OCD

[House Cat]

Do you ever feel that you will be hyper focused on something and miss the bigger picture? I feel that I’ve done this my whole life.

For instance, when raising my children, I’ve been hyper focused on keeping them safe from harm but I have realized that I forgot to show them the joy in life. It’s all been about focus, safety, avoiding danger, etc... I’ve never really been all that light hearted and I’m afraid I’ve really missed the boat with them.

I do this all of the time...focus on one small thing and miss what is really important

 

[Smith3]

Do you ever feel that you will be hyper focused on something and miss the bigger picture? I feel that I’ve done this my whole life.

For instance, when raising my children, I’ve been hyper focused on keeping them safe from harm but I have realized that I forgot to show them the joy in life. It’s all been about focus, safety, avoiding danger, etc... I’ve never really been all that light hearted and I’m afraid I’ve really missed the boat with them.

I do this all of the time...focus on one small thing and miss what is really important

I don’t have children but I feel like I did that to my life. I’ve been too hyper focused on safety that I feel like I lost years of my life, it really upsets me. I feel stuck in time( I think I’m 25 and not 35) I stopped my life but time kept going. I don’t have many friends I have 3 close but one lives far away. I think I pushed people away without meaning to. I isolate myself and that’s hard for people to understand and I guess I never told some of them that I’m suffering or something was wrong.

 

[Smith3]

Has anyone done trauma therapy? I seem to not handle it every time i try to do exposure or talk about my childhood i literally can’t. It’s the root of the problem but i can’t handle it.....anyone else?

 

[House Cat]

I don’t have children but I feel like I did that to my life. I’ve been too hyper focused on safety that I feel like I lost years of my life, it really upsets me. I feel stuck in time( I think I’m 25 and not 35) I stopped my life but time kept going. I don’t have many friends I have 3 close but one lives far away. I think I pushed people away without meaning to. I isolate myself and that’s hard for people to understand and I guess I never told some of them that I’m suffering or something was wrong.

I can totally relate to everything you’ve written. I’m in this pandemic, not leaving the house and really, nothing has changed except that I don’t really have the option to do things anymore. I keep thinking the pandemic will be over and nothing will change. This fills me with despair.

I worry that one day I will be all alone.

I’ve told my (very few) friends that I’m suffering. I get a lot of problem solving suggestions and one in particular who acts like I should just get over it. Sharing didn’t really help me.

I’m sorry you feel you’ve lost years of your life. I know how you feel...i hope this is just a part of the normal aging process. (Fingers crossed.)


Regarding trauma therapy, I’ve done 14 years of therapy, mostly EMDR which is designed for trauma. I have found it to be very helpful. The reason I’ve done therapy for so long is because I grew up with a very abusive mother. I will probably need therapy for the rest of my adult life. I like having the extra support. No one in the regular world really knows how to address the things I say about my mother. I have to set aside that stuff for my therapist.

 

[tyty333]

I know this seems like putting a bandaid on a bullet wound but I'm wondering if anyone has explored vitamins and herbs to help reduce
their stress? I'm just wondering if lowering your stress levels would help lower OCD? There is a lot on Pinterest about different vitamins/herbs
that help to reduce stress. Unfortunately, when I looked for OCD I didnt find much as far as herbs/vitamins.

I tried Ashwagandha for stress and it really seems to calm my nerves. I tried some brands that dont work that well and others that seem to work
better. Right now I'm taking Spring Valley Brand Ashwagandha 800mg. I only take it when I'm feeling stressed but my Doc said that I could
take it twice a day. (I'm not in the medical field so check with your Doc first). When the pandemic hit it was sold out for about a month so I know
other people are buying/using.

Amazon.com

I'm not big into "holistic" type healing but was surprised to feel such a difference with Ashwagandha. My DH even takes it now. I'm going to further
explore some of the other vitamins/herbs recommended for stress. (I deal with stress and not OCD but cant help think that they are somewhat related?)
I wish all you suffers peace and just hoping that Ashwagandha (or some other herb/vitamin) might help at least one of you.

Edit...just FYI, I feel the calmness kick in about 15 minutes after I take it.