Posted by ocdforyears on January 3, 2004, at 10:19:40
In reply to Re: The real problem cont.. » linkadge, posted by JonW on January 2, 2004, at 20:31:36
Hey gang,
I'm new to these boards,and there are some smart, and informed, people here, and I appreciate it. My thoughts on the med issue:
I have ocd. I've had it since I was a child. I had major depression in my twenties. Lots of it. Do I believe my diseases are caused by the 'chemical imbalance' I hear about on ssri tv commercials? Yes and no.
Certainly, my symptoms flare up when I am wounded emotionally, when I suffer loss or am angry and can't express it. Does releasing emotion help my depression/anxiety? Yes. Though I admit the ocd is the most tenacious problem of all. I had suicidal feelings for several years, but hard work in therapy brought me to a place where I haven't felt like killing myself, really, in a decade. I'm pretty proud of that.
But I still have ocd, pretty bad, and some lingering depression. I really do think it's a product of my childhood environment, and early trauma. And even further victimizations and wounds I experienced as an adult (I had to quit seeing two therapists who were helping me because they became sexually involved with clients; the second of the two, whom I saw for over four years, got involved with my wife who was also his client. Yeah, stuff like that takes its toll. It has to be worked out safely in therapy).
And I did all this without meds for the most part (xanax helped my obessions a lot in my early twenties; but talk about brain fog). But now I'm trying ssri's for my ocd. Would I have taken these meds if I had known about them when I had major depression? Heck yes. And I hope they help me now with my ocd. But I see them as one part of my recovery: I exercise, I do therapy, cognitive and feeling based, I try to draw closer to people around me (very scary) and I'm trying ssri meds to help my obsessions.
To believe the med is the final answer for anxiety or depressin (and I can't comment on other illnesses) may not be the best position, though for some people the med is probably the only way out. But to see the med as part of a treatment plan for serious, life-destroying problems like depression and ocd...that just makes sense to me.
And I echo what someone said earlier: all drugs have side effects. I know I've used alcohol for anxiety...works great, in the short term. But it's no way to medicate ocd for me in the long haul. And sure, aspirin, antibiotics, everything does something. My cell phone and computer are probably bad for me. I know the sun causes cancer. I haven't seen anything yet which proves these meds are damaging; and I sure know my ocd affects my parenting, my relationship with my second wife (a lot) and my ability to enjoy my life. Why not feel better?
My hope is that if I find a med that works (and I may not find one among those currently out; the first two had too many side effects) that I won't take it my whole life; that I'll get stronger in my therapy and be able to go off. But what would be the crime of taking meds forvever? If I have to, I will. Life is short. OCD is very tough to kick.
Finally, I do find it curious that the old tricyclics affected different transmitters than the new ones, and yet both help depression. Probably these meds affect the brain at some deep level and that keeps us from sinking too deep into anxiety, depression, or ocd. They may not know how they work in my lifetime. But they help somehow. No shame in that.
Here's to living.
Those who criticize us who suffer have not suffered like us.
poster:ocdforyears
thread:295371
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031231/msgs/295999.html