Hello

So, I've had OCD for many years.

OCD has affected me a lot. It has caused a lot of anxiety for me. I do compulsions. I hate it, but yet can not stop it. I have obsessive thoughts. I get stuck on them. I have intrusive thoughts. I need a lot of reassurance. I fear a lot of things. I hate them all. OCD has, and still does, affect me badly. I hardly now do any checks, I have learnt the more you do them, the worse it gets. It worked. It was tough, but it did work. The compulsions settled after a few months of resisting and cutting down how much I do. I still struggle a lot and OCD does clash with my other difficulties, too. I do have very disturbing images, intrusive thoughts, and obsessive thoughts, but I fight back. I feel a need to "confess" a lot of the time, and seek excessive reassurance if I do "confess", and feel like a terrible, bad, evil person, but I cannot control the thoughts or images and such. It's so complicated and so confusing, as well as quite scary and lonely. Very stressful, too...

It seems that my "OCD" evolved out of a more general anxiety disorder....I used to be somewhat agoraphobic....terrified of being in any situation that would render me vulnerable to panic attacks. After maybe 10 years of developing a very well defined set of avoidance behaviors, my anxiety morphed (gradually) into more of a compulsive disorder where much of my daily life was rigidly framed by a very specific set of routines that had to be completed, regardless of utility or absurdity. This ultimately resulted in sleep deprivation issues & job-related stress (lateness, unproductivity). I was particularly obsessed with particular numbers on a digital clock & would force myself to restrict my actions unless it happened to be at a favored time (I am still suffer from anxiety if I purchase a clothing item on an odd calendar date, & generally do not do so). This in spite of 10+ years on paxil. I am nowe transitioning to celexa in the hopes of attaining a renewee effectiveness. Does anyone else on this forum take meds for both anxiety & ADHD? I wonder how common is this co-morbidity?

Could you perhaps create your own thread?