New patient

was meant to start with hi..... not ho lol x

Hi Potatoghost,

thanks for joining me on our path to get back to our better days what ever day are , and let me know when you start and i will check in a few days . here too feeling great soon .

hey x its gonna be Tuesday I start so I will definitely keep updating as I go along x hopefully you get on ok and its quick working for you x

we can do this!

Yes we can , Hello to tuesday and your new beginning from all the stuff thafs going in .

Thank you so much sue .

Hello James

welcome new comer like me just try keep going and hope by keeping in touch on here it will help you , were all in the same boat but keep in contact and hope like me we will start feeling better soon , and yes my anxiety is bad as well .

Hi James,

I am taking Sertraline for OCD and for me the intrusive thoughts got stronger and more vivid at first, but at the 8 week mark I noticed an improvement and for some days I've been almost free of them, other days it is worse, ups and downs. I feel worst usually in the morning, or on days when I feel stressed out and had poor sleep. So make sure you eat, sleep and exercise. Take the meds every day at the same time and never skip a dose.

Regarding the intrusive thoughts, your mind is just playing tricks on you and the object for your fear could be anything, in this case it is your blinking, but the fuel that keeps the intrusive thoughts coming is how you are reacting to them. You are telling your brain that you might get stuck in a loop and go insane so your brain's fight or flight system will alert you of the danger of blinking. Believe me I had those thoughts of way worse stuff than blinking.

Only way to free yourself of the intrusive thoughts is to stop fighting them and meet the underlying fear behind and see what happens.

thanks for reply, im just so concerned im stuck like this forever. im sick to death of saying to myself 'youl be thinking about blinking forever' and that gives me constant anxiety and fear. you think sertraline can help with this. any help or advice would be appreciated. ive had a stressful year with moving into my first place and few other things. i think my brain is just trying to find something to obsess on. any advice on getting over this ridiculous thought process would be very nice to hear. thanks

Half a year ago I had a life crisis and this triggered very distressing thoughts, images and urges and they started to repeat themselves constantly for weeks and months. It was so bad I thought I was schizophrenic and going to lose my mind. Even looking at the newspaper or watching a movie sent me into deep spirals of anxiety because I got tormented with strange, scary thoughts.

Certainly Sertraline has helped a lot in my recovery, and calms me down. I get less emotional and cry less, much more positive and cheerful, and I can brush off intrusive thoughs easier. But more so has my therapy helped in ways of coping with my condition. I have a variety of tools to use and I feel today, in a sense I am stronger, even though OCD is a chronic condition, I overcame my worst fears and that is something to recognize.

This is what made me control my OCD:

• There is no such thing as a bad thought. The thoughts can not harm anyone, and I am not going crazy.
• I am not my thoughts. So don't identify with the obsessive thoughts. They don't say anything about who I am as a person.
• Learn to observe my thoughts and identify the obsessive ones and label them as obsessive. Some call them synthetic thoughts, they disguise themselves as our own but they are a product of an evolutionary process, a mind adapted for our survival, not modern life. In buddhism this is called the Monkey Mind.
• Acceptance is a very important step towards recovery. Welcome the anxiety on my shoulders but don't let it rule my life. Embrace it and learn to live together with it.
• Go against my gut reaction. Challenge the fears and expose myself to it. The brain listens more to our behavior than our thoughts. Going against the gut reaction teaches the brain that there is no real apparent danger to these obsessions. The more I resist and try to "get away", the stronger the intrusive thoughts will become.
• Practice mindfulness all the time. Learn to embrace the moment, develop awareness of how the body influence the mind and the mind influence the body.
• Be active, do things, exercise, eat healthy, sleep regularly, do things that you enjoy and things you know are good DESPITE feeling horrible. Don't just lie in bed and wait for the anxiety to disappear. I remember so many times how I felt before and after doing something and I always feel so much better afterwards. So I try not to feel or think that much anymore and just do it, no matter how you feel. Changing behavior can change your very life.
• Learn to trust my self fully. Find inner strength and orient myself toward truth and meaning. Be empirical, don't trust beliefs blindly, put it to the test and find out what works.
• Open up to friends and family. Do not isolate myself.
• Find meaning in my life. If you know what that is already, dedicate yourself to it fully. It is very therapeutic.
• I am not alone and I'll be okay!

