Anxiety Support Group

Anxiety is a physical condition marked by intense and persistent feelings of distress, fear, angst or dread. General anxiety caused by routine day-to-day stresses usually passes quickly and is experienced by almost everyone at one time or another. However, such feelings that linger over time and are very difficult to cope with, and which lack a clear cause, may indicate...

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Anxiety and OCD

seabreezy3
seabreezy3

Hi, I am new to this board. Just needed to vent about my anxiety lately. During this pandemic it has been so bad. I try to keep a structured schedule, staying busy most of the day, but my anxiety invades my thoughts which distracts me from what I need to be doing. I am exhausted from all this stress. Sometimes I wish I could just sit and relax with a clear mind. I deal with OCD and it gets worse when my anxiety is worse (they just feed off of eachother). My usual "rituals" and "compulsive behaviors" or whatever you wanna call it make me fear for my life and make me think if I don't complete them ill get bad luck or get sick, or my family will get sick. It sucks when you're actually a rational person, like I know I don't have the power to actually make bad things happen if I (for example) don't wash my hands 37 times, but I can't let the compulsions go and it makes my life so hard sometimes. Is anyone else dealing with similar anxieties right now? Any tips? 



~Wishing you all good health and good vibes~


Community LeaderMid
Mid
Welcome to the anxiety board at DS.

Writing it out is the best way to start making the change of finding the best balance that works for you in the moment.

Distract your usual thought/action pattern with the list you make in the morning, and mark off what you are doing. This way, you're helping your brain relax from the constant ...., and your body is aware of the "relax" and is in sync.

Making your thought/action pattern work for you will take a bit of determination and is well worth the effort.

I have seen this work for several people, for each of them, it was certain things that helped them make the change. This is not a one size fits all - it's a method that is adapted to the individual through the use of tracking what they do and how they think while they are doing.

Best wishes.
silverlight
silverlight
i am so sorry that you are suffering.
i empathize.
i have OCD and GAD,and you are right that they feed off each other.
i am surprised that (Atleast not yet) i haven't developed a hand washing compulsion because of this virus.

Are you on meds? Do you have a therapist?
i am very lucky that i have a great pdoc/tdoc who helps me challenge my obsessions.

i so wish i had tangible words of wisdom for you....just please know that you are not alone.
seabreezy3
seabreezy3
Mid- This is something that I currently do, it did help for a while but unfortunately it isn't doing much for me at the moment anymore. Thank you for the tips though, I would recommend this to others too :)
seabreezy3
seabreezy3
silverlight- Thank you so much. The hand washing and extra cleaning seem to be common exaggerated compulsions during this time, glad you haven't developed a new one yet. Im on hydroxyzine for my anxiety, topamax and lithium (for bipolar disorder). I can only call my pdoc for a half hour lately because of the office being closed so it just isn't the same as the weekly hour in person sessions. Sometimes just knowing I am not alone makes me feel better. (:
GirlinCalif
GirlinCalif
I understand. I have GAD and OCD also, and this pandemic has made me more anxious. I would suggest limiting the amount of news that you watch/read. I limit myself to only a half hour of local updates per day, just so I know what's going on in my city. The rest of the time, I watch shows that are funny or happy, and I do things online that aren't about the pandemic. Things I enjoy doing. Have to be kind to yourself and give yourself a break. It's a lot to deal with. Hope this helps.
stix
stix
With the “social distancing” and “stay at home” I only leave if it is absolutely necessary. The sad part is that I have been doing this before the corona virus. It’s now getting to the point of agoraphobia. I don’t know why it is progressing, anyone else have it continually getting worse?
stix
stix
I’m in complete agreement that OCD and anxiety feed off each other!
seabreezy3
seabreezy3
GirlinCalif- that's a great tip, the news can be so overwhelming lately. I have family who are nurses (sister and mom) that have direct contact with the virus so I already have so much anxiety from that itself. Relaxing with a cup of tea and watching Netflix has been one of my favorite ways to cope. Thanks for the advice.
seabreezy3
seabreezy3
stix- Sorry to hear about the agoraphobia, I would say its probably getting worse because of the new threat of getting the virus when you go out and because everyone else is very on edge and anxious in public, maybe you sense it and it could be overwhelming. For myself, I am experiencing more anxiety in public because of that. I had to leave the grocery store the other day because it was too much for me. You aren't alone and I hope things get better for you soon.
mystic8
mystic8
I have the same thing. I have groceries delivered and have to be careful going out. I want to see my family daughter, grandkids etc. But, the Dr say it is not wise just yet because teens have been around friends etc. I keep saying how long is this going to go on before everyone gets back to normal. I don't see how it can unless they have a vaccine. Then there are people not following social distancing which is going to put a strain on the health care system. How and when will things go back to normal or will this virus be lurking in every corner. Is it going to entirely disappear?
MP823
MP823
Just chiming in to say I hear you and totally relate and feel you about anxiety and OCD feeding off each other. I'm also having the groceries delivered because of my fear of contamination. My wife thinks my fears are farfetched in some moments but I'm too anxious to take any chances. Now there's the extra layer of worrying about my cats too because there have been cats diagnosed with coronavirus. Ugh. It's all too much. I will say about compulsions...my sister has said to me in a sassy attitude, "Why do you think what you do or don't do with your rituals and compulsions will change everything? why do you think you're so special?" I mean, she's right. We are just people like all the other people on the planet. Why do we feel like our rituals and compulsions are necessary to keep everyone safe when other people aren't doing them? Just something I try to remind myself when I'm really putting pressure on myself to pull me back to "reality" a little bit.
MP823
MP823
@mystic8 Once there's a vaccine, it will be a thing of the past. And hopefully before then (since that could take something like 12 - 18 months) they will have solid medications in place for treatment.
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