Ocd - Independence,MO

I would say to talk to someone, a therapist, before taking meds, this could be something that can be helped with a couple sessions with a therapist. Good Luck, and please dont let anyone tell you that there is something wrong with you for talking to someone or for even having this. Good luck and just be strong!

I suggest you take 10minures every morning and eve and close your eyes in a quiet room. Imagine yourself stepping away from a dark circle of crazy thoughts, stressed and sad feelings that u associate w dirty floors. Then imagine steppung into a circle of light filled with joy and peace. Imagine yourself being healed and lovingly playing with your kids, doing the floors once a day or less, and say, i am experiencing the joy of my children and peace and harmony. I have let go of unhealthy thoughts and i feel safe and happy just being. Write it down. Put your positive affirmstion on 3 by 5 cards all over your house and read it all day. You dont need drugs. You can retrain your brain through affirmations and visualization techniques. Sorry for the typos.
Just wanted to add about Kathy L's answer above me. In case you think her answers are a bit "out there", the military is using Emotional Freedom Techniques and similar stuff to help victims of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and I mean Vietnam vets who have been suffering for years from it with no success, and the EFT has around a 90% success rate in curing it. These techniques are newer but great. Also if you can't find those kinds of therapists, you could easily find an acupuncturist in your area. Again, most people think they are too weird or a fraud, but I tell you they are not.

Although there are medications available, they all have some rather troubling side effects. None of them provide a permanent solution either. So, taking meds like these often only put off the need to find a real solution and can lead you to a point where they no longer work or the side effects become unbearable and then you are left with those problems on top of the one you started with. I have seen some people begin taking these drugs and become rather socially detached and it became very difficult to 'connect' with them. Your children may have a quirky mother, but they have a mother who loves them. Beware of medications that would leave your children feeling disconnected from you. Also, if you are nursing, I would be quite concerned about how such medications could effect your child. Even if these drugs have been approved for nursing mothers, I tend to be more cautious about such things than the FDA is. They have made their share of mistakes and I would not want my child to be one of the casualties necessary to discovering such a mistake.

The treatments I know of that have been most successful are not the ones that most medical practitioners know very much about because they do not involve medications. There are two parts of the brain that sort of work like gear shifters, only they do not shift speed of function. They allow you to shift your focus of attention or shift the sensation of a need so it can feel satisfied or complete. If either or both of these two areas of the brain are not functioning properly, the brain functions like an old vinyl record with a scratch in it - it gets stuck and keeps repeating itself like it is locked in place. There is another type of brain disorganization that can result in the symptoms you described. The unconscious part of the brain, the limbic system, is responsible for developing survival triggers that can strongly motivate behaviors that leave us feeling like we have no control over them. The good news is that all these issues are most often reprogrammable. Think of the brain like a computer. A hardware problem might require surgery, but a software problem just requires reprogramming. However, the types of therapies that have probably been most successful at reprogramming brain organization are not nearly as well known.

There are 3 basic types of therapy that I have known to be helpful. One you can learn to do for yourself. It is called Emotional Freedom Techniques. You can likely find a therapist who can teach it to you and help you get good at it, or you can buy DVD of seminars and learn it on your own. You can even find many YouTube videos teaching it and learn it for free. It is a simple way of combining acupressure and a sort of guided meditation that actually helps you reorganize automatic neurological responses. I like to tell my clients that it is a way to reprogram your own biocomputer.

Although there are a growing number of therapists specifically trained to help specific learning and processing difficulties with specialized acupressure and energy techniques, these therapists are still pretty rare. You may find them by searching for practitioners in fields such as Brain Integration Technique and Integrated Healing. I am trained in both of these practices as well as in the Emotional Freedom Techniques and have seen each of them produce varying degrees of success for OCD symptoms.

Another approach that has been proven to be successful for many OCD sufferers you can read about in a book by Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz called Brain Lock. This book provides you with a relatively simple approach to using your own mind consciousness to manually shift the brain that does not shift automatically until you have retrained it to do so, thus altering your brain's physiology pretty much on your own. In my experience, if you want to try to do this on your own, I would recommend reading this book and applying its techniques along with the Emotional Freedom Techniques. I think these two approaches would actually work together for a greater chance of success.

Another book that might interest you is by Dr. Daniel Amen called Change Your Brain Change Your Life. This book is not as specific to OCD, but discusses a variety of brain issues. However, it does help one understand that the brain can change, reorganize, and reintegrate for more efficient functioning.

To learn more about Brain Integration, there are two books that are a bit more difficult to find. One is by Dr. Charles Krebs called A Revolutionary Way of Thinking and the other is by Susan McCrossin, AP, called Breaking the Learning Barrier. You can order Ms. McCrossin's book from her website, www.Crossinology.com. You can find Dr. Krebs' book at Amazon.com. Neither of these books offer much that is specific to OCD issues. Dr. Krebs book writes as a research scientist about the anatomy and physiology of brain integration and Ms. McCrossin's book describes how the techniques effect specific learning difficulties.

