Hi I'm Annie and I am new to this site. I have been off work nearly four weeks now as my brain is telling me my workplace is contaminated. I believe that my home is contaminated and every time I start cleaning my home I contaminate something else and have to start again. My hands and arms are very sore with washing and using disinfectant on them. I am despairing. I have been on a list for CBT since February 2012 and I understand it will be another three months at least before I can be seen. My GP has referred me to the local mental health team and I have an appointment with them a week on Friday. Last time I was referred to them I had an initial appointment but they never got back in touch. I am very anxious that my employers will want rid of me if I don't go back to work soon. I seem to be going round in circles.
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Hi Annie,
It sounds like a horrible situation, and the OCD and its ever decreasing circles seem to be pushing you into a tighter and tighter place.
The fact you have had to wait over a year for CBT is wrong. Are you in England, because if so, IAPT was supposed to change that. The system in Wales and Scotland is still grim, so such a wait would not be a total surprise.
Perhaps you can let me know about where you are and we can help you look into why you have been waiting for CBT for so long.
Kind regards,
Ashley
OCD-UK
Hi Ashley,
thanks for your reply. I live in Scarborough, North Yorkshire.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Best Wishes,
Annie
Hi Annie,
I checked and the local IAPT service no longer accept self-referral. So I called them, and they confirmed their waiting time is lengthy.
See what they say on Friday, if they can't offer you CBT with immediate effect, my advice would be to put in a formal complaint. We can help you with that if needed.
Take care,
Ashley.
Hi Ashley,
Thanks for looking into this for me. I realise I said I had been waiting since Feb 12 but I think it was July 12 when I was put on the list. I don't know why I have February in my mind.
Regards,
Annie
It's terrible that you've been waiting such a long time. I'm lucky where I live - I know several people who started CBT within 8 weeks of being referred. I had to wait 7 months to see someone and had to keep ringing my doctor. It turned out that 2 different referrals had somehow got lost. I also had contamination/germ OCD and a years worth of CBT has improved my life considerably. Good luck!
New Here - Pure O, Harm OCD, Intrusive Thoughts History. Just Restarted Clomipramine After Relapse.
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Hiding contamination issues.
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