Hope that helps. Don't worry you are not going mad.

that is all great advice i just have no idea how to just 'accept my thoughts' its debilitating my mind just runs circles around me and my brain has decided that i cant stop thinking about blinking and it sounds stupid but its really scary the idea of being stuck in this never ending loop. im very anxious about leaving my parents and going out on my own and im sure my brain is just trying to find something to focus on and now im stuck like this. please tell me this will end. also on day 3 of sertraline and feel like throwing up with anxiety and panic. please help me 😦

how are you feeling today? im so down

Its normal to be worse before it gets better, James. The first 2-4 weeks are horrendous but then it starts to get better. Right now it is just the chemical anxiety that increases the intrusive thoughts from adjusting to the sertraline and it will subside.

To end the loop you have to stop feeding it by changing the way you are responding to your obsession. What is the worst thing that will happen? Associate the blinking obsession with something positive or neutral, because the more you fight it, the stronger it becomes. The paradox is that once you stop your compulsion of trying to over analyze the obsession and get rid of it, it will slowly start to lose its power over you. By the end the brain will understand that it is no longer a threat and it will end.

Please hang in there!

you honestly believe this will pass and il stop focussing on it? scares me the idea of thinking of this forever 😦

Did you get Sertraline from a GP or a psych? You should have started with 25mg and then increase slowly with 25mg doses and stay on each dose for at least 2 weeks to minimize side effects. For anxiety disorders such as GAD or OCD it can take up to 12 weeks for sertraline to be effective, and usually at the higher dose such as 150mg, according to studies. I am on 125mg myself on day 120 and I get a great deal of relief and some days feel perfectly normal so I even forget to take the meds.

What you describe about your obsessions sounds very similar to my experience during the acute stage. Even when I think about your situation I get it myself, and it also latches on to random things but the pattern is exactly the same. But I have learned to brush it off. because I know what it is, just obsessions. It was hell during the acute stages but I learned various ways of coping with it and challenged the fears and doubts. So it doesn't give me anxiety anymore, and it comes less and less.

But the tough part is, having to face your worst fears. But once you take the leap of faith, the fears evaporate into thin air. The constant challenge with OCD is that while you can recover and live a normal life you are never cured, so you have to be your own therapist and constantly be challenging these obsessions and not give in to compulsions.

Did you get a diagnosis? I think you should get screened. There is excellent therapy for anxiety related disorders, for example CBT, ERP, ACT, it will help immensely with your recovery.

You'll be Ok!

Yes that is exactly what I have gone through and the only reason it won't go away is because you are feeding it with a deep unfounded fear you have. Once you feel OK with the awareness of the blinking being there and allow yourself to not let the blinking control your life and just continue with your normal routine, the brain will be taught that it is no longer a threat.

its just weird because i dont think ive ever had ocd. i suffer with catastrophizing and fear of things never getting better and have had bad health and normal anxiety in the past. this just feels like my brain wont ever move on from this. like when my anxiety is better im telling myself il still keep thinking about the blinking, its driving me mad, would love to chat to you 121 if thats something you would be interested in?

I don't imply that you have OCD, it could be any type of anxiety disorder, but they are similar in nature and usually treated effectively with CBT. I just recognized some of the symptoms you mentioned, such as getting stuck in a loop, with intrusive distressing thoughts that lasts for hours and hours.

OCD is generally misunderstood. The obsessions could be any theme and content (an urge, an image, a thought) and the compulsions are not only visible, such as washing your hands but can be mental as well, like "Pure O". Avoidance and thinking based compulsions are sometime missed by psychologists.

Here are some types of mental compulsions:

• Trying to “figure out” why you’re having a certain thought.
• Trying to counteract, neutralize, or balance out negative thoughts with positive thoughts.
• Trying to forcefully control an obsessive thought.
• Trying to “figure out” what type of person you are (e.g., questioning your own morality).
• Avoiding certain situations, people, or activities so that you don’t have an obsession.
• Reassuring yourself (e.g., telling yourself, “I’d never do that.”).

  -Postponing certain behaviors or thoughts until “the right time” or until “they feel right.”

• Repeating thoughts, phrases, or words in your head.
• Repeatedly praying or asking for forgiveness (in a way that is not typical for others who share your faith).

  -Getting stuck in an OCD doubt/reassurance loop.

  -Asking questions and seeking reassurance from others.

  -Over-analyzing one’s own behavior or body and trying to do things “normally.”

If you don't recognize yourself in any of the above, and you don't have any visible compulsions, then you probably don't have OCD. As for me I've done maybe 90% of the above.

You can PM me but I suggest to seek help from a psychiatrist asap and get CBT treatment and guidance with your medication.