Reddit reviews Break Free from OCD: Overcoming Obsessive Compulsive Disorder with CBT

No problem, mate :) We've all been there and we've all been made frantic with uncertainty and fear by the OCD at times. And most of us have been let down by doctors too, unfortunately :( . I'm terribly sorry to hear that you tried to get medical help and your doctor just fobbed you off like this. Handing you a booklet was a totally inadequate thing to do when you were becoming suicidal with this. What the hell did your doctor think he was doing?!

Ok. Can you see a different GP? You're here in Britain, aren't you? So it's probably NHS waiting lists to see a mental health specialist, unfortunately (the ones where I am are a YEAR long. Useless). A different GP might be able to bump you up the waiting lists. Tell them ASAP that you've already made one suicide attempt and taken an entire bottle of pills. Suicidal patients may be moved up the waiting lists faster. KEEP telling them that you need to see a therapist as soon as possible and that you've attempted suicide. This is serious stuff. About 12 - 15% of everyone with OCD attempts suicide at some point, and there's absolutely no good reason for it. Perfectly healthy people literally die because of nothing but ONE empty, meaningless thought in their heads that keeps repeating. It's appalling. I hope you're as angry at your doctor as I am!

If necessary, go to Accident and Emergency and ask to see the duty mental health specialist. Please see them immediately, or call an ambulance and tell 999 you're at immediate risk of harming yourself, if you have any further major urges to take pills or hurt yourself. You don't deserve that, Adam. The OCD doesn't deserve to win.

If you're not sure how to raise the subject with your doctor, use the specially-designed icebreaker sheet for OCDers with sexual obsession themes: http://ocduk.org/ice-breaker

If that doesn't work, try contacting Ashley or Beth or another OCD advocate at the charity OCD-UK. The advice line is 0845 120 3778, and they'll answer any question you like about accessing OCD treatment. They're often very good at finding a therapist for OCD sufferers who have been fobbed off by their doctors. They've also got a list of exactly what you should do if your first doctor doesn't offer you the proper therapy: http://ocduk.org/gp-says-no-to-cbt

Is your family on a decent income or have they got savings they could use for a medical emergency? Could they help you pay to see a private therapist? Sessions are usually £45 - £100 if you ask around. There's a list of private therapists here who use the proper evidence-based techniques for overcoming OCD: http://www.cbtregisteruk.com/Default.aspx . You can search to find one in your area, if this is an option. Or you can Skype/phone with an OCD specialist elsewhere in the world, if you haven't got one locally (I've been Skyping with an OCD expert in New York and she's pretty much fixed my severe OCD within a few months).

At the very least, get a dedicated book on the right techniques to overcome OCD (this one is a life-saver: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Break-Free-OCD-Overcoming-Compulsive/dp/0091939690/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1474210371&sr=8-1&keywords=ocd ). 'Self-help book' doesn't mean (as I used to think) some dumbass book full of nicey-nicey words that remind you to think about sunsets and flowers. It means a book of proper professional ways to re-train your brain so it doesn't have OCD symptoms anymore. And it works.

Basically I'm just really sorry that the lack of help you've been getting has put you in this position where you don't know what to do but seek reassurance. That's never going to work, but of course its understandable that you feel you must.

Until you can get to a proper therapist, try not to aggravate the OCD symptoms any further. Try not to 'test' your sexual preferences, check to see if you find children you see attractive, or access any weird porn (seriously just don't go near the porn as much as possible. You're like the 100+th person I've met who's got OCD symptoms from finding unexpected porn. It's not safe to investigate those kinds of websites whilst you've got severe OCD, they mess with the heads of OCD sufferers really terribly. Seriously just leave it for now and use your imagination or find written porn/fanfiction/a partner/drawn artwork that isn't going to scramble your view of your sexuality any further.).

Thinking you have a groinal response when you don't really is also a very common OCD symptom. ANY body part feels tingly and stiff and weird if you focus on it really hard whilst you're feeling anxious. It doesn't have to be genitalia. Try focussing on your mouth whilst thinking 'maybe I have mouth cancer!' repeatedly and see if doesn't draw your attention and get you wondering if maybe you can feel a tingly lump in your mouth too. So if you're tempted to keep checking for a response, just remember that it doesn't mean anything (that, and I'm told fear boners are a real thing, and also that at 17 you're liable to get a groinal response from just about anything, including possible walls, tarmac, clouds or vaguely curvy trees. At 17, pretty much any human male looked good to me too. It didn't mean I actually had a 'thing' for every dude I saw, no matter how old or inappropriate, it's just what hormones do to you).

I hope you can get to the help you need soon! Be sure to contact OCD-UK or tell a parent/family member/someone you can trust that you still really need mental health help, if there's delay.

Yes, it definitely sounds like OCD and I too have these kinds of thoughts and end up in these kinds of mental rituals. Though, for me when I ruminate or perform any other of my compulsions in response to anxiety/instrusive thoughts the outcome is the same. Avoidance of situations/actions/thoughts in response to the anxiety/intrusive thoughts can also be thought of as a compulsion or safety seeking behaviour.

I only harp on about these behaviours so much as you cannot begin to recover from OCD without knowing what it is you need to dismiss and what it is you shouldn't do. Also what you shouldn't dismiss and should do :).

I'll end with a question. If you don't have compulsions then what is it that you do in response to your anxiety or instrusive thoughts? I also recommend you take a look at this book, especially if you haven't already looked into learning how/why OCD works.

I wish you the best in letting go of your obsessive compulsive behaviour taking back what OCD has taken from you :).