Posts by silverstag43

Prince of Liberty said:Dalibor made a solid point. If you can manage it, try to sort things out on your own. Whatever you do, do NOT seek professional help—like a psychologist or psychiatrist. You could easily complicate your life or ruin it entirely. Just talk it over with a friend, preferably a close one. Or maybe a girlfriend or boyfriend. Or someone who’s dealing with similar issues. I’m telling you: under no circumstances should you go to a "professional," no matter how expert, kind, or well-meaning they seem. And stay away from those flashy self-help books.

http://psychologyblog.com/

Well, I actually have to jump in here because that is completely wrong! I apologize to the original poster because this is likely based on their personal experience, which is why they wrote it that way. But Prince, you've got it all wrong. NOBODY has ever successfully overcome OCD just by chatting with laypeople.

Why are you running away from professionals so fast? What did they ever do to you?!? Sure, there are bad ones out there—superficial, indifferent, or people without actual training in any form of psychotherapy—but there are also amazing ones!

There are truly wonderful, highly trained, legitimate psychotherapists out there who successfully help people every day. Be persistent; sometimes you have to cycle through four different therapists before you find the right match. Without psychotherapy, there is no real solution. A therapist helps you uncover the root causes, which are buried deep in your subconscious, and no friend—no matter how well-intentioned—can help you there. Where on earth did you even get an idea like that??!!?

Joseph Miller85 said:My girlfriend’s diagnoses have shifted several times over the last 20 years. It’s been everything under the sun. She’s dealt with horrific treatment from family, friends, and psychiatrists alike. Her most recent attempt to taper off meds was a disaster—she was shaking, crying, screaming, and swinging through massive mood shifts. It was brutal. Right now she’s on two medications, though she was recently on three. You only have to read the side effects to realize how terrifying it is. After two decades, she finally understands which parts of her family are worth listening to. Her inner circle doesn't care about her diagnosis, and honestly, everyone else is irrelevant. The key is watching your own reactions and evaluating them—how you feel before and after those episodes. That’s how you build actual self-confidence. She hasn't been hospitalized in ten years, and she owes that entirely to herself. I’ve come to realize that expecting "society" or any major "institution" to be more sensitive toward current or former patients is just wishful thinking. When I spoke with a high-ranking government official—someone answerable only to Congress—he told me straight up: there is absolutely nothing you can do for someone locked in a psychiatric ward who has already been labeled a "lost cause" by doctors. It doesn't matter if they are brilliant, young, beautiful, or kind; the system just labels them as "weak" by modern standards. I don't listen to any of that nonsense about "what is actually normal." That’s just chatter from people who haven't thought about it. Same goes for those whining about "laziness." They’ve never sat there with 500mg of Lexapro in their system, let alone been strapped into a straitjacket in a locked ward.

What’s her specific diagnosis or disorder? And how do you even manage to stay with her? I know I couldn't handle being with someone struggling with mental illness because I think it would ruin my life too, so I'm curious how you deal with it all...