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...
My goal to joining this group is to find anyone who has similar issues that I'm having, I have yet to find anyone who can relate. Many people tell me it's "small stuff" to just get over it. I do know that what I'm about to write, what I feel, sounds almost silly, but it's consuming my life and sometimes I can barely function. For reference, I'm 44 y.o.
I have some of the cleaning OCD, but mine is mostly about keeping things "new/perfect condition", if things (mostly my car, appliances, walls, tile, or hardwood floors) get a scratch/mark/dent/imperfection I have panic attacks and can't function, and then I think about it over and over again. Then, I worry about the next time that it will happen, scenarios of how it could happen, etc. It's an awful cycle that is consuming me! There is much more to it than this, and I can explain more if anyone can even relate at all to any of this!
It's so bad that I can hardly drive anywhere, because I worry the whole time. I've also cleaned my stainless steel fridge until I've cried.
Has anyone had great success with any medication for OCD/Anxiety? I tried Lexapro for about 6 months, but I didn't feel my symptoms were getting any better at all, and the side effects of the medication made me feel worse.
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My day...today...misplaced my debit card...didn't realize it until I got to the register after shopping to a full cart. Used a different debit card and pulled apart everything looking for missing debit card before I left parking lot. Got home, dropped keys. So now I have a missing debit card, missing keys. A full cartload to unload and put away. I got everything put away.Dumped purse for a...
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I don't really know how to label this but I having a rough week and I can't say it's one thing.... I have a lot on my plate which is nothing new and I try to cope in many positive ways and do but I still have my moments.My kids more so my daughters talk to me about everything which I know it's cause of comfort and we are close.... however I really struggle with the venting about their dad which...
The medication you are taking is the right "kind" for helping to calm OCD, but if at 6 months you feel it is not helping, then please let your psychiatrist know, and they will probably have you switch to a different one. They are called SSRI medications. They can be very effective in helping with anxiety, depression, OCD. Again, each person is different, so it's hard to say which medication would help you the best. Your psychiatrist would know.
Also, are you doing any therapy? That can also help with the OCD.
You are not alone. There is help out there.
if you have access to youtube holistichabits is a youtuber who struggles with ocd. i love watching her content ❤️
You've taken the important first step in writing it out.
Keep a daily journal to help you see the pattern of thought, feelings, emotions, and words associated with your day.
What seems 'small' to others, is a jumble of everything mixed together in a big puzzle that you sort out through repeating actions and words that sometimes calm you, but often leads to more and more repeating until you're on a merry-go-round riding a roller coaster.
Medicine treats the worst symptom which gives you balance in the moment, then the next one pops up. This is why journal writing helps, it shows you how your recovery to a better balance is happening.
This didn't happen overnight, so it is often a trial and choice process to find a better balance that helps you remain calm and be comfortable.
But I also try to keep things looking "new". I worry about everything and using too much of anything. I plan too far ahead. I should just take one day and one hour at a time.
I didn't realize I was ocd till this year and I panic if I can't find the smallest thing I am looking for. Then it dawned on me what I was doing. I make others miserable ranting about the smallest things.
The isolation is making me worse. Now I hate to go out. I feel like I am being pulled in two different directions and don't know what to do.
Take care.