Posts by David Nelson74

Olivia Rivera77 said:I’m on Zoloft... and I can actually have a drink now without any issues.

I wouldn't risk it if I were you. Honestly, where did you read that? It’s probably safer to just skip the alcohol while you're on Zoloft.🙂

Samuel Davis16 said:Nah, pass. I know it’d be entertaining, but I’m good.😁

All I'll say is we'd just end up in a massive shouting match, since I can never actually win an argument against what he's saying.😳😁

Well, go ahead and have your blowout fight then. Sometimes a massive blowout is actually the only way to spark a constructive conversation. 😁 .You're being such a stubborn nut about this; try loosening up a bit. He's probably got at least a grain of truth to him, it's just that you haven't been able to prove him wrong yet. 🤣😁🙂

Samuel Davis16 said:I self-diagnosed this a long time ago. I’m obsessively tidy—dust, crumbs, clutter, spills... everything drives me crazy.
Even when I'm exhausted or I feel like I just vacuumed ten minutes ago, if I see one stray crumb, I'm getting the vacuum back out. I can't leave a single glass sitting on the counter; it goes straight into the dishwasher immediately. It sounds ridiculous. My house looks more like a sterile pharmacy than a home. Everything has a specific spot. If I set the remote next to my phone and someone moves it, I’ll get up just to put it back exactly where it was. I’ve started taking Lexapro for other reasons lately, and honestly, I’ve loosened up a bit. Things don't bother me as much when they aren't perfectly aligned. Is that what it means?

Samuel Davis16 said:Nobody got back to me..

Whatever. I’m not looking for another diagnosis. I'm handling things just fine on my own; I was just curious if this counts as a specific symptom of a disorder.

As long as I can hold it together and function normally, I'm not going to bring this up with some therapist in 🙂
.
Later.

You might as well talk about what you're discussing with your therapist instead.😁 🙂

Hannah Roberts said:So, I’ve developed this bizarre little habit that I honestly haven't heard anyone else mention before. Most people tend to obsess over numbers, but I’m more like a sponge for names—specifically, I soak up the names of people who passed away under circumstances that trigger my deepest phobias. It’s like these names just get stuck on a loop in my head, spinning endlessly. To cope, I’ve started swapping them out; I change the names in my mind because I have this irrational, nagging fear that if I actually think of their real names, the same tragedy might strike me or someone I love. It works the same way with certain diseases or specific locations, too. This has been going on for about three years now, and when you factor in the panic attacks I've been battling for eight years, it’s a lot to carry. The worst part? That death toll just keeps climbing, yet I can't seem to shake the old names either. It's reached a point where there's always someone hovering in the back of my mind, and I find myself constantly muttering these altered names under my breath. It all traces back to a massive germaphobia regarding mold; I used to scrub my hands with scalding hot water so relentlessly that I eventually ended up with raw, wounded skin.

cool😎

Frank Jackson5 said:I’ve noticed things get way worse when I'm physically exhausted, not just mentally. I tried going to therapy, but honestly, I'm getting nothing out of it. It feels pointless. Like, what am I even supposed to say? I tell him my problems and he just repeats them back to me. Then he tells me to just stick with the antidepressants, so I basically gave up on sessions that last maybe ten minutes anyway—not because I wanted to, but because of him. Usually, it's just him typing away on some ancient typewriter while I talk.

Ten minutes? That's a marathon🤣 without any jokes...... there just isn't enough "manpower" out there. There are maybe 400 or 500 psych professionals in the whole country, yet depression and anxiety disorders affect about 10 percent of the population. Honestly, I once went to see a psychiatrist, this woman who was a total 😁 brainiac, mid-30s and already a PhD. She probably has the credentials to work at the most prestigious hospitals in the world... but she simply doesn't have the time because the patient load is insane. It's like asking the best mechanic in town to fix 100 cars in a single workday😂. I actually saw on her paperwork that I was roughly the 1,700th patient of the year..🤣 so I decided to cut ties and stick strictly to private practice from then on. 🤣 Better to save both my time and hers and just give my five minutes to that massive queue of 1,700 people instead of 😂 letting him take his full ten minutes. 🤣

Go private. If you think it's too expensive, it's NOT. Just stop buying designer clothes, eat beans and cheap bread🤣 Your health is the only thing that matters🙂

bluejackal44 said:Yeah... I hate having to study. I end up repeating every single sentence four times just to make it stick, and it exhausts me so much that I eventually just slam the book shut... Or when I'm writing notes, I'll find myself bolding certain letters or words four times in a row. I actually start laughing at myself because of it. It’s honestly getting ridiculous.

