I have an autoimmune disease and my body is very inflamed. Some days my Real Event Ocd is horrible and the thoughts just won’t stop about a stupid thing I did years ago, and other days the thoughts are quieter and I can function pretty well. Has anyone ever heard of Ocd being affected by inflammation in the body? I know this may sound like a silly question but I do plan to ask the new psychiatrist I will be meeting with soon, I feel like I am on an every other day cycle of Ocd and depression. I take sertraline but my other thought was that maybe I need a mood stabilizer. All these I know are questions for the psychiatrist, but would love to hear other’s insight.
Well, it seems natural for someone not feeling teriffic knowing that there is something going on in their body, like you describe this autoimmune desease of yours. Maybe it gives you anxiety and your body and mind could be stressed about this, even in a background mode. And I believe OCD is very happy when we are anxious and stressed, because it wants to "protect" us from all af these, so it comes forward as the way to cope with what bothers us. Like a fully overprotective caregiver inside us. This, as I see it, could be more of a straight forward connection between the two situations, rather than purely through biology let's say. Talk to your psychiatrist about everything that bothers you, so that they can have all the data they need in order to understand. They are the proffessionals, they know, they can help you. And if you feel you are not getting the help you need, don't hesitate to look for another proffessional. Visit International OCD Foundation on the internet, iocdf.org/ There is tons of information there and all the help you need to regain your life! I wish you strength, have a good day.
Recent studies have proven that people with OCD have higher levels of inflammation than normal. Especially inflammation that effects the brain. An anti-inflammatory diet would probably help, but I've never tried it.
"Our research showed a strong relationship between brain inflammation and OCD, particularly in the parts of the brain known to function differently in OCD."
You're welcome. If you do more research, you'll probably find a dozen or more studies that link the biological cause of OCD to increased inflammation. I also suffer from the same thing. I'm not sure what causes my inflammation, but I have always suffered from inflammatory skin conditions, as well as bad headaches and brain fog, plus random aches and pains. I've suffered from OCD since the 5th grade.
I'm considering trying CBG supplements. CBD is also supposed to be anti-inflammatory but it didn't help as much as I hoped.
I think I have brain fog too, although I don't know if that's the right term for me feeling like I'm just wandering around during my day. I have no connection to literally anything. I was told it is from one of my mental illnesses, but then told it could be from meds. I've felt this way since I was 15 yrs old, but its gotten worse over the yrs.
I will definitely look into the biological aspects of OCD more. I have to do more research about the things people have referenced on this forum. I'm sure it will help BC it's done a ton of good for others.
Can you tell me how you found out your OCD is caused by inflammation? (If it's not too personal).
Hi. I just re-read your reply to me and saw that you had said you don't know what causes your inflammation. I had missed that part when I asked you what causes yours. I'm sorry.
Thanks for the link - I have bookmarked it! The article suggests that reducing brain inflammation may be a possible way forward in treating OCD. I have had psoriasis on my head for about eight years - it's also an autoimmune disease. It might be worth exploring the links, if any, that OCD has with other inflammatory diseases. Thanks again.
I've been on sertraline for quite a few years, and I've found that it does stabilize my mind. Since my teens I've had quite strong mood swings - not bad enough, I think, to be classified as bi-polar, but enough to interfere with daily life.
I took clomipramine for a number of years before being moved onto sertraline, and with both my mood swings were alleviated.
Of course your physiology is different to mine, and your experience may be different. But sertraline is an anti-depressant and that should make a difference to you.
Depression can also be treated with CBT techniques - perhaps check some of these out. The book Overcoming Depression by Paul Gilbert is good, as is Mind over Mood by Dennis Greenberger and Christine A Padesky.
Try to let go of what you did in the past. Most of us do silly things, or wrong things, when we're young (and often when we're old enough to know better too). It's one thing to be sorry for what you've done - it doesn't mean you have to beat yourself up regularly about it.
Stress can cause inflammation in the body, and a lot of autoimmune diseases are affected by stress. So giving yourself a break could help with both. I'm certainly interested in exploring the OCD-autoimmune disease-inflammation connections, though at the moment I don't know much about them.
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