OCD Affecting quality of life

[Strongest123]

Hello everyone on here, hope everyone’s had a great day. I myself am struggling so much with my OCD. Trying to carry conversations lately is really difficult. Certain words trigger those intrusive thoughts and trigger my anxiety levels. Don’t know why it’s gotten worse but it’s definitely taking a toll on my quality of life. I do currently see a therapist for my OCD and depression but I haven’t had it like this ever. I’m looking for any advice from members on here, it’s definitely most appreciated. Bless you all…..SAMSON

[deValentin]

I don’t know if it may be of some comfort to you, but you’re not alone in your struggle. About 2% of mankind suffer from OCD. The good news is that effective ways based on cognitive-behavioral principles have been found to manage that disorder.

You say that certain words in a conversation trigger intrusive thoughts and make your anxiety levels rise. The easier thing to do would be to avoid those triggers and stop having conversation with people altogether. However, there is a more satisfying way to manage the problem: response prevention, that is, you don’t rely on avoidance and/or compulsions to regain some peace of mind. Instead, you face the feared circumstances and rely on habituation to appease your mind.

If you plan to stop avoiding triggers and ruminating on the corresponding issues when you find enough relief to justify doing it, you’ll never stop because you’ll never find enough comfort to justify OCD behaviors. OCD behaviors are too distressing and impairing in the long run. They never can bring enough relief to compensate for the negative consequences they bring about. What you need to do is to stop avoiding triggers and ruminating on the related issues now, without unnecessary delay, whether or not they bring you the comfort you’re seeking. I know it’s not easy, it takes time and patience, but in the end, given the overall satisfying results, you’ll be glad you did it.

[Strongest123 in reply to deValentin]

Thank you so much for your response. I have a session tonight with my therapist and I really need to talk to her about changing my meds. And I know this sounds crazy but I myself am trying to do ERP on myself. One other thing I’m doing is trying to cut down on my coffee consumption. Thank you

[Natureloverpeace]

I don’t know which country you live in. Most therapists are not qualified to treat OCD. Some will use a general form of CBT or even EMDR but these treatments are ineffective on OCD and can even make it worse. There are about 2,000 therapists trained in ERP in the United States but being trained in ERP doesn’t make the therapist an OCD specialist. There are approximately 500 to 800 OCD specialists in the United States. Of those, only about 500 keep up their education and training.

[Sallyskins in reply to Natureloverpeace]

That's a really low number for such a big population. Hardly surprising that so many people struggle to get a therapist.

[Natureloverpeace in reply to Sallyskins]

It’s not something that is offered in graduate school, unfortunately. There aren’t enough qualified providers to teach it there.

[Sallyskins in reply to Natureloverpeace]

That's a great pity. There is so much need for these therapists out there.

[Mcfly64]

Hello Samson.. How have you been since your last post?