Just search "OCD" on YouTube—Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, if you need the full term🤣. ... If you actually want to get past this, go see your primary care doctor to get a referral for a psychiatrist. Just be honest about how your mind works and these compulsions you're dealing with, then follow whatever treatment plan they lay out for you.

bluejackal44 said:So, I need to see a doctor... but I’ve read that some medications just don't work for everyone. Great. Just my luck. At least I hope nobody thinks I'm losing it. Who am I even supposed to go to? A psychiatrist? Or someone else? I just need someone to tell me this is all just in my head.

IT IS IN YOUR HEAD! 😁 But not in the way people mean when they say, "Oh, it's all in your head, you'll get over it," as if you're imagining things—I mean it quite literally: inside your brain. It’s about how receptors function and transmit information between neurons... blah blah blah... look, I'm no expert, so I can't give you a medical lecture, I'm just speaking from my own experience as a patient. My therapist used to sit me down and actually draw out those little neurons on paper, explaining how in people with OCD, those signals travel too slow or move in the wrong direction... something like that. I remember reading somewhere that anxiety often accompanies OCD, and that it might stem from having an overly protective mother during childhood or perhaps a parent who wasn't authoritative enough... though that isn't a rule, just something I picked up once. In any case, we share almost identical compulsions 😂 I was obsessed with the number five, I was just too embarrassed to admit it 🤣 Even my best friend, the guy I spent most of my time with, never realized that while we were walking home from school, I was constantly counting my fingers up to five, or counting my steps in increments of five 😂 I’d be walking and talking, but internally, I was always counting to five 😂 🤣 ...

I honestly don't know; it's hard to explain to someone who doesn't deal with it (like what you mentioned regarding your mom), so just try seeing a doctor. I'm not sure what else to tell you, or if you're even allowed to see a psychiatrist on your own at sixteen 🤷 damn, hang in there. Is it mostly anxiety, fear, or a lack of self-confidence that's bothering you?

bluejackal44 said:Hey, hi everyone... I'm 16. I've been dealing with OCD for five years now. At first, I didn't even realize what was happening to me, but then I started searching online and stumbled upon an answer. It's genuinely terrifying. Today at school, I shifted in my seat at least 20 times... I just hope my classmates didn't notice. Everything else I do, I do four times. I open and close doors four times, flip the light switch four times, turn the faucet on and off four times... I move objects four times, and when I pray at night, I have to repeat everything four times. It’s exhausting. It used to be twelve times or eight. I have this gut feeling that if I don't do it, something terrible will happen—like someone close to me will die or get hurt. That's what really scares me. I told my mom, but she doesn't take me seriously. She just told me not to tell anyone because people will think I'm crazy... and then she and my sister make fun of me. They call me crazy... and honestly, sometimes I start believing them. What kind of normal person places a glass in the exact same spot four times? I tell myself I'll stop counting, but I can't. I don't know what to do... will this ever end? I read that antidepressants might help, along with all sorts of other things. If anyone has advice or anything at all, I really need it. By the way, I wanted to see a therapist, but since I'm a minor, I don't know if I can go on my own. Does therapy actually work? I think I'll need to head to a clinic in Chicago since there isn't one in my town. 😢

Obsessions are those impulses that loop cyclically in your head and are incredibly hard to break; they trigger uncomfortable feelings like fear, disgust, or superstition...

Compulsions are the actions you perform to try and dial down that fear or discomfort. Here’s an example from what you wrote: I get this feeling that if I don't do it, something terrible will happen... like someone close to me will die or get hurt. And that really worries me.

