How to defeat these unwanted, invasive OCD thought?

Hey everyone,
I suffered from OCD for two and a half years and it is mainly the Pure-O type. I have those unwanted and ridiculous thoughts 24/7. I try to scream, “STOP” and ignore it but it seems really hard. The thoughts just increase. And now, I even don’t know what I’m going to say because I’m too busy to ponder on another silly thought. I totally can’t control it. Anyone also suffer from OCD? How do you deal with it?

Oh my god I think these above barely make sense.

Hello LoonyLoveGood,
I am also an OCD sufferer of 3 1/2 years now and have been taking Lexapro which works very well for my OCD. In addition, I take Klonopin as needed for break through panic attacks. I also find it quite helpful and very important to see a therapist who specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy this the best type of therapy for OCD sufferers. Have you seen a doc yet? If not you should make an appt. to see a Psych. or your Primary Care Doc. personally I think seeing a psych. is the best way to go.
When I have a hard time letting go of obsessions or compulsions I try to do two things: 1. Distract myself (going online, playing computer games, talking on the phone, or watching TV, etc.) and 2. I compromise with my brain and basically say to myself "okay you are only going to think this thought for 10 secs., 20 secs. etc., or I will only tap an object 2 times instead of 3. Compromising I find is the best and then I keep lowering the compromise so that I can fade out the obsessions or compulsion. I have read somewhere that telling your brain "NO" or "Stop" is ineffective because it makes you want to obsess more I myself tend to find that to be true. Well I just want to share my thoughts with you as an OCD sufferer myself. I hope you find some of this useful. By the way a recommended book for OCD sufferers is "Brain Lock". I have it on reserve at the library. Good Luck and please keep us updated!

You have no idea just how much I can relate to you. I have pure-o. It has been killing me for about 6 months. I also have panic disorder and as we all are ..I'm depressed. I found a support group in my area, I keep busy with jobs and vonunteer work. I am going back to school and it is sooo hard to do all these things. However, once you stop being the way you once were is the second you give up on life. I excercise...yoga, run,walk. Keep busy always..even if you are suffering inside and no one can see it. It is so difficult for me to do these things as you can understand.But, the thougths are less when I keep busy. I also do exposure and face my fears. I won't quit. Don't you either! Write to me I get it. ALi

I have OCD too. I have lots of little, almost unconscious tics or compulsive acts, but also have had some bad obsessing periods. It's bad; you can't sleep. I have had excellent success with Paxil. I won't say it's completely gone, but I'm fairly functional now.

Anyone have a touching compulsion? I need to touch things or people a certain number of times. I feel embarrassed about it in public.

I've also suffered with scrupulosity (religious obsession) which is bad, but I was fortunate; it simply went away. Oddly enough, when I had it, I couldn't go to church. Now I just started back and enjoy it.

I have that compulsion of touching things a certain number of times. I can totally relate! I hate it soooooooooooooooo much it drives me bonkers!

I just wanted to say that I also have the compulsion of having to touch things a certain amount of times. It drives me nuts too.

Hi LoonyLoveGood (I like your screen name by the way)

OCD thoughts are a hard call. In my case they are always memories of the worst things in my past life, reliving horrible moments of emotional isolation, mostly in my unhappy birth family.

I'm not sure how much of my looping thoughts are pure OCD and how much they are a kind of post traumatic thing. It would be really helpful if someone could share their experience with me over this, and describe just what the nature of their thoughts is like (subject, frequency).

Re - dealing with it. One strategy I have found is learning to ignore the thoughts, using Buddhist meditation methods. Instead of trying to push the thoughts away, we let them be, like a noisy neighbour nextdoor. This way, it doesn't matter how many thoughts there are, as they all pass anyway. It's a bit like living next door to a busy motorway; eventually you stop hearing the traffic. The cars go by, but we don't have to flag them down. I used this technique to deal with tinnitus and now I don't even notice it.

The thoughts are harder than the tinnitus, but there is a big improvement with meditation, so I would recommend this . Also, Ozzie recommended treating the thoughts as a TV channel and making a conscious effort to change channels (this advice came from a therapist).

Any method which helps us to distance ourselves from the upsetting pattern will be of some help, as I think it is getting caught up in the pattern which tires us out so badly. We are all looking for some space to be peaceful in. To have some peace of mind.

I hope it gets easier for you.

Myzen,

I don't have a dx in this area, but I do have intrusive thoughts. What helps me is remembering that sleep and dreams are supposed to take out the mind's garbage. Well, it sounds bad to call it garbage, because it's really just what the mind has processed already and no longer finds useful.

If dreams (found only in REM sleep) don't completely get the job done, then I suppose the rest might hang around in the form of intrusive thoughts.

So I try to make sure I get lots of REM sleep --- in the hope that the unwanted thoughts will be eliminated the natural way. And I watch what drugs I take. I take no benzodiazepines, because they deprive the brain of REM sleep. Probably other drugs do also, although I haven't done enough research to know which ones.

Just a thought.

