Mild OCD: Would medication help?
June 23, 2011 1:29 PM Subscribe
Mild OCD: Should someone who overcame deep-seeded OCD fear, but still struggles with hand-chewing and the occasional stuck-thought-fear-loop try medication?
Early 20s male. Last fall, some psychological issues that had been brewing for a long time finally boiled. Long story short, my family and I came to the conclusion that I have OCD. I've dealt with a few specific fears over the course of my life, and only then realized that those symptoms and fears were OCD all along.
My OCD has mainly manifested in one particular thing at a time. For instance, as a young child I was a germophobe; as a young adolescent I feared heart attacks / asthma attacks, and in my teenage and college years, I faced a persistent fear of weight gain and [unfounded] concerns about my sexuality.
Since I discovered these issues last fall, my mother and I have worked together to deconstruct, reassess, and ultimately destroy the tower of unfounded fear I've built over the years. We spent some time with exposure therapy, and as the months passed, we gained deeper insight and "ah-ha" moments about why I had been so fearful of those specific things in the first place. It's hard to understate how far I've come since then. The entire focus of my fear over these years was irrational, and both of us believe that we have truly uncovered and destroyed the misconceptions that led me to fear those things in the first place.
(While we never spoke to a professional, we know it was essentially CBT.)
I'm thrilled to be this far, and Ihope know that as we move farther away in time, those irrational fears will continue to fade into the past, and that in time I won't give these specific fears a second thought, even if I'm reminded of the fact that I dealt with them at one point in my life.
That said:
Other than those specific fears, there are only a couple of symptoms left of the OCD at this time: First, that even since I was a kid, I've always absent-mindedly chewed/picked at part of my hands, such that part has had a callus for many years; I've read that that's a symptom of OCD. Secondly, I definitely recognize that sometimes, things still get stuck in my head, and I have to try really hard to make those thoughts go away. That's "brain lock", after all. In the past, most of those thoughts have been related to the "big fears" that had built up over the years, but sometimes I still find myself having thought patterns that I need to really push to resolve.
I realize that this is due to a chemical imbalance, and that as I move through life, there will be more things that get "stuck" in my head that I'll have to deal with and work through. They probably won't be as bad as before, since I know how to not let them build up for years on end, but they'll still come up.
So here's my question: Would I benefit from trying medication? Would someone like me, who overcame tremendous fear and presently has a good handle on it -- but still struggles with hand-chewing and the occasional stuck-thought-fear loop -- benefit from trying an SSRI?
I really understand how to handle OCD thoughts, how to question irrational fear, CBT, and that, so I'm not concerned that OCD will debilitate me again like it had. But I think it's a fair question to ask: would I be likely to see any noticeable quality-of-life improvement from trying meds?
[And if so, what kind of doctor do I need to see? What would I need to do, and would they prescribe medication even if I don't think therapy is necessary (since we basically did that ourselves)?]
Early 20s male. Last fall, some psychological issues that had been brewing for a long time finally boiled. Long story short, my family and I came to the conclusion that I have OCD. I've dealt with a few specific fears over the course of my life, and only then realized that those symptoms and fears were OCD all along.
My OCD has mainly manifested in one particular thing at a time. For instance, as a young child I was a germophobe; as a young adolescent I feared heart attacks / asthma attacks, and in my teenage and college years, I faced a persistent fear of weight gain and [unfounded] concerns about my sexuality.
Since I discovered these issues last fall, my mother and I have worked together to deconstruct, reassess, and ultimately destroy the tower of unfounded fear I've built over the years. We spent some time with exposure therapy, and as the months passed, we gained deeper insight and "ah-ha" moments about why I had been so fearful of those specific things in the first place. It's hard to understate how far I've come since then. The entire focus of my fear over these years was irrational, and both of us believe that we have truly uncovered and destroyed the misconceptions that led me to fear those things in the first place.
(While we never spoke to a professional, we know it was essentially CBT.)
I'm thrilled to be this far, and I
That said:
Other than those specific fears, there are only a couple of symptoms left of the OCD at this time: First, that even since I was a kid, I've always absent-mindedly chewed/picked at part of my hands, such that part has had a callus for many years; I've read that that's a symptom of OCD. Secondly, I definitely recognize that sometimes, things still get stuck in my head, and I have to try really hard to make those thoughts go away. That's "brain lock", after all. In the past, most of those thoughts have been related to the "big fears" that had built up over the years, but sometimes I still find myself having thought patterns that I need to really push to resolve.
I realize that this is due to a chemical imbalance, and that as I move through life, there will be more things that get "stuck" in my head that I'll have to deal with and work through. They probably won't be as bad as before, since I know how to not let them build up for years on end, but they'll still come up.