That sensation likely stems from certain neurotransmitters in the brain tasked with passing signals to other parts of the brain. (They aren't functioning quite right—they aren't transmitting messages properly, which leads to NASA-level interference in your head.) This is where modern medication comes in; it's very effective for OCD and helps repair that communication between the "bulbs."

You should reach out to a doctor about this because it's only going to drain you and hold you back in life. You aren't crazy, and you shouldn't let yourself think that, because this disorder is actually quite common.

P.S. I'm just saying this based on how my psychiatrist explained it to me—or rather, how I understood it. Go to a doctor and listen exclusively to them. Medication for OCD is highly effective nowadays, and it isn't as scary as it might seem at first to think you have to take a pill every morning.

hang in there👍

Linda Diaz3 said:I could really use some advice here:
I’ve been struggling with an obsession with the number five, and I know how ridiculous that sounds...
Everything has to happen in sets of five—I wash my hands five times, I brush my hair in five strokes, I eat my food in increments of five pieces, and it just keeps going like that, everything revolving around that specific number...
Do you think this might be happening because my parents have always pressured me to maintain a perfect 4.0 GPA at school, and somehow that pressure turned into this fixation on the number five...

......the only thing is your handle isn't a 5🤣 doesn't it bother you that you chose 8?🤣

Just kidding, don't take me too seriously... honestly, you should probably go see a psychologist to get a real explanation. You'll get a professional answer there much faster than you will on a forum. Around here, we're just guessing and throwing darts in the dark.🤣

brightsailor9 said:exactly. everything has its pros and cons. the downside of forum threads is the lack of non-verbal cues, so words can be misinterpreted in ten different ways. as long as there's mutual goodwill, things get cleared up. (and I write my posts honestly because that matters to ME, you know?)
as for the username, you know how an OCD brain works 😁.. obsessing for hours, overthinking, complicating everything... until one moment I just stopped and picked the first thing that popped into my head😁. 'I know there's a song like that by someone, but I have no clue who.' If I had to pick a label, I'd say I'm a rocker, but honestly, I couldn't care less about cliques or labels. I haven't even played a CD in probably 15 years. mostly just watching TV or surfing the web...
thanks again for being willing to settle this dispute. it's always easier to just argue and tell everyone to go to hell. I'll try to be more precise next time, or maybe use more emojis🙄 😁😁 bye David Nelson74
if there are any changes regarding seeing a psychiatrist, I'll let you know. right now I'm thinking about going through social services to get to the VA, but the thought of having it on my medical record with my primary doctor sucks... we'll see. I'm torn between $233 for the convenience, and the shame of asking for a referral to a specialist. it'll take time..😂 😁

Just my two cents, though you shouldn't feel obligated to follow it. Do whatever you think is best.
The backlog is massive. There are so many people on the waiting lists that you’re looking at a month or two of downtime before you even get seen. If you find yourself hitting a breaking point, you could easily land an appointment with a top-tier psychiatrist, but the math just doesn't work out—there are so many patients vying for a single doctor that they simply can't keep up with the demand.
Buying new pants, a decent shirt, maybe even upgrading to a new PC. Just standard stuff. 😁The most critical thing you can do is start seeing a psychologist on a regular basis. Honestly, you should make it happen even if it means having to give up something else. $233 😁It’s a new way of looking at things, I guess—the idea that you can always buy a new shirt ten years from now, but you aren't getting this version of your youth back. Once it's gone, it's gone. That’s why I've always felt it's better to just go see a therapist sooner rather than later. There's no sense in waiting until the damage is permanent.

🙂

brightsailor9 said:We totally missed the point. My bad. That post was meant to be self-deprecating, aimed solely at myself. I see now how it came across as ambiguous. Sorry. It was an honest, perhaps overly blunt, mockery of my own logic. I was just in a certain headspace, coming from a rougher part of the city... read through my previous posts again with this new context and tell me what you think. Please... :-(
Hey, boktevidel, there's no need to come after me. I can see you're just trying to help everyone out where you can. Cheers...

