Hi Beth. I can relate. Specially this time of year but certainly not only this time of year. My OC combo is order and tidying. I sometimes self medicate as well to tolerate things being out of place. But in my case I've actually drifted into a ritual of drinking and tidying at the same time. So while there was some short term relief, it was eventually overridden by the compulsion, and sucked into the disease. I am very early in my professional treatment but I am hopeful that proper medication will replace improper. I suppose I do not really have any earth shattering advice for you other than hang in there, and you are not alone.

Thank you relish. I also sometimes combine my rituals with drinking. I'll clean while I drink sometimes, but then the next day will fear I did not de-contaminate properly because I was drinking! It is like a vicious cycle. Can you relate?

I can definitely relate to the cyclical aspect, but I do not experience any of the contamination facet of the disorder. I am strictly order/symmetry. Example: I am ok with the thought of a dirty entryway mat or a potentially germy remote control, but if the mat is crooked or the remote is not in it's usual spot on the table I am a mess. And as you probably know all to well if you multiply that by life there is trouble. So anyway it sounds like we differ symptomatically, but I am told the malfunctioning chemistry is identical across all of the OCD facets whether it be counting, checking, contamination......etc.

Having said all that, I do still believe that all of us in this room can help one another no matter how different our symptoms because we are all likely to have a unique understanding of the sensations involved with the malfunctioning chemistry and what the intense intrusiveness feels like. Anytime you want to chat feel free to message. Hang in there and I will do the same. but be warned, I am new here and I only recently started educating myself. So you may be more help to me than I to you!! lol

I was not going to post on this when I saw it in my update email because I have been criticized in the past for commenting on this topic. And perhaps my comments were too harsh at that time for the situation.

But, I decided to comment because I do know a little about the subject of OCD and using alcohol to relieve the symptoms and if my experience can help someone I felt like I should try. That being said. I am in an outpatient program for alcohol addiction right now and I have OCD. Fun, Fun, Fun!

I have heard more than once that it is very common for people with alcohol addiction to also be diagnosed with other afflictions, such as OCD, Anxiety disorders, depression, etc. When I was in rehab before, I was told I was dually diagnosed, although, I feel I could probably triply (?) diagnosed. haha

Anyway, from what I have learned it is common for people with problems with alcohol to have an anxiety disorder, as well. I am not saying that you have an problem with alcohol, but that it is common for the two to go hand in hand.

I know from experience that it is so nice when you are having anxiety from OCD to get the relief that comes from drinking. Just be careful because using alcohol to relieve symptoms of OCD can be a slippery slope and can cause more problems.

I was shocked when I was in the hospital for depression and OCD and saw a paper in my chart that said, "patient started drinking to relieve OCD symptoms". I guess I didn't realize that I had done that or said that OCD is once of the reasons why I drank. It was a real eye opener for me! I do know that as Bethmach said, that most of the time my OCD symptoms became worse when I was drinking or more accurately when I was hungover. It made me doubt myself more and as they say OCD is the Doubting disease.

I hope the knowledge gained from my experience helps a little with this topic.

Hi seeking peace,
Thank you for your reply. I can understand your being criticized on this site. I have as well. I am glad this did not keep you from responding. Your feedback was very helpful!!

Again, I wasn't going to waste my time replying to you RidingTheWave, but since you made it sound like everyone was so in the wrong and that you are never, I felt I had to post. Why the need to bring up who I am, etc. You will notice I didn't reference anyone in my criticize post.

You are so funny, you say I am blunt, yet, I have read post, ones to me included where you attack the person with name calling, what are we 10-years old? I don't remember a post where I ever called you a name. And blunt, you are the bluntest and whether you admitted it in the past or not, doesn't mean it is okay for you to continue do it. LIke by saying you do it gives you a free pass to continue to do it. Not sure why you had to post all that in reference to my post.

As for, the comment, "I noticed, Jane W., that you were alot more sympathetic with this reply than the one or two you sent to Cheryl1984. See, people can learn and change! Amazing!" That sure seems like you are patronizing and trying to provoke me.

I, too was happy to see that you were much more gentle with your posts recently and I thought you had maybe learned something too. By way, I do not follow you around the site and provoke you or have even tried to get you kicked off. I just answer to what is posted. Some of your comments in the lastest post seem like you were trying to provoke me actually.

The post awhile ago that was talking about being stuck on a girl that you thought I read and posted to just to attack you. I read it because I could relate and was curious what people where saying. I guess, we're not the only overly sensitive ones. And aren't you the one who said that people with OCD are sensitive, this is an OCD site, it makes sense that people would be sensitive.

BTW, forgot to add, thanks Beth, I am glad I could help!

RTW, I was not trying to come back on this site, as someone different, or hide who I am. I believe on a different post, I said that I changed my name to a more anonymous one so I would feel more comfortable posting on other areas of this website. Yea, thanks, I would know to change my avatar, that is why I kept it, I was not trying to hide.

Don't flatter yourself, I haven't been privately talking to anyone on here about you or anyone else for that matter. I said too in response to me admitting that maybe I was a little harsh and had learned to be kinder.

I see some "male" is STILL not in happy-land. Ladies, just ignore Ridfethewaves undaunting tauntings. He was doing it many months ago as well, different female. Me. He felt obsessed to quote everything I wrote in my posts and in my journals.Reason? Your guess is as good as mine!

Yes, I asked to be your friend, but that was before I got to know you. And I did not delete you as a friend, you deleted me, but it was a good move for both of us. Once again, with the name calling. Hahaha.

I like how you continue to post more attacking me when I did not even answer your last post. I felt there was no reason for us to keep arguing, so I let it go.

Yeah -- booze has a rebound effect that makes everything worse.

I tried self-medicating for years and it just accelerated my descent into alcoholism.

for me, my OCD is bad enough, and im' also a compulsive lair and so when i am drinking...it makes it so much worse. i've lied to police, doctors...

and yea, that makes everything way way worse.

Alchohol makes everything worse when it comes to mental health issues. As a bipolar type II I suffer with my OCD AND my bipolar depression after drinking. I don't do it very often.

Hello there bethmach...I haven't read some of the other posts...however I found most of them unhelpful. I too do the same thing and it seems to work...i have OCD in the form of obsessive adding / counting / dividing and whenever i drink I seem to "free" myself of the role in my mind. I am trying to find out cognitively and physiologically why this is!! I believe there is a connection with brain wave patterns, etc...but I am no scientist (obvious with my spelling) so let's work together and figure out why it seems to work in the short term.

KK889,
I sounds like you find short-term relief as I do as well. Do you find the next day though that because you are either hungover or not feeling quite like yourself (low energy, fatugue etc...)that it has some sort of rebound effect? Many will say that the next day they feel too wiped out to fight OCD symptoms. That happens with me. But as soon as I am feeling better (but the alcohol is still in my system) my symptoms skyrocket for about 2-3 days. It is horrible. My husband even notices the difference and feels my alcohol comsumption increases my symptoms eventually. I also don't why cognitively and physiologically that alcohol has a soothing effect in the shor-term but would like to find out. Some people say alcohol helps their symptoms, others say it does not. Thank you for your reply and if I come across any pertinent literature that will shed some light on the subject I will let you know!!