Adieu

i am a 54 yr old woman who suffered from every obsession and compulsion in the book!......10 yrs ago i got up the nerve to go to a psychiatrist because i thought i was going to go completely crazy!.....after a few trial and errors with meds.....i have been settled on taking prozac.....80mgs for yrs but now ony 10 or 20mg daily.....life is great! there is help out there! seek it out PLEASE! you don't have to suffer!

Hey everyone. Im new to this whole thing. I'm a 14 year old freshman and I just found out that I have OCD. I'm sort of confused, I'm not sure how to get the correct help, any ideas? I've always wondered why I had the urge to count things so many times or keep having to touch something a number of times til it felt right. The weird thing is that this has been going on since I can remeber. Now that I found out about this what do I do? I've talked to my mom and she gave the are you crazy look! So please help me! Thanks

Welcome Zander,

It's pretty common for these symptoms to start in the teen years and even starts in childhood for some people (like me). There is one case of Tourettes in my family and that is a "cousin" of OCD.

Try telling your mother it's classified as an anxiety disorder. Most people can understand anxiety. The things we do seem weird to people but the feelings might not seem so strange.

In your mind which medicines work best towards OCD? Thanks!

A combination of a support group, a self-help program, and lexapro is working well for me. I have found that the lexapro doesn't completely control the thoughts, but it makes it possible for me to deal with the anxiety inherent in using the support tools: exposure, imagery, and ritual prevention. In a few months I have been able to decrease my handwashing, checking, and counting.

I recomment the OCD workbook by Hymen and Pedrick, Stop Obsessing by Foa, and Brainlock by Schwartz. My doctor has been supportive of my decreasing the medication and eventually stopping it. (I have negative reactions to the lexapro and all of the other SSRI's I have tried.) It is hard work and the anxiety in not performing the rituals seems unbearable at times, but I find that I eventually habituate to it. Good luck!

-apislily

Thank you everyone. It’s awesome that my old post is still active now. I’ve read a few extract of "Brain Lock" on the web and found its strategy is very helpful. I’m trying not to give “response” to my OCD thoughts. But it’s not easy. Most of the time OCD still can beat me. But anyway I’m no longer the all-the-time loser.

And zander15, I’m very much related to you. I too am a teenage sufferer of OCD and am misunderstood and teased by my family members. They think I do every crazy thing on purpose. After all, who can understand OCD without having OCD him/herself? Good thing there ARE people who share the same experiences with you and understand you. *hugs*

I also have OCD and am 17. My problem is if something isn't symmetrical it drives me insane. I also suffer from panic disorder and depression. I've been taking Lexapro for awhile and that helps a lot especially with OCD the only problem is if I miss a day I can barely handle school. Everything is so disorganized and I can't pay attention because I'm to busy trying to make edges perfectly parallel and then someone will bump something and ruin everything. I have a hard time getting help but school conselers can help a little if you want to talk to someone. I hope everything works out okay for you.

How is everyone doing know with the obsessive thoughts and what has helped improve them. New to thinking obsessive thoughts, trying to get rid of them and hoping to learn from you guys what may work.

Hoping to learn from you guys what has helped with these thoughts. New to these thoughts and hoping to learn what may work.

I also have the thoughts that won't go away. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one. I find that watching tv or talking to someone helps send them to the back burner at times maybe that will help you as well. I wish ou luck in all you do

My 30 year old son has a touching OCD issue big time. I just sent a long message to Dr Phil, because I don't know what to do. It incapacitates his whole life. Be has no goals, no self initiative, no future. no desire for independence. No response from the Dr Phil site, yet.

Touching dirty things? If yes then he might be washing his hands and things again and again and it is known as contamination OCD. If I am right that you should check with an OCD therapist you can try CBT/ERP therapy they help a lot with OCD.
You can read the below-given article to know more about Contamination OCD and check if your son is suffering from this or other types of OCD.

15 Signs That You Might Have Contamination OCD | Made of Millions Foundation
Contamination OCD and the Fear of Germs: Symptoms and Treatment

It is a little different that that. He goes to the kitchen sink, turns on the water, puts his left hand (just fingers) under the stream for a split second, then turns off the water. No soap involved. He does this multiple times throughout the day, and it must be the last thing he does before going to bed, or he will not be able to sleep. His Primary Care made a referral back in April to see a psychologist. We have called many time over the past few months, and the secretary answers, takes our number, and says they will call back. But we never get a call back.

Hi, I’m new to this forum. I am thankful to have found this forum, because there is a support system for those who can resonate with some of the same struggles. However, I have Pure-O which causes me to have obsessive thoughts of real life events. About 9 months ago I was publicly ostracized and shamed. Now, I constantly obsess over this event and if it will happen again. I am tormented daily replaying the hurtful words that were said to me. This causes me great anxiety and disturbing thoughts. I’ve tried to just let the thoughts flow, but I resist them because I feel extremely guilty about these thoughts because they don’t match with my values. If anyone can relate/offer some advice for me; I am willing to listen. Thank you for taking the time to read this message.

Welcome to the site, Health Warrior. If you start a thread about this (if you feel comfortable doing so) hopefully you will receive more replies. I had a good friend (a couple of years ago) who had Pure-O and I know how distressing it is. I think that there are different types of therapy that can help

I struggle with this anxiety also. You have to accept the thoughts' existence.