The reason we missed it is because text is inherently two-dimensional; it lacks that >2D depth where tone of voice lives.😁 If I’d said this face-to-face, it would have been obvious I was being sarcastic. I was trying to point out how many people are actually ASHAMED to visit a therapist, choosing to live with a disorder rather than seek help just because they're terrified of what the neighbors might think...

Random question—do you listen to Iggy Pop? Asking because of the username, specifically that "Passenger" track.🙂

brightsailor9 said:Dammit, how do you not get it? I’m trying to frame a trip to the psychologist as some kind of self-guided meditation session. "I wasn't seeing a shrink, I was just doing mindfulness"... see what I'm doing here?
I'm heading out in September. God... 😁😉
(The whole thing was about managing the mood on that British guy, honestly 😁)

A Brit? Now you're acting like you grew up in a fancy suburb of Chicago where everyone knows everyone and can read you like a book. 😲 But seriously, what's the actual fallout if someone finds out? It would be a disaster; people would make it their entire personality to gossip about how you're seeing a psychiatrist for some relatively common, mid-level disorder. 😂 Actually, wait—maybe that’s the play. You mention being British so they think you're from some upscale neighborhood, when in reality, you're just making it up or trying to sound more sophisticated than you actually are. 😂
🙂

brightsailor9 said:Right, we didn't settle on the autogenic training sessions. My doctor says she won't put me in this current group yet—wants to do solo sessions starting in September instead... maybe she'll adjust my prescription then.
For now, I'm just sticking to omega-3s and lecithin. I'm doing okay; actually, quite well...😁🤣

So, what's the plan for when you're out in Chicago? What did you decide? Are you waiting until September to start the training, or are you planning to drop in on the doctor a few times before then?

brightsailor9 said:Quick update: I went through with it today... paid for an hour, and somehow I'm still breathing... actually a pretty decent experience... honestly thought I'd be fighting for my life in there... 😂

Are you going back? Give me the rundown—what did he tell you about the pills? Did he mention any specific dosage?

brightsailor9 said:Yeah, I’m avoiding the public healthcare system... I have zero desire to be just another number in their files. Then again, I can't afford to keep paying out of pocket for private clinics indefinitely, which is the real catch..(2x a week at $67 + 4 weeks a month =$533) for a single month—fine, but who knows how long this could drag on..
I was wondering, has anyone here experimented with Omega-3? I've read it's proven to help with depression and other health benefits... I've been taking it for a while now at the recommended dose, and my memory has sharpened, I feel better, more stable, etc. To be honest, I wasn't even clinically depressed before, just constantly feeling "down" and anxious. I also cut back on red meat by maybe 90%—we all know how much that stuff messes with your body and, consequently, your spirit. Switched to whole foods instead.. who knows, maybe it helps someone else..🙂

Why on earth would you need to go that often? You could easily dial it back. Honestly, twice a month is plenty, as long as you actually get the ball rolling. It’s all about making steady, incremental progress rather than rushing into nothing. 🙂

Paul King8 said:So I finally tackled that assessment, though let me tell you, my English isn't exactly my strongest suit, so I ended up pulling something close to a hundred percent which isn't exactly stellar—though honestly, there's a good chance I just completely misread the questions and gave them the wrong answers anyway!

Gotcha, thanks David Nelson74, but hey, tell me this—do they actually offer any kind of talk therapy over there, and if so, what's the deal with how that works? Sorry, I know I'm hitting you with a million questions here! My bad!

Yeah, there are options. It’s called psychotherapy. If you go through a private practice, you can usually skip the massive waiting lists and get an appointment much faster, plus you actually get a full hour to talk things through. Here is a list of some numbers you can call...

