I buy compulsively every day almost: at shops or internet. Mostly I
buy DVD's,Videos, CD's, Books,Pins, Stamps, Coins,
Souvenirs,Snowballs, Playboy Magazines printed in foreign
countries,Board Games,CD ROM's,Viewmaster Reels and some other stuff.
I also travel compulsively(I've been in about 165 countries and
dependencies).My wife gets very upset and angry, because we are not
rich at all and she is the only one, who is working. I get only my
disability money.I also compulsively go to museums,
concerts,festivals,ethnic folk dances, movies,restaurants, bars,clubs
and some other places.I drink,eat a lot. It is a week, that I quit
smoking almost 3 packs of Marlboro a day.I use drugs sometimes,but
when I use it, I do it in excess.Whenever I have an absessive thought
to buy or go somewhere, I have to do it to releive the anxiety and
stop the obsessive thought.So I do compulsive behaviour and elaborate
rituals all day long. I don't have the classic OCD symptoms: washing
a lot, fear of germs,religious and sexual thoughts,fear of running
over somebody and others.I also have some manic episodes,without the
depressive period.Sometimes I repeat the senseless words and phrases
over and over again to my mom and my wife only. It is probably some
kind of a mild Tourret's Syndrome.I use luvox50mg,effexor225mg and
zyprexa 2.5mg.I go to Yoga and Spa and I do some sports. I have all
kinds of compulsions, except gambling. I hardly gamble.I don't like
watching sports either.I get very irritable and angry at the whole
world and myself very often.Nothing really helps for my anxiety,
except time itself. I've tried
homeopathy,naturopathy,ayurveda,chinese
medicine,herbs,accupuncture,chiropractic mediceine,
massage,reflexology, Yoga,all kinds of religion and I paid to all
kinds of charlatans, who promised they will help me. I've been in a
hospitals at least 25 times, seen 24 psychiatrists, tried almost all
types of antypsychotic,antianxietic,antidepressants and some others.
I've also tried 18 sessions of ECT(Electro-Convulsive Therapy). The
Cognitive or Exposure and Response Prevention Therapies ,I was not
able to continue .I only went for few sessions , but anxiety got very
strong,so I had to quit. I also went to group therapies with Dr. J.
Schwartz at UCLA, who wrote the book "Brain Lock".Basically my daily
routine is:I watch TV,I read magazines and books, I listen to music,I
rent movies, I go out to movies, to eat,to drink or to concerts and
festivals.Sometimes i like to visit my friends and relatives.And I am
on the computer for at least 8 hours a day.Please respond to me, if
anyone has similar symptoms and behaviour.Thank you. Roberto
Dolabjian.