Catastrophic thinking

[ashder32]

I am specifically diagnosed with ocd. Mine is worry. I have discovered that what i do is always Catastrophic thinking. Nothing is ever minor. I'm 52 and growing up it seemed more like hypochondria but it can be anything. It could be one of my children's jobs or marriage or something spiritual. There could be a significant issue and I will panic and think of all the possibilities. I do take medication but I feel a bit of a tipping point lately like maybe i need some therapy to get a handle on it. Its affecting my day to day.

[Focusedmind]

Have you tried CBT therapy using Exposure and Response? This type of therapy is supposed to be the gold standard for OCD. I have used it and DBT therapy which I have found very helpful. I also use mindfulness and meditation for my OCD, along with a low dosage of lexapro.

[ashder32 in reply to Focusedmind]

No but I agree I have heard good things about those treatments. I do take lexapro.

[Focusedmind in reply to ashder32]

The website NOCD.com does offer treatment for OCD by using CBT therapy. It is offered on-line by Zoom and I believe it is cheaper than traditional therapy where you go in person to a doctor's office. They only handle people who are suffering from OCD. Or you can research OCD therapist in your area by going on the Psychology Today website.

[BrunoWayne]

I relate to this a lot, what has helped me is trying to identify and remove specific triggers. The cycle has to have something triggering it leading you to ruminate and obsess over the possibilities. It can be hard to identify sometimes but it really can help. My catastrophic thinking is different, but it has decreased a lot since I removed some of my triggers- stopping watching the news, disabling news notifications, not talking about politics, etc.

[beth196]

I do the same thing. my lexapro 20 isn't holding me and I'm sick of the anxiety So I pushed my lexapro dose to 40mg with some clonazepam. I will lower to 30mg eventually and get off clonazepam. I couldn't take the anxiety I also joined a support group