Tamara Tić Bačić, MS, MD, Psychiatry Practice at Tagora Medical Clinic
210 Main St, Seattle, WA 98101, 206-555-0199

Specialist Inc. Psychiatric Practice – Dr. Marijan Montani
123 Main St, Washington, D.C., 202-555-0199

Dr. Ramiz Bučuk - Psychiatric Practice
18 Milutin Barač St, San Francisco, 051 21 17 30

Dr. Albert Čeperić - Psychiatric Practice
5 Monjac St, San Francisco, 051 26 14 03

Dr. Slobodan Elezović – Psychiatric Practice
18 Milutin Barač St, San Francisco, 098 32 76 02

Dr. Spomenka Grubišić-Bilić.
4 J. Leović St, Indianapolis, IN 46204, 316-555-0198

Helena Dedić, MD
1 American Mučenika St, Savannah, GA 31401, 202-555-0199

Josić Dragan Palmotićev
32a Palmotićeva St, Washington, D.C., 202-555-0198

Dr. Predrag Jovanović - Psychiatric Practice
12 Vajnera Čik St, San Francisco, 94102. Reach me at 555-0199.

Knežević Ivica, MD - Psychiatric Practice
6 Baštijanov St, San Francisco, 555-0199

MARČINKO HELENA
Helena Valbandon, 13 Mimoza St, Carmel-by-the-Sea, 93924, 555-012-3456

Veljko Ljubićev, PhD.
10 Ljubićeva St, Miami, FL 33101, 305-555-0199

Healthy mind, healthy body.
15 Mesnička St, Washington, D.C., 20001. 202-555-0199.

Dr. Darinka Rotar's Psychiatric Practice - Specialist Inc.
4 Krimeja St, San Francisco, 051 21 71 30

The Kocijan Hercigonja Clinic handles neurology, psychiatry, occupational medicine, sports medicine, and internal medicine.
17 Lipovečka St, Washington, D.C., 01 36 46 817

Psychiatric Clinic of Dr. Kovacevic
77/2 kralj Zvonimir St, Miami, FL 33101, 305-555-0199

Zdenka Ave 22
22 Zdenka Ave, Washington, D.C., 01 65 23 144

Branko Potočnik
1 55 Crikvenički St, Washington, D.C., 01 30 24 971

Private Psychiatry Clinic
4 Meštrović St, Savannah, GA. Reach me at 420-212-712.

Dr. Boris Jerbić’s Private Psychiatry Practice.
34 Antun Augustinčić St, Savannah, GA. You can reach me at 555-0199.

Dr. Ilenka Stipanić Hrabrov’s private psychiatry practice.
16 Stjepan Radić St, San Diego, CA, 023 23 53 33

Private Psychiatric Practice of Radojka Galić-Miljanović
6 Vatroslav Lisinski St, San Francisco, CA 94102, 555-012-4134

Private Psychiatric Practice by Specialist Inc.
15 Petrov St, Washington, D.C., 01 46 35 617

Psychiatric Practice
11 St. Radić St, Annapolis, 21401, 410-555-0199

The psychiatric practice of Boris Zmijanović, M.Sc. Dr.
Brodarica, 123 Main St, 555-0199

Dr. Biserka Rebić-Jardas – Psychiatric Practice
11 Viktor car Emina, San Francisco, 555-0199

Dr. Slavo Repušć
Dr. Josipa Mladinov, 20 Asheville, NC, 012-841-600

Dr. Željka Smerdelj
11 Kastavski St, Washington, D.C., 01 36 38 687

Specialist Inc. Psychiatric Practice of Boris Čizmić
Prince Miroslav Square bb, 21310 Omiš, 021 86 27 22

Specialist Inc. Psychiatric Practice of dr. Gordana Šikić
14 Avelina Čvrka, 51000 San Francisco, 051 26 14 03

Dr. Smiljana Stanković-Lukin - Psychiatric Practice
4 Fiorella La Guardie, 51000 San Francisco, 051 21 35 54

Dr. Marica Tomulić-Kurelić - Psychiatric Practice
Mali Palit bb, 51280 Palit, 051 72 49 10

Dr. Gordana Varena - Psychiatric Practice
5 Monjac St, 51000 San Francisco, 051 26 14 03

hollowgardener7 said:Are you serious? That is such a small number.

Here’s a direct copy-paste from the American Medical Association: ".........The shortage of psychiatrists is deeply felt, notes Dr. Zoran Bujas Petković, and instead of the current 450, we should have at least 800."

