George, did you actually go in asking for Prozac, or was it something your doctor prescribed? How long were you on it—and what kind of side effects hit you then versus how you're feeling now that you've stopped? I assume you’ve probably covered this in an earlier post, but honestly, I can't be bothered to dig through everything from the beginning; it's just easier if you give me the short version. Best,
David Nelson74 said:Do you live near the coast? Have you ever had one of those days where you can't even step foot in the ocean because of all the "pollution" floating around?
I live by the coast. Personally, I’ve never dealt with that. As if that’s exactly what my life was missing. 🙂 I don't have any sort of phobia regarding the ocean—even if I see it looks a bit murky. The ocean currents clear things out pretty quickly on their own. Besides, the spots I hit for swimming are always pristine; the water there is crystal clear. It’s pure bliss, and honestly, I can't wait for summer to get here.
David Nelson74 said:I'm not quite sure what to say to you... You should probably take a step back and think about why you started these rituals in the first place. In my experience, there's usually a heavy link to anxiety. If you aren't comfortable sharing your age, maybe you could at least mention what diagnoses you're dealing with? (Assuming there's more to the story than just OCD)
And, naturally, a little smiley face for good measure 🙂
Good grief, you really have a sense of humor with those diagnoses, don't you? Let’s get one thing straight—I don't have any "condition" other than this one. I used to struggle quite a bit with depression in the past, and obviously, this disorder is tied directly to that anxiety and depression. It’s all connected. I don't really bother with rituals anymore. As soon as I catch even a tiny hint of an obsession creeping in, I just tell myself, "It's just OCD," and I refuse to give in to whatever impulse pops into my head. It’s a discipline thing—you have to shut it down immediately. Honestly, it happens very, very rarely these days. Aside from the occasional hand washing, I've managed to stay on top of it, and frankly, that's enough for me. 😢
David Nelson74 said:Look at all those "horrors" you’ve listed up there. I don't have any of that anymore. I don't worry about sentence order or repeating myself constantly... I went to see a decent doctor who put me on Prozac, and those symptoms almost completely vanished. If I hadn't stopped taking it, they probably would have disappeared entirely. I still deal with some minor annoyances here and there, but it isn't even close to how things felt five, six, seven, or eight years ago. How old are you anyway? You're saying you don't want to take pills? Why not—it isn't such a big deal to just take a tablet in the morning and one at night. If you take Prozac for six months, you'll be fine. 🙂
I was on Zoloft for a while before I decided to quit. Now I'm taking St. John's Wort, and I think the effects are actually decent. I'm not going to get into my age or anything like that here. Clearly, nothing came of that email. 🙂
David Nelson74 said:It’s not exactly an essay, but you know how I used to feel like I had to repeat every single sentence five times just to be sure. Honestly, I'm kidding—I don't have the energy for that anymore. Between everything else going on, I just can't find the time, and besides, what’s the point of this forum if we aren't actually talking? There’s no reason for us to be shy about it. It’s a relatively common disorder.
Look, listen to me. Just send me that email. If you're hesitating because you think something catastrophic will happen once you hit send, let me assure you—it won't. And for heaven's sake, stop obsessing over the order of your words, going back to erase a syllable, or swapping words around just to feel right. Stop all that nonsense. Just write freely. Nothing bad is going to happen. These are just mental hurdles that are much easier to clear than you think—believe me. I used to deal with excessive hand-washing and constant cleaning, too. No more repeating things, no more seeking symmetry, none of that crap. Nothing bad ever happened to me, even when my brain was screaming that I had to redo a task or else everything would fall apart. It didn't. So, just drop the act and send me a detailed description of what you're dealing with, and I'll do the same for you. We're in this together. Best.
David Nelson74 said:I'll send an email with the subject line "OCD is killing me" just so you know it isn't spam. San Francisco is a nice place; I spent some time stationed over in Lori back in 2003.
Still waiting on that message. Is it really going to be that long-winded? 🙂
David Nelson74 said:I’d reach out so we could grab a few beers sometime—unless you’ve stopped drinking because they started putting god knows what garbage in the hops lately 😁 😁 😁
But when I’m trying to distance myself from all this, I try to think about it as little as possible. I know I end up posting about it here, but this forum is really the only place where I actually talk about this hellish OCD. I’ll dig through your posts regarding OCD just to see what's eating at you the most. Are you living somewhere around Washington, D.C.? 🙂
Actually, no, I'm from San Francisco. Why don't you shoot me an email and lay it all out—how it all started, what's really getting to you, all of it—and then I'll hit you back. I'm genuinely interested in swapping perspectives.
