Hi Denise

I will try CBT again. I'm glad to hear it worked for you. Maybe I
just need to persist with it. Yes fear of leaving gas taps on is a
big anxiety for me also. I have read Brain Lock but I think maybe I
need to make time to re-read parts of it.

Thanks

Sungsings


--- In ocdsupportuk@yahoogroups.com, Denise Woolstencroft
<denise_wool@y...> wrote:
> Hi Sungsings
> I used to always check things - even rereading letters before they
were sent, gas being off, coffee pot off (even went down street and
turned home to check again and son was late for school!!) - I usually
have to check things if I think others will be harmed if I did not
check ie gas explosion, giving son wrong medication, starting a
fire.
> I'm not too bad now although I am worrying about going away on
holiday because I will think I left gas on, so quite anxious about
that - thinking of getting a neighbour to go in an check for me by
giving her some keys!!
> The way I have got around it is by just feeling the bad feelings -
and I do feel so panicky as my mind is saying ... what if ?? I'm
actually of medication now - was on 3 prozac per day ... now I take
St John's Wort. I also had CBT and it was putting it into action - I
saw the pychologist last year and he said that ocd was not really a
problem for me anymore - as I have made such a big progress ... it
was hard. Ocd does raise it's ugly head every day and I guess it
will always be a part of me .... but it's not such a big part.
> I'm reading Brain Lock by Schwartz at the moment - seems quite
good. Most important of all - I'm learning to relax and to eat
properly. I ended up an alcoholic so as to block out my intrusive
thoughts but I have also got through that as well.
> Only advice I can give is put CBT into action and that the horrible
uncomfortable feeling will pass. Try getting hold of Brain Lock as
well - it's easy to read.
> All the best ... Denise
>
> sungsings <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
> hi I was wondering how many other people on this site have trouble
> with checking? It seems like a kind of perfectionism the way I see
> it. I am constantly trying to get things right and hate the anxiety
> that appears if I either don't carry out the action or don't
complete
> it in a 'satisfactory' way. I know the things I'm worried about are
> trivial and stupid but wide-ranging such as bits of dirt on my
> clothes or fingers that "have" to be removed to worrying that my
> glasses aren't positioned on my face properly, electrical
appliances
> turned off properly and no leads sticking out (where they might
trip
> people up) mobile phone checked each time I pick it up because I
> might have accidentally dialled someone's number, objects not to be
> left to close to the gas cooker in case they accidentally fall on
the
> taps and turn them on. On Saturday I couldn't convince myself that
> I'd shut the zips of my rucksack properly and kept opening them and
> closing them about 20 times. When I eventually managed it I worried
> that my personal belongings had fallen out so I then had to check
> that I'd not lost anything - glasses, sunglasses, phone,
painkillers,
> keys and spent half an hour worrying about some keys that I might
> have forgotten and then on through a list of things that I felt
> pretty certain weren't in my bag, but I thought I'd check just to
be
> on the safe side. These are some examples of the crazy senseless
> thoughts I attend to on a daily basis though the last one is not so
> frequent but far too often all the same. I hate the fact that the
> rest of my life has to go on hold until I have dealt with each
> individual obsession. It's so very draining and tiring and robs me
of
> energy and time that I could be putting into more constructive
> things.
>
> I have had OCD a long time and had CBT a couple of years ago but
only
> 6 sessions as it was quite expensive and not that successful. I
know
> a fair bit about this condition and I've read Brainlock and feel
bad
> about the fact that I've still not overcome this condition. It
seems
> as though as fast as I improve with one obsession another one
enters.
>
> I think overcoming this condition takes a lot of guts because you
> have to sit with these thoughts driving you crazy and with one half
> screaming at you to check and make everything alright and the other
> saying "no leave it alone." . I know when I do decide to let go of
> the obsessive thoughts they usually (though not always) go of their
> own accord as long as I focus my attention on something
constructive.
> I guess i've answered my own question really but a lot of the time
I
> just lack the courage to trust. Any helpful suggestions gratefully
> received.
>
> Thanks
>
> Sungsings
>
>
>
>
>
>
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