What does dog OCD look like
Whats It Like to Live with OCD?
OCD can bring feelings of anxiety or shame into many areas of your life, but there are also ways to reduce those feelings.
If youve received an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) diagnosis, chances are youre feeling uncertain. But youre not alone.
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), about 1 in 100 children and 1 in 40 adults in the United States experience OCD.
OCD doesnt always look the same from person to person. But it can take some common forms, including:
- worries of contamination leading to excessive cleaning
- feeling like items need to be symmetrical or ordered in a certain way
- experiencing impulsive or forbidden or taboo thoughts
- a desire to hoard and retain items
Its important to remember there are different types of OCD, and not everyone experiences it the same way, says Dr. Sanam Hafeez, neuropsychologist and faculty member at Columbia University.
While the condition can be challenging, there is hope. Various treatments are available, and many people see fewer symptoms following either one or a combination of these.
No matter how your OCD manifests, the symptoms (compulsions and obsessions) tend to be intrusive and dominating. It can be difficult to push them aside to focus on anything else, even if youre aware theyre unfounded.
It can be almost impossible to quash the need to perform a particular action including washing your hands or arranging items as the desire to do so just once more becomes irresistible.
You may feel helpless and out of control, which can be overwhelming, upsetting, and disheartening. It can also be difficult to envision a future without these thoughts and compulsions dominating your daily life.
In the long term, living with OCD can be tiring especially if youre trying to hide it from family, friends, and coworkers and frustrating if it prevents you from partaking in and enjoying everyday activities.For some, the anxiety and upset can snowball into panic attacks.
OCD can be unpredictable and all-consuming, meaning symptoms can interfere with day-to-day activities, such as work or school, according to Hafeez. So what are the main aspects of life OCD can affect?
Work
We all find it hard to focus at times. But OCD can amplify this, causing productivity rates to drop and making the simplest of tasks far more challenging.
You may feel heightened anxiety at being unable to carry out safety behaviors (like hand washing) as frequently or worry what colleagues will think if they catch you engaging in them. In severe cases, fears and compulsions can prevent you from leaving the house to go to work.
Relationships
Loved ones might have trouble comprehending your OCD, be unsure how to react to your compulsions, or feel pressured to offer reassurance.
Another challenge can arise, notes Hafeez, since some people with OCD may excessively worry about the safety of their loved ones, [and] therefore demand their friends/family to do things a certain way. All these factors can strain relationships.
Some people experience relationship OCD (ROCD) when their symptoms are focused primarily around relationships.
Parenting
Children need a lot of attention, and persistent OCD thoughts or compulsions can make it even harder to give them your full focus.
You may feel unable to interact with your child in ways you would like, such as sitting on the floor to play, which can be distressing. Or you might exhibit extreme safety behaviors due to anxiety like refusing to let them ride a bike in case they get hurt that could impact their development and enjoyment.
School
Like adults, it can be difficult for children and young adults with OCD to concentrate when intrusive thoughts arise. If someone experiences fear of not doing something perfectly, they may have trouble finishing assignments, notes Hafeez.
You might also fear that certain classes, such as painting or sports, will cause you to become contaminated or dirty.
Hobbies
In addition to causing disruption, it might feel like OCD stops you from engaging in hobbies altogether.
Fear of being marked by the wools dye might prevent you from knitting, for example, or you may worry that battling in video games will cause loved ones harm in real life. Either way, it can be upsetting to feel you can no longer partake in activities that bring joy.
Socializing
OCD can make socializing difficult and tiring. Anxious thoughts might prevent you from enjoying yourself. You might fear becoming contaminated from someone elses actions or worry youll accidentally cause someone harm while with them.
Plus, being unable to switch off from compulsive behaviors could mean youre often late to events or miss them altogether.
Around
Depression
Of people who live with OCD, about
Some research suggests that depression symptoms dont always go away with OCD treatment alone, so someone with both might need care for depression in addition to the support they receive for OCD.
Hoarding
Hoarding, or the compulsive desire to keep stuff, is a way for those with OCD to manage their intrusive thoughts, explains Hafeez. People who live with OCD and who hoard can also start to feel anxious about inviting others into their home and may become isolated.
Substance use disorder
Trichotillomania
Those with trichotillomania may pull hair from eyebrows, scalp, genital area, or beard/moustache, Hafeez says. While some people with OCD have a lot of trouble resisting compulsions around this, others do so in an attempt to manage their thoughts and anxieties.
Excoriation
This condition involves regularly picking at the skin until it bleeds, and its usually used by those with OCD to help relieve stress or upset. As with OCD, the compulsions to do this are often unstoppable, even if you know its causing pain and harm.