David Nelson74 said:Are you skipping those sketchy emails because you're worried about malware, or is that just part of your whole Democratic Party platform?
It’s because of the viruses and the endless mountain of spam nonsense they send. This has absolutely nothing to do with OCD. Honestly—the more time passes, the better I feel regarding my OCD. Drop me a line sometime; I'd love to swap stories.
George, why are you coming at me with this Google nonsense? 🙂 I didn't type it in exactly like that—which is why nothing popped up—but I was searching for the names of the people I mentioned in my last post. And honestly, you could have taken a second to actually look at this thread we're in. On page 3, I went into detail about my hand-washing compulsions... and then I just kept writing from there. I distinctly remember you mentioning Prozac and how you'd finally moved past it! And now, here you are, getting hammered by OCD all over again. It’s genuinely tough to read, because if I had my way, I’d wish everyone could just be free of this stuff. Anyway, just read through the whole thread. If you're interested, maybe we can swap stories over email; perhaps we can actually help one another out. By reading my posts, you'll see everything I've tried regarding my OCD—where I made progress and where things took a turn for the worse. Once you've caught up on all that, if you want to talk, hit me up at Christian Castillo60@email.com with the subject line "OCD is killing me." I don't open random emails from strangers, but that way I'll know exactly who is reaching out. If not, we can just keep messaging on the forum. Take care. 🙂
Is there any truth to the claim that Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler, and George Washington all suffered from this disorder? Does anyone know if there's actually documented data regarding famous figures who dealt with this condition?
Eve, I see this thread is gaining traction again, though honestly, it would be much more useful if we could just read about the experiences of people who have actually moved past this. In my opinion, there’s a definite link between suppressing sexual desires and the development of OCD. As I mentioned before, I tried using Prozac, but so far, I haven't seen any significant progress. For those of you who don't have the patience to scroll through hundreds of old posts, here is a quick summary of where I stand. It all started with counting and repeating specific actions just to prevent some imagined catastrophe from happening. Once I realized these were actual symptoms of OCD—which, mind you, I didn't know at the time—I managed to stop those rituals. They still pop up occasionally, but I just tell myself: "Stop it, it's just the OCD, nothing bad is going to happen." And thank God, nothing does. What remains is the hand-washing—frequent, exhaustive, and constant. It's this deep-seated fear of germs and general impurity. I'm worried I might never fully shake this (maybe I'll conquer one part, but a total cure feels incredibly unlikely). To get there, I would need a complete overhaul of how I think. I just don't feel like I have the strength to let go and embrace a normal life yet.
Hey again! I’ve decided to give Advil and a B-complex a shot. I’ve heard they can actually be quite helpful for managing OCD—apparently, the herbal extract in Advil works on serotonin, just in a much milder way than something like Zoloft or other prescription meds. I figured it was worth trying a more natural route first.
David Nelson74 said:There's no way. I'm not taking anything else besides what I'm already on. Honestly, the OCD doesn't bother me that much. Every now and then I get caught up in some little ritual, but I usually manage to snap out of it—like if I start counting to five unconsciously, I catch myself and stop. These are minor things that don't actually ruin my life. Right now, I'm mostly just annoyed by the tangle of wires from my Max TV box and the SCART cable while I'm typing this, but I'm too lazy to get up and straighten them out. About a year or two ago, I was taking three Eli Lilly pills a day for this stuff, and I was so drowsy and had such zero libido for a month straight that my testicles actually started aching.
What on earth drives you to go fix those damn wires? What's the actual logic behind it? I ejaculate all the time—even in my sleep—whereas I'd much rather just stop entirely and deal with the physical pain instead.
silentmaker17 said:Let’s breathe some life back into this subforum 🙂. I was recently diagnosed with OCD and started on medication... Paxil... I don't have any obvious physical compulsions, "just" those intrusive thoughts that make it incredibly hard to function normally during the day . How are you all dealing with this disorder? How much do the meds actually help? Sometimes these thoughts get so infuriating—and I mean, honestly, I don't know what to do with myself—that I just lose it. I get scattered, I forget things, and most of the time I'm just stuck living inside my own head . It's like looking into a mirror where nothing exists outside of that headspace. I somehow manage to push through, but the crises definitely happen... Mornings are the absolute worst for me. Getting out of bed is such a struggle because the thoughts just come flooding in like a dam breaking—a million per hour, associations, fantasies... OCD is brutal. It gets better later in the day, though . Does anyone have any techniques they’d recommend? Autogenic training, or something similar? Relaxation methods? What has actually worked for you? Thanks .
