why can't i control my ocd without medication?

I've tried to go without meds in the past and my ocd went out of control. Its still relatively bad even on meds! But when i miss or take late just a single dose of medication, its off the wall, insane. I don't deserve this. its torture day and night.. And i fail to make any progress with behavior therapy.

There are some of us that just can't make it with out meds. Our brains are just miss firing. Whether it's with OCD, depression, bipolar or many other mental health issues some of us will always need medication to stay on track. I gave up hope many years ago of being able to do it without meds. Acceptance, that is what I have found that helps.

This is a very true post, I don't have therapy no point WONT HELP MY DAMAGED BRAIN

OCD is ridiculous. I have some symptoms that I don't think anything can relieve

Before I took any meds except ATIVAN in my late 20tis I had anxiety depression and bad OCD I would even straighten the cans in the supermarket has 1 symptom, TTTTTTThen the docs finally persuaded me to take an AD . No generic real PROZAC at a start up of 20 mg , I was sick has a dog for 12 weeks then I woke 1 morning and all the world was different and cool just like that over night . I will say that I forgot anxiety and depression went with it but later also OCD on 20mg of real Prozac . To this day now if in supermarket I will put a can out of place just for the fun of it. Then came FLUOXETINE and real Prozac was not scripted on NHS anymore I had to change meds but I left the OCD behind

@ Original poster, There was a guy that came into my school to talk about suicide and he had real bad OCD. He went off his meds many times but always could not handle it and always had to do drugs (such as psychedelics because they cure OCD for the time that it lasts) and alcohol. There was one day that he couldn't take it anymore and got a hunting gun to the head but survived because the bulled got logged in his skull. He now says that "I back on my meds so I'm ok now". Obviously he does therapy as well but he can't live without his OCD meds.

AAAH AAAH AAAH>>>>>>>>>>

I wonder if this is true, my brain/mind certainly "feels" this way sometimes..

No its not true. The brain can be healed with education and therapy. You can "rewire" your brain with behavioural therapy. I think the therapy needed for OCD has to be far more intensive than what they have on offer for the public though. I've seen people do amazing things with therapies and brain training, but it does need to be consistent. Far more so than a once a week therapy session.

You might not have to be on meds forever but maybe for now you need them. Thats just how it is sometimes unfortunately. Im on a tiny dose of zoloft now after previously needing a high dose to help control it.

MY personal take is OCD is anxiety, manifesting and mutating in to OCD .you take a strong benzo has an experiment and it will kill it for a shot time , telling me kill anxiety kill OCD

Have you tried CBT specifically for anxiety? It's a pretty standard treatment here in Ontario. I had CBT specifically for Social Phobia and it really helped me a lot. If you haven't tried it, I'd really reccommend it.

splitimage

OCD is one of the worst kinds of anxiety if not THE worst. So it's natural that medication would be required more often than not. This does not mean it's always required of course. Sometimes when things are going well enough in a person's life, the talk therapy or behavioral stuff might just do the trick. But other times they simply won't do.

The real question is what's wrong with taking meds? Is it the side effects? Is it your principle of not wanting to take meds? There are some people with OCD who are not even really helped by meds, despite having tried several different ones. And like I said, there are people who can manage, at least sometimes, without meds. Do the best you can, with therapy and meds, and then just live your life. That's my view, take it for what it's worth.

Sorry to hear!! For my OCD, Luvox CR was the only the med that helped. Best of luck!!

Yes i have attended a CBT course , but in England its done in groups of maybe 12 , I dont have a social anxiety it was pointless to me but i stayed the course and like the other 11 learned nothing . I say 11 most dropped out we were left with 4 , 3 were worse and i was confused We are pretty crap on mental health in England . i suggest to anyone with social anxiety to do the on line course, it covers everything you need to no.

Frankly a mild case I have of OCD was helped with either Lexapro OR Luvox. Cannot remember which as it's been so many years ago. If you can't find a way to control it naturally, then you have to decide if the benefit of the med out ways the risks, especially long-term.

Good luck.

And prozac, OCD is not an illness oN its own, its anxiety based . And there is a much worse anxiety illness to have, no being able to control your bowel, has got to be the worsts. So chronic you defecate or urinate yourself where you stand through shear panic. There was a young guy on tv 2 weeks ago in BEDLAM the oldest mental hospital in England he spent 8 hours a day in the toilet. I remeber on a construction bus asking the driver to stop has i needed the toilet he said he didnt have time an carried on another 20 miles to the site by this time i was in agony.Every day boarding the bus after that was a nightmare i got it in my head i would need the toilet for the simple reason the driver would not toilet stop. I was damaged by a moron and had to quit that job. Im OK now but i avoid long journies unless i am the driver.

I agree with another poster. Behavior therapy can be helpful for OCD without meds in some people.

Well I'm glad everyone else finds meds and likes them because I sure as hell don't.

Don't recommend counseling/therapy. Please, don't. THEY SUCK

I think therapy can be incredibly effective and powerful, but I find that the combination of meds and therapy is the best way for me to manage anxiety, depression, etc. I've tried to discontinue meds as well without success. It doesn't mean something is wrong with you just because you need meds. Like another person on this thread said, use whatever tools you need and then live your life. The most important thing is not whether you're on meds or not but whether you're comfortable in your own skin and living the life you want.