What to do when trigger comes and can't do compulsions??? Does the anxiety go eventually slowly? Help.

[Alliswell2021]

I need some feedback badly and urgently. I would appreciate any positive response and help. Thanks!

[Ocdwarrior]

When a trigger comes and you just let it be without doing any compulsions, mental or physical, in my experience, yes after awhile the anxiety does lessen. It will take a while but if you do it consistently the anxiety will go down. But remember it's not the anxiety that's the problem it's the compulsions. When a trigger comes and you do compulsions it teaches your brain that this is something to fear so every time you encounter that trigger your brain will start flashing warning warning you better do a compulsion or else (whatever your afraid of) will happen. But if when a trigger comes up and you don't respond with compulsions it will teach your brain that it is not something to fear.

[Alliswell2021 in reply to Ocdwarrior]

Hi OCDwarrior. Thank you for the feedback. BUT how do you manage the compulsions??? I feel SO Anxious to the brink of going crazy or feel like helplessly dying when I don't do the compulsions. Like in a scale of 1 to 10, my fear and anxiety goes up to 9 and 10 and I am unable to focus and do anything. I feel like drowning and just losing everything. Do you feel that way too??? Is it just me or you also feel that level of anxiety. SECOND of all, does the anxiety go away in few minutes? hours? in your case? when you try not to give in to the compulsions?? Please advise.

[Hidden in reply to Alliswell2021]

Maybe won't be as much help as I wish I could be, but, maybe there's moments where you have OCD but the anxiety is only a 5 or a 6? Maybe you could resist the compulsions for THOSE instances, and keep doing the compulsions for the other instances?

This is what we call an anxiety ladder, by the way

I think how it's supposed to work is you start on the small stuff, and gradually work your way up, so that achieving the smaller stuff lower on the ladder makes the bigger things when they do show up, less distressing, and so, easier to resist when they do come.

[Ocdwarrior in reply to Hidden]

Yes what lepergnome said is great advice!

[Alliswell2021 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you Hidden and Ocdwarrior .

Should I stop taking Prozac? I'm on my 9th day and it's getting worse I think. I mean my anxiousness level went up and more compulsions. I'm not sure if it's because I was giving in to compulsions that's why it increased or is it side effect of Prozac?

I just woke up feeling anxious and down. I managed to get up and so stuff but I was still palpitating. Before Prozac there are calm moments I remember but now I'm just feeling the palpitations. I'm still able to do stuff but I know anxiety level is at a high.

They said with Prozac you need to be patient because it becomes worse before it becomes better. Is that true? Did any of you take Prozac? Should I stop or just continue the medication?

[Hidden in reply to Alliswell2021]

Hey.

I'm not sure, but I recall when I was in therapy for OCD, my therapist told me that "when your anxiety goes up, your OCD (usually?) goes up as well. They are interrelated like that."

Having said that... I'm currently on Luvox, for my OCD, and this is a more recent thing. The doctor that gave me it, told me that the anxiety/depression etc can start changing in a month or so, maybe even sooner, but that its effects on OCD would only really kick in at the 3-6 month mark.

I do remember, that when I was first on my Luvox, I was ridiculously tired. Very difficult to do anything. I cut the dose by a quarter, then restarted - felt better after restarting that way. I think maybe that's something you could ask your doctor about? I know Prozac and Luvox are the same family of medications, but I don't know if they behave in the same way that I just described.