Tic disorders
Almost 1 in 3 people with OCD experience a tic disorder, ranging from repeated nose twitching to tapping to saying certain words. For some, compulsive thoughts may cause you to do a tic until its completed correctly, while others believe not doing them will lead to something terrible.
Medical professionals use a variety of medications and therapies to reduce signs and symptoms of OCD.
Medications, such as antidepressants, can increase the amount of serotonin in the brain, and increased levels of serotonin can help alleviate OCD symptoms, shares Hafeez. Research suggests around
Medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) include:
Psychotherapies like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) offer similar
If OCD causes your mind to continually be filled with anxious thoughts, it can be exhausting. Taking extra steps to maintain your well-being can be helpful.
Movement
We know regular exercise is beneficial for overall mental well-being, but theres even more reason to get involved.
Mindfulness
Although it can be challenging for those with OCD to calm their brain, mindfulness techniques can aid in managing and letting go of compulsive thoughts.
You can read more about how mindfulness can help with OCD here.
Sleep
Getting a good nights rest is also important, as later bedtimes are linked to perceived difficulty managing obsessive thoughts.
Workbooks
Finally, there are workbooks available that you can complete at your own pace, with The OCD Workbook: Your Guide to Breaking Free from OCD and The Mindfulness Workbook for OCD. Therapists and people with OCD alike highly recommend them.
You can work with your doctor or therapist to put together a treatment program tailored to your symptoms. Simply knowing you have plans in place can offer relief.
You could also connect with an online support group to speak with others experiencing OCD:
While you might feel overwhelmed and isolated, its important to not be hard on yourself and recognize that help is available. Although OCD isnt likely to resolve completely, many find its manageable.
Your life doesnt have to be dominated by intrusive thoughts and compulsions. Finding and applying the right approaches to meet your needs could help.
Chantelle Pattemore is a writer and editor based in London, UK. She focuses on health, lifestyle, beauty, food, and fitness.
Understanding What OCD Recovery Means
When I think back on my own childhood, I am often filled with sadness. I am filled with an emptiness that is difficult to describe. I have a sense of longing for what could have been, for what should have been. I am filled with memories of missed opportunities, forgotten dreams, and impaired relationships.
Specifically, when I look back, there are so many things that OCD kept me from doing. When I was 15 years old, I remember being excited to attend an exclusive fine arts camp. It was costly, but I had talked my parents into letting me go. It was something I am sure I would have loved and that likely would have been an amazing, one-of-a-kind experience.
Once I was accepted, I was filled with joy. But within days, this joy was replaced by extreme fear and worry. I began to dread the trip I had just been so ecstatic for. I was scared to be away from my safe haven; I had created a bubble, and leaving it seemed too frightening. OCD also made me feel overwhelmed by thoughts of all of the what-ifs that could happen while I was away like, what if something bad happened to a loved one, and I wasnt there to protect them?
I panicked. I backed out. It cost my family a lot of money because it was non-refundable. But the cost of a missed opportunity was even greater, a missed chance to experience something I desperately had wanted to experience.
Like with the many other things OCD took from me, I later became filled with regret. Regret over not having lived the life I wanted, having been so encompassed with fear that nothing else mattered at the time. What I didnt realize for many years was that this experience was a form of grieving.
Do these experiences sound familiar? Learn how you can overcome them.
Here at NOCD, we know how overwhelming OCD symptoms can beand how hard it is to open up about your experience. Youre not on your own, and you can talk to a specialist who has experience treating OCD.
Learn moreA life stolen by OCD can lead to grieving
Grieving is a difficult thing. People grieve when they have experienced something tragic, and yet we rarely hear people talk about grieving the loss of their mental health or of a loved ones mental health. This is such an important concept people need to come to terms with the lost months, days, or even years that they often experience when a condition like OCD is affecting their lives.
Grief can look like many things to many people, and it may involve anger, denial, pain, guilt, shame, reflection, depression, reconstruction, or acceptance. These emotions can come and go, and they do not necessarily happen in a continuous fashion.
What many may not realize is that an important part of the OCD recovery journey is that a person recognizes the grief and sadness they have about the past and the things they feel that were stolen from them by the condition. People often describe feeling robbed of experiences that other people had.
For me, recovery started with letting go of the grief from what could have been, and accepting what was; accepting where I am today and how I arrived here. It is releasing the what-ifs of the past and instead focusing on what is and what was. Knowing I cannot change it now. Its in the past. I can only move forward.
Everyone has choices to make. Everyone has regrets. You may not have chosen your past, but you do get to choose what you do with what you have been given. And although the choices that we make today may have an impact on tomorrow, there will always be things that we cannot prepare for, things that are out of our control.
Thats why recovery doesnt mean that you are completely prepared for everything that will come your way, but it is a recognition that you have gotten through everything so far, so your chances of managing whatever comes your way are pretty good. Recovery is in essence I will cross that bridge if and when I come to it.
