ... just get over it.

[Gimi44]

Hi there. I feel your pain. I've had a similar situation with my running. My only advice, regardless how you think or feel, keep spinning in you normal routine. That will explain to your OCD that you don't give a shit about his mandates but you listen only to your values 💪

[MothFir]

I'm really out of touch -- I had to look up spinning to see what it was. Anyhow, I had something similar come up a few months ago (fear of rabies impacting my outdoor activities). I restarted medication, started therapy, attended a support group, read books, and listened to podcasts about OCD. Being proactive has not only given me tools (like ERP) but it has also kept me focused on the fact that my fears are due to an anxiety disorder and not anything real.

As far as accepting thoughts, it might help to admit that your fears might come true. My therapist has encouraged me to accept that I just might contract rabies when I go outside, and to learn to tolerate the resulting anxiety. This has been more helpful to me than constantly fighting with my brain and trying to convince it that there's no way my fear could happen. I often tell my OCD that I appreciate its warnings, but the risk is low enough that I'm going to do the feared activity anyway. You know, rationally, that you are no more likely to hurt yourself just because your brother has, and the anxiety is just a result of an overactive alarm system. You can't turn the alarm off directly, but if you behave as if it's not there, it should gradually become less intrusive.

You might also look into adjusting your medication. You might do better with a different dose or a different SSRI these days.

Good luck, stick it out, and don't let it keep you from doing the things you love, even if you might not get the same enjoyment out of them while you're working through this.

[grayson12 in reply to MothFir]

Thanks for your comments about rabies outside. It seems this has been an obsession of running into an animal in fear that I may running into this. I have been on 150 Effexor in the morning and night. It helps with depression but not OCD. Tried Luvoff but caused my blood sugar to increase. Any other suggestions to help with OCD with ERP and Meds.

Thanks

[MothFir in reply to grayson12]

ERP and a moderate dose of fluoxetine are still keeping me in fairly good shape these days. Are you working with a therapist and/or psychiatrist to find something effective?

[U2_lover]

Thank you for the advice! I’m talking with my doctor tomorrow about changing my meds to another SSRI. It seems like Zoloft is no longer working and my body has not responding to it. I have been taking it for about 20 years. Have you had success with any other SSRIs?

[MothFir in reply to U2_lover]

I took Luvox about 20 years ago but switched to Prozac (fluoxetine) shortly after. It takes the edge off pretty well with no side effects, but I still have to do therapy to stay on top of things.

[U2_lover in reply to MothFir]

Thank you! I think I’m going to give Prozac a try. My doc said he could switch me over but recommended I try methyl folate in combo with Zoloft to see if it worked. It did for awhile but this past week has been rough.

[3BirdLover in reply to U2_lover]

I took Prozac for probably 30 years. All of a sudden, it stopped working. My doctor put me on Trintellix and that took care of it.

[U2_lover in reply to 3BirdLover]

Thank you! It’s crazy how the drugs just stop working. I’m trying Prozac now and slowly removing Zoloft. Hope it works!!

[3BirdLover in reply to U2_lover]

Yes, it's very strange!! Prozac worked great for me for all of those years....

[Fargo-Guy]

Maybe you exercise in spin class makes the Zoloft not needed. I am no doctor but if you have increased the chemicals in your brain with exercise maybe it is out of balance. Talk to you doctor. Get off Zoloft slowly and see if the thoughts and pain go away? Just a thought I had because know exercise impacts ocd brain chemicals.