The Story
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Ok, so I have OCD… but now what? I continued my casual therapy appointments and, occasionally, followed up with my psychiatrist. My treatment had plateaued. The talk therapy was appreciated and the medications were keeping my anxiety somewhat stable. Unfortunately, there was zero improvement with my obsessions and compulsions. In the coming years, the OCD
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This past weekend, I explored Colorado with my husband, Chris, and focused on living in the present. I took in the mountain views, breathed the cool, crisp air and bathed in the sun’s warmth. Out on the trail, uninterrupted by digital distractions, we enjoyed meaningful conversation and lots of laughs. I relaxed, refocused and recharged.
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After repeated encouragement from my therapist to seek out medication options, I, finally, made an appointment with a psychiatrist. Here we go again… A new office, a new face and a whole lot of anxiety. The psychiatrist was male, so I was extremely wary. To my surprise, he was kind and professional. At the conclusion
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Although I was still a student I refused to go back to the campus medical center. My insurance company assisted with finding a local female therapist who, according to them, treated everything from anxiety, OCD and panic to depression, Bipolar and PTSD. Eureka! Had I found the one this time? I arrived to a small,
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While taking a break from the therapist search, my OCD and anxiety festered. My perfectionism was at an all time high. It was evident in my schoolwork, extracurricular activities, employment and environment. I would do ANYTHING to appease EVERYONE around me. My parents, friends, coworkers, and professors, all at the expense of my sanity. I
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I arrived for my appointment ready for change. I was eager and willing to work. Following check-in, I was escorted to an office, where I found an older gentleman sitting behind a desk. He welcomed me, with a smile, and asked if I wanted to have a seat, motioning to a chair directly across from
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Finding appropriate treatment for OCD is equatable to seeking a needle, a very, very small one, in a haystack. There are millions of mental health providers out there, however, very few are properly trained to treat OCD. Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is a must as it has shown great success, over the last few
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Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is a form of psychological treatment that has been demonstrated to reduce symptoms of various mental health conditions, primarily depression and anxiety disorders. Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is a type of CBT, considered to be the first-line psychotherapy for OCD. The “exposure” refers to purposefully exposing yourself to intrusive thoughts,
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Purely Obsessional OCD, also known as Pure O, is a subtype of OCD that’s characterized by intrusive thoughts, images or urges, generally centered on themes of harm, relationships, sexuality and religious or moral questions with, primarily, mental compulsions. My Pure O intrusive thoughts include relationship and morality themes and my compulsions include avoidance, analyzing and
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A common phrase used to describe normal cleaning and organizing behavior and a far reach from the experiences had by those struggling with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) defines OCD as a “mental health disorder that occurs when a person gets caught in a cycle of obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are
Smashing Stigmas 