Recovery is not linear
Recovery doesnt typically happen in a neat, organized manner. It is often messy and chaotic. It can vary from day to day. It can look like progress one day and defeat the next. The good news is that recovery is the sum of all those days, and its about having more good days than not.
Recovery means living a life you want to live without the restraints of OCD the majority of the time. It is being able to function in a way that brings you joy and hope. It is not perfection, and it is not the absence of symptoms. It is having the ability to cope with and face the things that once held you back from experiencing the life you wanted to live. Maybe the illness kept you from doing things you truly wanted to do. Maybe it made you believe things that were not true about yourself. Perhaps it caused you to isolate yourself from those who cared about you. It may have even consumed your life and left you exhausted.
Recovery can look like many things. For me, it looks like choosing to not let fear stop me every day. I made a promise to myself that if the voice of OCD was saying I couldnt do something that I wanted to do, I would do it more often than not. I told myself that I would not allow OCD to steal any more of my life.
For me, recovery was also making up for lost time as well as I could. It would mean living more in the moment and letting go of past habits, past regrets, and past grief for what I missed out on. It is creating a meaningful life now and trying to make something beautiful from the pain.
Finding the purpose
Many people with OCD that I have worked with over the years ask one seemingly simple question: Why? Why do we have this illness? The truth is that I dont know. But I would counter that question with my own: What has it taught you? What have you gained through this experience? If you look close enough at any situation, you can almost always find something valuable from the struggle. Without winter, there would be no spring. Without rain, there would be no flowers.
It may not look like what you envisioned for yourself. At first glance, it may seem impossible to overcome or to bear. What I have discovered is that while OCD never fully goes away, you can live in recovery. I also know that this will look different to everyone.
For me, recovery is letting go of what I think should have been. It means accepting what was and seeing it in a different light. It means not focusing on what it has taken from me, but what I have gained from my experiences. I dont know what could have been. I only know what is. And I know that what is has brought me to right now, this moment in time.
I have survived and continue to thrive in spite of OCD, in spite of what the World Health Organization says is one of the top ten most debilitating illnesses.
Managing and letting go
OCD is a lifelong battle. But it is one that is manageable and one that doesnt consume me. Letting go of what if and what shouldve been have helped me focus on what can be.
This is a daily challenge. Every single day I must remind myself of the skills I learned through exposure and response prevention (ERP) and practice them. I have to put action behind my words. For example, I have to continue to resist urges to do compulsions on a daily basis. I have to sit with difficult feelings as they arise and allow them to pass on their own. Thankfully, this happens significantly less than it used to, thanks to effective treatment.
ERP has taught me to allow the intrusive thoughts to be present and to not engage with them, but instead to sit with the anxiety they create until it passes. ERP allows me to have long-term relief from anxiety instead of the temporary relief that comes when I perform a compulsion in response to an intrusive thought. It is not always easy. But treatment has instilled in me a sense of hope, and the knowledge that I can do very hard things. That I can feel a certain emotion and yet choose my response.
Moving forward
I still have OCD. I still get afraid. I live with it, I manage it, I am in recovery. I am not cured from it. I have not gotten rid of the intrusive thoughts or the compulsions. They are there. But they are so much quieter than they used to be. I know my triggers, I know how this condition works. I am aware of the subtle ways in which it tries to creep up. I have become quite skilled at not engaging with it.
I am also a human being and I am not perfect. Sometimes I give in to compulsions, sometimes I ruminate on things. I know thats okay, too. The important thing is that most of the time, I dont do those things. Most of the time I am able to keep moving forward. I choose to live my life, to face my fears, and to feel all of the hard things that I naturally would want to avoid. I choose courage, which doesnt mean the absence of fear. I am continually learning, often inspired by the many stories from my members about how they are fighting this illness and overcoming it.
I reach thousands of people through my work at NOCD as a therapist and as a writer, where I get to share my experience and help others realize that there is hope on the other side. And I am in constant amazement at the bravery of people with OCD. What I share with them is that recovery is a day-to-day practice. It is actively choosing to do something differently. It is being vulnerable and reaching out for help when you need it. Recovery is so many different things to so many different people. It is unique, it is progress over perfection, it is moving forward one day at a time, and sometimes one moment at a time. It is recognizing that you are not alone.
If youre struggling with OCD and are ready to begin your own treatment and recovery journey, NOCD is here for you. Our licensed therapists deeply understand OCD and are specialty-trained in treating OCD with ERP. We work side-by-side with the OCD experts and researchers who designed some of the worlds top OCD treatment programs and that means the best care for our members. I encourage you to learn about NOCDs accessible, evidence-based approach to treatment.
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