OCD anxiety bipolar - advice needed

LegacyUser

GOING TO GO UNREG FOR THIS-IM A REGULAR CONTRIBUTOR THOUGH!

If im bipolar have ocd and suffer from anxiety should i see a counselor?
In what way could they help me, I have been through a lot but try fight it to the best of my own abilities. Any personal experiences would be helpful. Im not on any meds but was wondering whatway alcohol affects people on ocd. Also my main concern with taking meds is that the ultimate goal would be to come off them in which case you have to adjust to life on your own devices anyway so whats the point? I would really appreciate any advice!

Heres a little about me:

Im 19 years old ever since I was 6 I have felt compulsions to do things, carry out certain actions and say things my justification for this was that something bad would happen otherwise. I used to sit and cry if my parents werent home by a certain time-and was full sure they had been involved in a car accident. I had to go to the toilet an even number of times and I even went through a period where I was afraid of public toilets convinced I would get aids. Say certain prayers etc. I suffered from anxiety and alienated myself from friends, dreaded going to parties, sleepovers etc so much that I just wouldnt go crying hysterically to my parents that I just couldnt. I comfort ate as a result and gained weight. This cycle went on until I was 17, then my grandmother died to who I was very close and the depression which I had always suffered from also became worse. Later that year something happened I woke up one morning and things started to ease, I lost 4 stone and gradually over a period of a year made loads of friends, started going out etc. I was always extremely bright which was the one thing I always clung to-doing well in school. I started studying law in college etc. But my moods were up and down I could flip over nothing. I would be almost hyper for weeks and then crash, then I could fly into a fit of rage for no reason. Little things bothered me. Alcohol made me worse-one drink and I was 10 times more high than when on a high but the next day the depression was far worse. Then in Jan my grandfather who had lived with us and one of the people who I was most close to in the world died. I spent his last few days with him and watched him die. It was awful-after I couldnt deal and started blocking it out-I drank, stopped attending lectures reg and going shopping anything to make the thought of it go away. My moods are now even more erratic. After passing my exams miracuously I managed to realise I needed to get things back on track. I finally beat the bulimia which had plagued me for a year and things are gradually getting better however my moods can flip for no reason and the euphoria i feel when on a high is too much to handle while the lows are so painful. Has anyone ever experienced this? I can be fine for months and then suddenly bang im horrible.

Dizzyblonde

I'm sorry you're having such a tough time. Seeing a counsellor is an excellent idea.
Have you ever tried Cognitive Behavioural Therapy? I know a few people who have been helped by it. Your doctor can refer you to a therapist.
There's a very good online site for CBT - and it's free. Even having a look at it would give you an idea what it's all about: Living Life to the Full

LegacyUser

Ive suffered BP symptoms throughout my life too, however the docs could never say whether the BP resulted from drink or the drinking resulted from the BP.

All I will say to you is this, if you are going to try to control the symtoms of BP and OCD you can NOT drink, I know this is so unfair but its just the way the cookie crumbles for us.

Drink makes it all 100 times worse, you will do outragreous things when hypo and the embarassment you suffer after, well its just not worth it, its not a life, not to mention the mad spending, weight loss, sexual misadventures etc.

As for OCD, do be careful if they try to medicate you for this, they will often give prozac, if they dont know you have BP this is disasterous, they did it to me and it sent me into an extreme hypomanic episode with rapid cycling which lasted over two years, I was like a skeleton and slept with a frightening number of strangers including dangerous criminals.

You can begin to imagine the comedown depression. What goes up must come down.

I hate to be a buzz wrecker but if you want to control your symptoms its all diet, excersise and self dicipline, other than that you are looking at lithium and weekly blood test.

Anyway, take it easy

LegacyUser

I'm not a doctor but I have somebody very close to me who suffered very badly with OCD and basically couldn't leave the house for months on end and nearly destroyed them, how it was explained to them was that OCD is an anxiety disorder. This person went for CBT and through hard work on their part and with the assistance of meds is living a VERY full life, honestly the difference is unbelievable (now they're telling me to chill out!!), they only have very small relapses when tired but nothing more really than the rest of us (we're all obsessive or compulsive in some ways), remember, some of the most successful people in sports and business have or have suffered with OCD so you're in good company!!

Reading your post it seems like you have some issues going back a while and maybe they're feeding your OCD so maybe by addressing them things on the OCD side will get better too. As for the drink thing, my own opinion from what I've seen is that drink has no effect on OCD (or the meds prescribed) but drink always seems to amplify moods, so if you have issues feeding your OCD these might be brought closer to the surface with drink (maybe think about laying off it for a while).

I don't know anything really about bi-polar so I'll say nothing there. I would definitely recommend having a chat with your GP just to rule bi-polar out and see if they can recommend a good counsellor. One word of warning (well warning might be a bit strong), counselling isn't some sort of magic bullet though and does take time and effort on your part, it can seem really slow and frustrating at times but having seen the difference it can make I can't recommend it highly enough. Please don't wait though, this WON'T get better on it's own and you may end up doing things you can't take back.