I'll try to give you an answer if you can write out more detail about what exactly you're struggling with. Best,
mistyscout2 said:Maybe try asking yourself why you feel the need to wash your hands in the first place? It’s probably a fear of getting sick. So, if you look at that fear, how justified is it really? I know that on a logical level, you probably realize it's irrational, but try to get even deeper into that awareness. Rationalizing things doesn't always work for most neuroses—it helps, sure, but it rarely gets to the root cause since everything stems from the subconscious—but with OCD, it feels a little more manageable than it does with panic disorders or chronic phobias. While rationalization won't ever fully cure you in most cases, it can at least shed some light on what's happening. When I say rationalization, I don't mean using ego defense mechanisms or trying to force something unknown into your belief system; I mean taking those ritualistic OCD actions and playing them out in your mind until they reach a point of absurdity. Once you see how silly the logic is, you realize you don't *want* to act that way, even though sometimes it feels like you "have" to.
So, is it a fear of diseases? Why? Well, part of it is probably because the media is constantly shoving cleanliness ideology down our throats with endless commercials. And why do they do that? For profit. Marketing experts are incredibly savvy about these unconscious psychological triggers in people, and they exploit them perfectly. But you—just like everyone else—aren't an infinite resource for them to tap into. Honestly, you just need to become aware of what's happening. Try doing the exact opposite once in a while. Intentionally lean into the urge that's driving you and see that nothing terrible actually happens. You'll see that other people deal with this too. For example, if you're terrified of eating without washing your hands first, try to just go for it—eat something with your hands without washing them first. Or, go out and intentionally get your hands dirty with something totally mundane, and then go eat. How do you feel afterward? Liberating? Of course it is...
Even while you're doing it, if it helps, tell yourself something like, "this is actually good for my immune system," because that isn't even far from the truth. You can't live a sterile life; you'll just end up getting sick anyway under certain circumstances—like if you went to India and ate street food that wasn't a banana or wrapped in a peel.
Nobody can mess with you quite as much as you can mess with yourself, so just take it slow and be smart about it.🙂 Best,
Thank you for reaching out and for trying to help me. Is there any possibility we could communicate via email? If so, send me a quick note at Christian Castillo60@gmail.com
Alright, I haven’t posted in a while. The hand-washing thing? It’s still just as intense—I’m burning through endless bottles of Purell and Lysol at this point. On top of that, I just finished a short stint on Prozac that was a total bust. Honestly, it was an awful experience dealing with a psychiatrist who seemed completely checked out; he tried to push 150 mg of Prozac a day alongside two other meds, which I didn't even take. One was a sleep aid, and frankly, I can fall asleep whenever I want without needing a pill to do it for me. What I actually need is something to snap me out of this fog—not something to knock me out—while finally tackling one of the worst symptoms of my OCD: the constant washing.
I’ve managed to move past most of that nonsense—except for the handwashing. And honestly? I don't think I need a specialist in Psychology for that part; a regular GP should do the trick, though I haven't quite found the guts to actually lay it all out for them. I just told myself straight up: this is an actual disorder. You have to stop the constant counting and those mindless little rituals, because nothing bad is actually going to happen. And thank God, it hasn't. It isn't messing with my head nearly as much anymore—it's just the washing and the sanitizing now.
Listen, Dummy, I just restarted that thread about Metallica a little while ago. Honestly, who cares? Even if we’re talking about Helloween, the topics overlap—it's all about Maiden. You can never talk about them enough. Period.
I dropped by just to say UP THE IRONS! And yeah, I’ve got a message for that absolute Dummy, fadedowl: there is really no need to get all worked up if you just can't wrap your head around something.
jadecobra30 said:Don Vito, you pre-pubescent little brat—stop talking about things you clearly know nothing about!!! Just look at your other posts... it's all just rock, metal, "best metal bands," and the usual stuff... typical for some kid who just stumbled into this scene. Look, I don't have a problem with any of that, but if you're going to act like an expert on everything else, don't you dare try to criticize the greatest Heavy metal band of all time!!! 😠