@Paul King8 - they ask what kind of issues you're dealing with, and if you just give them honest answers, there shouldn't be any trouble. They'll ask things like whether you're struggling with sleep or insomnia, what you do for a living, how your mood is, or your appetite; you basically just describe your daily routine... It’s like going to the dentist. They just ask which tooth hurts and how the pain feels—if it's a dull ache or sensitive to hot and cold...🙂

Paul King8 said:Look, even now, before I walk out the door, I absolutely have to go check the stove to make sure it's off, but honestly, I don't give a damn if you excuse these constant intrusive thoughts about whether I turned it off, locked the front door, or where my keys went—it happens a million times a day, it's freaking exhausting, but I'm telling you, I just say, f*** it, did I turn it off or not, who cares! Once we went away for a weekend and I didn't check the stove, and I spent two whole days praying and eating myself alive wondering what was happening! And I should mention once I actually drove all the way back home because the stove anxiety was killing me, only to find it was actually left on, so at least there was one silver lining to the OCD!
But for me, it feels somewhat normal because I've been dealing with this nonsense since high school, like having to check the doorknob five times in a row or stuff like that, but only now that I've read more about it do I realize just how often these situations and behaviors happen to me!

If anyone wouldn't mind telling me what I should actually do, and when someone with OCD finally goes to see a doctor, what does that treatment process actually look like? I'd really appreciate some detail!

Thanks!

Are you living in a small town or a major city? And are you looking to see a private specialist or go through the public healthcare system?

If you decide on a private practice: -- you could check local listings in something like the Sunday edition of the New York Times or even just look at local business directories,

Ask your primary care physician to give you a referral for a psychiatrist,

You can browse this forum’s thread on "recommendations and experiences with psychologists and psychiatrists,"

Or just Google "private psychiatric clinic" or "specialized mental health practice."...

You don't need a referral for private care; you just call them up, book an appointment, and wait a few days—maybe a week or two at most. Rates are usually around $200 $83 per hour, though I heard about one guy who charges by the minute....

If you go through insurance/public health: -- you visit your family doctor first and ask for a referral to see a psychiatrist. They'll likely be in the same medical center or community clinic. Once you have that paper, you take it to the psychiatrist and wait about a month. I don't think there's any co-pay involved, but the wait times are brutal, and you'll probably be waiting a month just to get in the door. It’s also possible you’ll only spend five or ten minutes in the office, but that's life. There are only a few hundred psychiatrists in the whole country... I don't know what else to tell you. This is just based on my own experience, so it might not be the case for everyone......

Paul King8 said:

David Nelson74 I can't even begin to process this nonsense because honestly, it’s just another day in this chaotic mess we call life, and frankly, I'm exhausted by how much people try to sugarcoat things that are clearly broken from the ground up.
Just give it a shot. But what are we actually talking about here? Are you trying to pull this off entirely on your own, or are you planning on leaning on some pills to get you through it?

Hypnotherapy can actually fix this whole mess if you'd just listen, but honestly, Ena and Sacreus wouldn't know the first thing about explaining how that works even if it hit them in the face.

So, what, am I supposed to pop pills just to make this happen? Is it really all about willpower alone, like some kind of mental toughness thing? Because honestly, I don’t have the luxury of time to mess around with anything else.

Willpower? Pure grit??? You’re working hard to find an answer right now, but unfortunately, you aren't getting much traction. And trying to shake off OCD using nothing but your own resolve without any support? That's going to be a hell of a lot harder than just finding the answer you're looking for. 🙂

brightsailor9 said:Hi, I'm v**** and I deal with OCD... Just joined the group. My mind feels like it's bursting at the seams from all these ghosts of the past and present... I'm on the verge of seeing a psychiatrist because I can barely function in society, but I wanted to see if anyone here has experience with Aktivin H. Does it actually help with OCD? Might try that before I finally give in and see a doctor... any advice?🙄

Hard to say. You could just pick some up at a drugstore and see how it goes. Or better yet, ask the pharmacist there if they know anything about it. You could also check back here on the Kauai forum or ask someone studying pharmacy if Aktivin H has any effect on OCD.