Wurly

Hi there OP. I was an OCD sufferer. I choose to say past tense as it does not control my life in any way anymore. I have the odd pang to carry out a ritual but that's it. I had extremely bad OCD as a child but the majority of my rituals were covert. If the next car coming down the road wasn't red, then i'd lose my family etc etc. And as you know, the rituals never ever stop at one. So to anyone looking in, I didn't have OCD as I wasn't washing my hands every 5 seconds. But my mind was a different story. I did have a few overt rituals involving exercise which left me exhausted. So listen, I know where you are coming from.

I have had both CBT and have been on medication. I had to go on medication for depression as I was so low due to therapy and the dragging up of past stuff. My therapist was worried that if we continued to delve that I would end up seriously harming myself. So that was the reason for the meds. While on the meds, my OCD literally disappeared. CBT in conjunction with this was amazing at the time. What it does is trains your mind to approach situations differently. It pretty much strips your coping mechanisms bare and puts in new and healthier one's. I would highly recommend CBT.

As I worked through my issues in therapy and my depression got better, I gradually came off the meds. The first thing I noticed was that the OCD came back. So I used my CBT techniques whenever an OCD thought occured in my head. For example, it would tell me to act out a ritual and i'd say to myself 'ok, this is not a rational thought, this is an OCD thought. I am not going to pander to this anymore. If I do not count all the tiles on the wall, it will not mean that my family will die. And I am willing to take the chance to prove myself right'. The first few times are really scary. REALLY scary. But then after a while, you can actually laugh at your own condition and realise how ridiculous it is. I used to imagine my OCD thought as a person, a stupid person who was trying to convince me that black was white and that I knew better. It works. Challenge those thoughts. Separate OCD thoughts from normal one's.

Lastly, only you know how alcohol affects you. If it messes with you that much, then better to abstain. If you need alcohol to enjoy yourself or are too self conscious in social settings without it, then you must work through this as well. Alcohol can be particularly dangerous without boundaries set down for people like you and me.

I hope that my story has helped you. If you want to ask me any questions, please PM me. Complete discretion assured.

Victor

Bipolar88 wrote: »

If

You need to be diagnosed first. Start with your GP and they can refer you to someone.

Bipolar88 wrote: »

If im bipolar have ocd and suffer from anxiety should i see a counselor?

I imagine it can help. It might not solve everything overnight, but it is a release point and will help you learn about yourself.

In what way could they help me, I have been through a lot but try fight it to the best of my own abilities.

Are you sure you can fight everything by yourself? Sometimes we need to ask for help.

Im not on any meds but was wondering whatway alcohol affects people on ocd.

Alcohol removes inhibitions and can lead to excessive behaviour in many people.

Also my main concern with taking meds is that the ultimate goal would be to come off them in which case you have to adjust to life on your own devices anyway so whats the point?

You will need to talk to a doctor about that, but don't be afraid of medication, cautious sure, but not afraid. Each medication and each person's reaction to it is different.

LegacyUser

Hi OP, I don't suffer from OCD, but I do have problems with anxiety and Bipolar disorder. It sounds like you've really had a difficult time.
I cant give you medical advise because I'm not a doctor. My bipolar is not (most of the time) what you could describe as very extreme, as in a constant extreme, but when I get low, I get very, very low, and when Im high I'm in a state of total denial. So I am on mild medication to help even it out a bit. I'm not a big fan of being on medication, because I think it deviates from treating the root of the problem, but I do think if you need to be, it can help take the edge off so to speak. And depending on the severity of your symptoms, so I'm not saying for you to rule it out. .
I would totally recommend councelling. If you can find someone to go at a pace that suits you, it is just invaluable. I have recently started seeing someone and I cant describe the difference it's made for me, it has just been brilliant.
It can help you find alternatives ways of coping so that you don't have to fully rely on medication, it can help you to get a handle on what's at the root of what's causing your symptoms, and it can give you practical tools to help you deal with the moodswings.
Good luck.

LegacyUser

Sorry, I also forgot to add, if you can at all, steer clear of the alcohol, because it will not, absolutely not help your symptoms, it's really not a good idea. Same with caffeine, and drugs I'm afraid.
Good luck.

Flamed Diving

I have bipolar. My only recommendation is to see a psychiatrist, and make sure its a good one. There are some bad one out there, I was seeing one who misdiagnosed me and had me on this awful medication. Someone recommended a good pysch to me, she correctly diagnosed me and now I'm on the correct medication and hopefully the path to normality. I would serously advise you to quit alcohol and any other drugs as these only serve to exacerbate the problem. PM me if you have any other queries.



EDIT: You may find my thread here of some interest to you:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055343020

JuliusCaesar

Flamed Diving wrote: »

... My only recommendation is to see a psychiatrist...

+1

There's some useful information from the UK National Institute for Clinical Excellence here, and don't forget to check out ocdireland.org also.


ps you can get to see a psychiatrist usually within a couple of weeks FREE with a letter from your GP. And if you're not happy, ask for a second opinion. You are entitled to one.