Good luck. I hope you find this helpful.

unless you're non-functional (which it doesn't sound like you are), you generally don't need to take drugs. cognitive behavioral therapy with someone well versed in ocd is the best treatment (studies have shown). good luck and bravo to you for getting treatment! your girls deserve a healthy mom!

You need to speak with your doctor, and perhaps he/she can give you a referral to a therapist. I am sorry that I don't have first-hand experience with this, but it would seem to me that treatment may be a combination of behavioral therapy (to get the root of your OCD, address it and learn new behaviors) as well as medication (temporarily, until you start to get a handle on things). Start with making an appointment with your regular doctor and then go from there.

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration has approved five medications specifically for the treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. They are: Anafranil (clomipramine), Prozac (fluoxetine), Zoloft (sertraline), Paxil (paroxetine), and Luvox (fluvoxamine). With the exception of Anafranil, all belong to a class of antidepressant drugs called Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, or SSRIs. (Anafranil belongs to an older class of drugs called Tricyclic Antidepressants.) Celexa (citalopram), and its more refined version, Lexapro (escitalopram), are newer SSRIs available in the U.S. that also appear very helpful for OCD, but they do not yet have specific approval from the FDA for the treatment of OCD. Other antidepressants that have been used with reported success in treating OCD and OC Spectrum Disorders include Effexor (venlafaxine) and Serzone (nefazodone).
Your best bet is to combine a medication with some counseling. You can contact the American Psychiatric Association for a referral. They can really help you with this. It's an anxiety based behavior and new baby plus new house is a lot of anxiety.
Hang in there ok

OCD is an anxiety disorder. anti-anxiety drugs might help. Find a therapist who deals with anxiety/OCD issues in your area and start there. Good luck! You don't have to live that way. You've already identified the fact that you have a problem--now find someone who can help you deal with it! Good luck.

I would encourage you to do a lot of research on this before taking medication. The meds for this have a lot of side effects, you end up trading one set of problems for another. I have anxiety/panic disorder, and have found a lot of natural remedies that help. Google "natural cures for ocd", I just did, and there is a lot of information out there. I like to read a lot of articles and find a common theme/idea that I am comfortable with. It's very similiar to my issues, and I did a lot of research and realized there are alternatives to drugs, things to can try on your own. If you are nursing, be sure to read labels for any supplement or drug that you take. Find a good naturopath or chiropractor that specializes in accupuncture, natural health/nuturion and supplements. I have a great chiropractor like this, he has made a world of difference for me and my whole family. Good luck!

Unfortunately there is no "one size fits all" cure for OCD. You have already made the first step in admitting that this interferes with your daily life and relationships. Now, you need to find a specialist for help. My friend and co-worker suffered from OCD. Because of his fear of change, he lived with it until he had a stroke at age 38. His doctor ended up putting him on meds and he talks about it like being re-born. He still had routines, but his anxiety was greatly diminished. He could actually enjoy life without constant worry. My brother also suffers from extreme OCD and his wife is a hoarder - how they found each other attractive I will never understand. Anyway, he knows he has OCD, but he thinks it is good for his house and does not see how it is absolutely destroying his marriage. It breaks my heart to see, but his lack of self-awareness makes it impossible to intervene.
M., I really hope you find some good help in MO because life can be so much easier and more enjoyable than your mind will let it.
Good luck,
C.

There are medications that can help, but I would suggest you find a good therapist and try to work things out that way and with him/ her to determine if you need it. Good luck! I know this can be frustrating for you and probably for your family as well. Lean on your support group and find some outside help...maybe even an OCD support group where you can talk to others in your area going through the same thing. Just know you're not the only one!

they generally start with an antidepressant drug.. zoloft, paxil etc..

once the drug is working you can do therapy to help you learn behavior modification.

both drugs adn therapy work.. my friends son has OCD has been on drugs since age 4 and in therapy also..

I totally understand what you are going through!! I had my first child (daughter) 16 mos ago. When she was 6 months old my OCD went out of control too. I have been trying different meds for the past 10 months. None of them have worked for me. The side effects were awful with all of them! I have decided to try to figure out how to cope w/o meds. As others have mentioned there is a wealth of information on the internet.

I'm finding out that determination and commitment is the key. It is a lot easier to pop a pill everyday then it is to put the commitment into other forms of therapy. I'm still struggling to find something that works well for me, but I'm determined to fight this battle med free!

Please know that you are not in this alone. I'll be praying that you find something that works for you soon!