Thread: advice.
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Old Jul 12, 2006, 10:06 PM
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Maven Maven is offline
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Member Since: Oct 2005
Location: South Jersey, USA
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The psych will talk to you, ask you about your symptoms, possibly ask you to keep a chart and rate how much anxiety different things cause you. There are many kinds of OCD. I have OCD, diagnosed when I was 14; I'm 38 now. I'm a handwasher (and washer in general) and counter. There are also checkers (people who need to check that light switches, appliances, etc., are on/off, doors are locked/unlocked. etc.), hair pullers (this is called "trichotillomania"), cutters, people obsessed with religion (scrupulosity), and many other things. Many people with OCD have more than one form. I also suffer from panic disorder, which was my first diagnosis, actually.

The psych will probably prescribe medication for you, and if you don't have any problems with it, increase the dosage over time, until s/he finds the dosage that works best for you. If you don't tolerate the med(s) well, s/he'll probably try another kind or combination of meds. Meds help a lot of people cope with their illnesses.

It's a good idea to do some research yourself on medications and OCD. It's always good to be educated about your disorder. There are different therapies.

While you shouldn't write off medication, if you prefer to try to work on your OCD without it, tell your psych. Some people can deal with OCD without meds. Others can't. Do what's best for you.

I'm sorry you have OCD.
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