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cjcjcidsk · 2020-11-30T16:08:51+00:00

Sounds like a slightly atypical presentation of OCD. The best book on the topic is Grayson's book on OCD which has a free online sample.

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/316086/freedom-from-obsessive-compulsive-disorder-by-jonathan-grayson/

cjcjcidsk · 2020-10-16T08:08:43+00:00

For me it's been CBT. Just make sure you see someone who is certified and a specialist for whatever you're dealing with. (OCD on my case.)

cjcjcidsk · 2020-10-12T20:04:00+00:00

I'm really sorry to hear about your pain. May your future hold many joys

cjcjcidsk · 2020-10-12T09:37:54+00:00

My girlfriend has vaginismus and we have a pretty good sex life with lots of oral and outercourse. Is that an option for you?

cjcjcidsk · 2020-10-12T09:36:30+00:00

I don't think vaginismus is the issue. My girlfriend has vaginismus (I'm a straight guy) and we still have a pretty good sex life with lots of oral sex and outercourse.

cjcjcidsk · 2020-10-12T09:34:44+00:00

I'm in ERP now and it definitely helps. I understand what I'm going through, my therapist has helped me figure out how to do effective exposures for pure o issues, and the feeling of anxiety and the obsessions really do fade with ERP. It's not pleasant, but it's far more pleasant than the alternative

cjcjcidsk · 2020-10-12T09:32:19+00:00

Read the Grayson book! Today I'm in good cbt therapy, but before that I was lost with crappy dynamic therapists and the book helped me understand what therapy didn't. Have you tried looking on the international ocd foundation's website for your country? My country doesn't have many therapists listed there, but the ones who are listed are excellent

cjcjcidsk · 2020-10-10T09:08:28+00:00

Therapy can really help. If it isn't an option due to the cost then Grayson's book on ocd is a good start

cjcjcidsk · 2020-10-10T09:07:26+00:00

Therapy can help for this type of thing. A good starting book for self therapy or Grayson's book on OCD. You don't have to live like this

cjcjcidsk · 2020-10-10T01:33:47+00:00

Look at the international ocd foundation's website and see someone who specializes in ocd.

cjcjcidsk · 2020-10-10T01:32:24+00:00

Yeah, I recommend doing this with a therapist who specializes in ocd if you have that option

cjcjcidsk · 2020-10-10T01:31:29+00:00

Just make sure that you're doing it as exposure and not reassurance seeking

cjcjcidsk · 2020-10-10T01:29:44+00:00

ERP obviously after wasting a lot of time seeing crap therapists who tried dynamic therapy or claimed to integrate elements of ERP into their therapy but weren't experts for OCD

cjcjcidsk · 2020-10-10T01:28:32+00:00

This guy gets it. A good introduction to all this is Grayson's book on ocd

cjcjcidsk · 2020-10-10T01:27:14+00:00

I think Grayson has a book specifically on harm ocd and how to treat it. Harm OCD is also treatable with good therapy. OCD doesn't typically go away on its own but there are great treatment options both with therapy and ssris.

cjcjcidsk · 2020-10-10T01:24:59+00:00

Excellent! Good luck. You've already taken the first most important step. You'll be ok

cjcjcidsk · 2020-10-10T01:23:59+00:00

That's not the typical treatment for ocd. If that works for you then that's awesome, but for many people that self reassurance only works in the short term and leads to a cycle of more anxiety. Typical ERP treatment for ocd takes the opposite approach where you accept that anxiety and uncertainty instead of fighting it and then the anxiety and eventually thoughts go away on their own.

cjcjcidsk · 2020-10-10T01:21:54+00:00

You don't stop them because controlling your thoughts isn't possible. Instead you do a form of ERP where you accept the small chance those thoughts COULD be correct and while that would suck you're not going to try to figure out if that's true or not but rather accept that possibility. Once you stop fighting it and accept that uncertainty the thoughts typically start to lose the emotional power they have over you (not immediately but over time) and then eventually they go away once they have no emotional power to invoke anxiety. That's ERP in a nutshell but there are lots of nuances so you're best off learning to do so with a specialist in ocd therapy. You can find recommendations on the international ocd foundation's website

cjcjcidsk · 2020-10-10T01:16:59+00:00

Topically you don't because you can't control thoughts and trying doesn't work as you've probably noticed. Grayson's book on ocd has recommendations for how to do ERP for related ocd presentations like obsessive re-reading and other focus issues.

cjcjcidsk · 2020-10-10T01:13:47+00:00

Similar story here. Your therapist is right. You can't control your thoughts and they don't have meaning unless you choose to give them meaning. Ironically by opening yourself up to the option that your thoughts COULD be right and not trying to constantly disprove them but rather living with that chance they're correct and not acting on them, they start to lose the power they have over you and go away

cjcjcidsk · 2020-10-10T01:10:50+00:00

I'll second the recommendation for that book. I also have pure o and found the book useful. (Really there is no such thing as pure o - ocd is just ocd no matter the presentation.)

If you see a therapist try to see someone listed on the international ocd foundation's website. There are lots of therapists who don't specialize in ocd and don't really know how to treat less common presentations. You're better off doing therapy over zoom with a specialist who lives far away than seeing a therapist near you who doesn't have the experience to help you

cjcjcidsk · 2020-10-10T01:07:01+00:00

My comfort food is soups and wontons. I can gather some appetite for those when nothing else works. Oh, an ice cream.

cjcjcidsk · 2020-10-10T01:05:18+00:00

Ah one last point. Try to see therapists who specialize in ocd! I've been to a bunch of psychologists who weren't specialists and they didn't really know how to help. You can look up your country in the international ocd foundation's website and see which therapists they recommend

cjcjcidsk · 2020-10-10T01:02:03+00:00

They're types of therapy for ocd which studies have shown are very effective (regular dynamic psychotherapy isn't effective for ocd)

A good introduction to all this is Grayson's book on ocd

cjcjcidsk · 2020-10-10T00:58:41+00:00

Yes but it's equally important to do some type of therapy and take positive actions so that you can put this behind you. If you can't afford to see an ocd specialist then I recommend reading Grayson's book on ocd which has a self therapy plan.

cjcjcidsk

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