I am a mom with OCD

[eeurogirly]

Hi! I have three kids and have struggled with anxiety and depression for a decade now. The last few weeks I have been at the verge of tears and my need to try to figure out the perfect schedule for my kids got progressively worse. My doctor told me today that I had OCD because of the constant checking if my schedule etc. This is so crushing to me. I am afraid if this disease and don’t see how it can get any better. There is no cure. The last ten years were hard too. I feel sad and hope someone else has experience with this and can tell me what has helped, how they manage and how they find hope trying to raise a family with this crippling condition.

 

[Xantippe]

Have you tried seeing a psychiatrist? It’s hard to find a good one, but very important.

There are medications for OCD, and you should be able to get relief eventually.

A therapist who works with cognitive behavioral therapy is also a good idea.

You should probably ask for reading suggestions for your condition.

Best wishes!

 

[EasterJoy]

There are strategies you can learn, support you can find, and help for your condition. You’re not alone, and getting a diagnosis is a step towards finding others whose trials are like yours and others who have experience making life better.

This diagnosis isn’t an end. It is a start in a new direction, and the direction most likely to have the answers you have hoped for. Do not give up hope, then! Dare to really start hoping! If you don’t believe me, ask St. Dymphna or St. Luke.

Here is just one such resource you might look into:
community.babycenter.com/post/a40267591/welcome_great_ocdanxiety_resources

 

[esieffe]

OCD is very treatable. There are other conditions that are not so easy. Even with medications there are ways to retool or redirect, OCD.
Your in my prayers. It also sounds like you could use a few days off?

 

[SoulSolace]

Therapy. They’ve made immense strides in the OCD field.
(have recently seen a relative go from about a 9 to a 1 on the OCD scale (9 being bad))

A good book you may want to try? “Brain Lock” by Jeffrey Schwartz.

He has also authored some others, but I am not familiar with them.

St. Dymphna is a great Saint to ask for intercession in this struggle, also, St Therese of Lisieux,Saint Ignatius of Loyola, and Saint Alphonsus de Liguori.
As the latter named 3 are said to have suffered from OCD.

ocdhistory.net/earlypastoral/liguori.html

God bless you, and may the Saints guide you on your journey.

 

[TruthSeeker92]

Dear eeurogirly,

Please take heart! OCD, once properly understood and treated can be managed. I understand your fears, but please know that with a good counselor who is trained and knowledgable about OCD treatment therapies can help you to re-train your brain.An effective treatment is Exposure and Response Therapy (ERP)

You see, OCD is complex. Every time you have an intrusive fear and feel the need to ‘check’, you are doing something called ‘compulsion.’ When you choose to give into a compulsion, such as ‘checking’ things, you are confirming what your brain already believes to be true – there is a threat to be dealt with. You are reinforcing the idea that there is a threat, for example the threat can be ‘I forgot to turn off the stove’ or ‘I forgot to check my schedule’ even though you KNOW and remember that you already checked the stove or the schedule, your brain is insisting “THREAT DETECTED! MUST CHECK!”

Each time you choose to compulsively check things, you tell your brain “YES! There is a threat!” but when you refuse to check more than once, you will re-train your brain and eventually your brain will not detect a threat anymore, or at least you will have a low anxiety level about the ‘threat’. At first, this will be difficult and may cause high anxiety levels. But after practice and with counseling, it will be easier.

For more info, please visit the International OCD Foundation: ocfoundation.org/

You are in my prayers!

 

[eeurogirly]

Have you tried seeing a psychiatrist? It’s hard to find a good one, but very important.

There are medications for OCD, and you should be able to get relief eventually.

A therapist who works with cognitive behavioral therapy is also a good idea.

You should probably ask for reading suggestions for your condition.

Best wishes!

Yes, I have both kinds of doctors and seemed to have tried every medication in the book. Will continue to try.

 

[eeurogirly]

Dear eeurogirly,

Please take heart! OCD, once properly understood and treated can be managed. I understand your fears, but please know that with a good counselor who is trained and knowledgable about OCD treatment therapies can help you to re-train your brain.An effective treatment is Exposure and Response Therapy (ERP)

You see, OCD is complex. Every time you have an intrusive fear and feel the need to ‘check’, you are doing something called ‘compulsion.’ When you choose to give into a compulsion, such as ‘checking’ things, you are confirming what your brain already believes to be true – there is a threat to be dealt with. You are reinforcing the idea that there is a threat, for example the threat can be ‘I forgot to turn off the stove’ or ‘I forgot to check my schedule’ even though you KNOW and remember that you already checked the stove or the schedule, your brain is insisting “THREAT DETECTED! MUST CHECK!”

Each time you choose to compulsively check things, you tell your brain “YES! There is a threat!” but when you refuse to check more than once, you will re-train your brain and eventually your brain will not detect a threat anymore, or at least you will have a low anxiety level about the ‘threat’. At first, this will be difficult and may cause high anxiety levels. But after practice and with counseling, it will be easier.

For more info, please visit the International OCD Foundation: ocfoundation.org/

You are in my prayers!

Thank you, I especially appreciate the prayers and the reminders that even saints like the little flower might have struggled with this. I have programmed my phone with reminders to keep myself from checking so much.