Posted by ace on March 10, 2003, at 2:12:16
In reply to Ace - You just described ME!, posted by mattdds on March 10, 2003, at 0:48:57
> Ace,
>
> All I can say is WOW, great description of the *exact* mental dynamic that plagued the first 25 years of my life! You did an excellent job of describing this, better than I ever could have! I loved how you explained the intrusive thoughts that "contaminate" your experience, almost like they're saying "as long as I'm here you won't be able to enjoy X activity". This can be very difficult to shake, not to mention depressing!Matt. God Bless you! I really feel like I've found a brother! The thoughts really stifle the happiness don't they? They are so wierd.
> I, like you, dislike labels, and prefer to work with specific problems. It is more meaningful to me to describe in detail the dynamics of an experience (when, where, time, how I felt, what I was thinking) as you did perfectly, than to vaguely say "oh, it's OCD". But anyway, I had never thought of myself as "OCD", because I lacked the compulsions, but you make a great argument here. But the cognitive component of my problem was was exactly as you described.This is EXTREMELY well put, Matt. Do you have to 'cover' a 'bad' thought with a 'goog thought' - This is the cognitive compulsion or ritual.
> I'm sorry, but I can't say that I have any med solutions for this. I can say that I did try ALL the SSRI's, including Luvox, but they all worsened my condition. I have become very skeptical of SSRI's, and wonder if they are much more than placebos with (really bad) side effects.
Matt are you REALLY my lost brother!!!??? I agree 100% abot the SSRIs. BUT PLEASE DON'T LOSE FAITH IN MEDICATIONS!. For instance there is many NON-SSRI medicines which have done MAJOR things for some people....
1. Nardil
2. Parnate
3. Remeron
4. Trazodone
5. Tramadol
6.zyprexa
7. risperidone
8. AnafranilMost of these (except the first two) can be used in combo. Please Matt don't give up on medications!
> This type of problem that you describe, being "atypical", is not something most CBT therapists could solve. But I'm quite confident it's amenable to CBT. Really, most clinicians use a watered down and very outdated version of CBT, and I wonder if most people really get an adequate trial of it. I had to read some seriously advanced theoretical stuff that most practitioners don't even know about yet (BTW, the scientist-practitioner gap in CBT theory is HUGE). Adrian Wells over in the UK is doing some beautiful and very groundbreaking work on the CBT treatment of OCD and GAD. I'd say 99% of CBT practitioners don't even know about this, really cutting edge!I must say although you know my feelings on CBT there's a guy named dr. phillipson (i think) who's done some great stuff. BUT AS SOON AS I START DOING CBT FOR 'OCD' THE OBSESSION BEGINS - 'MAYBE I DON'T HAVE OCD'!
> I know your feelings on CBT, so I won't push it. But if you are interested in chatting more about this, the offer is there, over at psychological babble. I have some great book suggestions and personal experiences. I too had BDD when I was younger, and tended to get "stuck" in repetetive, bizarre thought cycles. But also, never had any psychotic component to the whole thing.
These lines fit me to a tee, Matty "get "stuck" in repetitive, bizarre thought cycles.'
You were right on with that.> FWIW, it seems like some people are having some luck treating the cognitive portion of obsessions with atypical neuroleptics. Although they have some pretty severe possible SE's which you'll have to do a cost-benefit analysis on.
"cost-benifit analysis" - have you read David D. Burns?
> I hope you get some relief from your more persistent symptoms, in whatever way you can!
>
> Best of luck, friend.
>
> Matt
>Thankyou SO MUCH Matt! Please post me EVERYTHING about your experiences and therapy. Tell me the book titles, even though I might be a bit sour on them.
WE MUST KEEP IN TOUCH,
WISHING YOU MUCH HAPPINESS,
Ace (Andrew)
poster:ace
thread:207316
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030306/msgs/207671.html