In December I took a look at my medical chart and found out that my PCP had diagnosed me with obsessive-compulsive disorder one or two years previously (right after an incident where I went to the hospital in a panic attack about something). I haven't been to see a psychiatrist since then to get a confirmation of the diagnosis, but honestly once I read that a lot of things kinda snapped into place. I'd had thoughts before that I might be obsessive-compulsive but I brushed it off because I felt like I didn't have any of the obvious signs (overly frequent hand washing, obsessive cleaning, etc. -- I'm actually pretty disorganized in my personal life). However, after doing a little bit of reading I found out that there are a lot of compulsive behaviors that aren't the stereotypical behaviors, and those are what I was doing (constant reassurance seeking, researching an obsession to the point of losing sleep, etc.). I'm not sure why I wanted to post this now, but I just kind of feel like I want/need to talk about it. It can be really isolating because OCD is not as common as generalized anxiety (my previous diagnosis) and it's hard to explain why something won't leave my head even when I recognize it's not completely rational.
I take medication which does help, but I'm not currently in therapy. Finding a therapist for OCD is very hard, and it's even harder when you're religious. The primary treatment for OCD is exposure response therapy (ERP), and my OCD can exhibit itself as scrupulosity. I am wary of going to a secular therapist for that kind of treatment when something as important as my religion is in the mix (secular therapists have worked fine for my depressive episodes in the past, so I'm not dissing secular therapists altogether). One other Orthodox person I've seen online had a therapist who recommended not going to church (possibly only for a few weeks, though the poster didn't stipulate that) as part of his ERP. I do not care for that approach. I'm only going to be in Massachusetts for another year (less really, because I'll be in Texas all summer), so I'm hoping to start a more rigorous search when I move back for a permanent therapist. In the meantime I take my medication and try to cope with the mechanisms I've learned, but it can get rough.
Has anybody else struggled with OCD or known someone who struggled with OCD? Or does anyone have questions about OCD? Like I said, I just feel right now that I kinda need to talk about it.
I take medication which does help, but I'm not currently in therapy. Finding a therapist for OCD is very hard, and it's even harder when you're religious. The primary treatment for OCD is exposure response therapy (ERP), and my OCD can exhibit itself as scrupulosity. I am wary of going to a secular therapist for that kind of treatment when something as important as my religion is in the mix (secular therapists have worked fine for my depressive episodes in the past, so I'm not dissing secular therapists altogether). One other Orthodox person I've seen online had a therapist who recommended not going to church (possibly only for a few weeks, though the poster didn't stipulate that) as part of his ERP. I do not care for that approach. I'm only going to be in Massachusetts for another year (less really, because I'll be in Texas all summer), so I'm hoping to start a more rigorous search when I move back for a permanent therapist. In the meantime I take my medication and try to cope with the mechanisms I've learned, but it can get rough.
Has anybody else struggled with OCD or known someone who struggled with OCD? Or does anyone have questions about OCD? Like I said, I just feel right now that I kinda need to talk about it.
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