So here's my question: Would I benefit from trying medication? Would someone like me, who overcame tremendous fear and presently has a good handle on it -- but still struggles with hand-chewing and the occasional stuck-thought-fear loop -- benefit from trying an SSRI?
I really understand how to handle OCD thoughts, how to question irrational fear, CBT, and that, so I'm not concerned that OCD will debilitate me again like it had. But I think it's a fair question to ask: would I be likely to see any noticeable quality-of-life improvement from trying meds?
[And if so, what kind of doctor do I need to see? What would I need to do, and would they prescribe medication even if I don't think therapy is necessary (since we basically did that ourselves)?]
My sister struggled with OCD for years and years. A combination of therapy and medication created a tremendous, freeing change for her. When she and her therapist found the right drug and dosage combination, the quality of life improvement was more than noticeable; it was amazing. If you're open to making more improvements with drugs, I'm not sure why you wouldn't try it. If it doesn't make a difference for you or you don't like the side effects, discontinue. (I realise that's not always a simple task, but it isn't unmanageable either.)
You say nothing about your location or health coverage situation but generally, you can start with your GP who can either write for you or refer you. A requirement for therapy may or may not go hand in hand with that. You can object if you like, but CBT is very well defined, very effective, and very short-term, so again, I'm not sure why you'd dig your heels in about that. If a qualified therapist can give you a few more tools you find helpful over a couple of sessions, why would you not want that?
posted by DarlingBri at 1:51 PM on June 23, 2011 [2 favorites]
You say nothing about your location or health coverage situation but generally, you can start with your GP who can either write for you or refer you. A requirement for therapy may or may not go hand in hand with that. You can object if you like, but CBT is very well defined, very effective, and very short-term, so again, I'm not sure why you'd dig your heels in about that. If a qualified therapist can give you a few more tools you find helpful over a couple of sessions, why would you not want that?
posted by DarlingBri at 1:51 PM on June 23, 2011 [2 favorites]
You've obviously got it reeling already on your own, but with drugs you stand a decent chance of knockin' that shit out of the park.
It feels good to have your anxiety level dropped to a normal person's. I recommend trying it.
posted by TheRedArmy at 2:43 PM on June 23, 2011 [1 favorite]
It feels good to have your anxiety level dropped to a normal person's. I recommend trying it.
posted by TheRedArmy at 2:43 PM on June 23, 2011 [1 favorite]
As DarlingBri said, you can start with your GP. You shouldn't worry too much about their forcing therapy on you - insurance companies are usually fighting against therapy because it's so much more expensive than drugs. The best person to work with on drugs would be a psycho-pharmacologist that will see you several times to tweak the dosages and drugs as needed.
One thing that therapy taught me over and over again is that these folks are professionals with So Many more tools at their disposal than I had - seriously, if folks can improve your life, let them.
Congratulations on your improvements thus far!
posted by ldthomps at 6:15 PM on June 23, 2011
One thing that therapy taught me over and over again is that these folks are professionals with So Many more tools at their disposal than I had - seriously, if folks can improve your life, let them.
Congratulations on your improvements thus far!
posted by ldthomps at 6:15 PM on June 23, 2011
I've had a S.O deal with OCD symptoms for a few years, and it the decision to pick a medication was a bit restrained. Before she picked the medicine, OCD would leave and then make its way back into her life slowly and steadily, sometimes without here being cognizant of it.
Coincidentally, the 'brain-lock' was something she discussed on many occasions with me, and often went into detail about. She described the cycle of mental events (brain-lock) and the 'quelling' of the them via OCD rituals as oddly soothing to her thoughts. In her case, the brain-lock sometimes came before the OCD symptoms reappeared, so it was a precursor of sorts.
The medication she is on really helped her professionally, mentally and socially. It really depends on the person, severity of OCD, and amount of impact on your life, but it may not be out of the question to pick a medication to maintain where you are, and advance away from your symptoms. Remember that some medications do have side effects, so it may be a trade-off which you will have to decide on.
posted by Lugos at 6:44 PM on June 23, 2011
Coincidentally, the 'brain-lock' was something she discussed on many occasions with me, and often went into detail about. She described the cycle of mental events (brain-lock) and the 'quelling' of the them via OCD rituals as oddly soothing to her thoughts. In her case, the brain-lock sometimes came before the OCD symptoms reappeared, so it was a precursor of sorts.
The medication she is on really helped her professionally, mentally and socially. It really depends on the person, severity of OCD, and amount of impact on your life, but it may not be out of the question to pick a medication to maintain where you are, and advance away from your symptoms. Remember that some medications do have side effects, so it may be a trade-off which you will have to decide on.
posted by Lugos at 6:44 PM on June 23, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
I recommend you read this, which is largely about SSRIs.
posted by grobstein at 1:31 PM on June 23, 2011