Why we crash and how to get better. **************************************************** As someone who was well for such a long time, what I discovered to my cost is that OCD can come back really fast but takes a long time to get back under control. Now some of you who dont have OCD may argue that I should have seen my relapse coming and knocked it on the head. I had a relapse prevention kit from The Bethlem and knew how to use it. However, it is not that easy! OCD can come back for many reasons but in my case it came back the first time (in 2009) due to family deaths, extreme pressure, boredom, a bit of loneliness, refusal to discuss how I was struggling and hence lack of support. I was well, or mostly well, from the age of 49 to 61. I had spikes but could control them. Although I clearly was not cured, it felt as if I was..... OCD was a thing of the past..... I could travel on trains and buses to Uni and back, attend conferences and PhD meetings and give my own papers at large international conferences. My OCD came back over the last year of my PhD because of family illnesses and death which I had to cope with on my own. But I was still functioning until I crashed very suddenly when someone let me down very badly at Uni. The crash entailed agoraphobia, panic attacks that lasted for hours and total loss of confidence as well as uncontrollable OCD. It took some private therapy and huge determination to do my rewrites and get my PhD. I have had months of private therapy since my first crash, but therapy in itself does not give us back our control. Indeed, unless we make real changes then we are likely to relapse again. I have had two relapse since my first one. After over four years of doing research and running my pages and online groups, it has struck me that to be and keep well we need to: 1. Be our own therapists 2. Find the tools that work for us and use them 3. Learn new activities 4. Read books and articles and attend free courses 5. Share advice with other OCDers 6. Go out and get fresh air however hard this is 7. Find voluntary work if we are too unwell to work. OCD is a life time disorder but it does not need to rule our lives. I feel we need a greater voice as we OCDers know more about our condition than anyone. I would love to see a greater cooperation between the NHS and charities, hospitals and peers, and a greater willingness to involve peers in treatment. In the meantime,I hope that my blogs will show you that there is a way forward. We can get well as long as we work together and share. It will take time but our lives will be better and more fulfilling. Wishing you wellness Anne.
Posted on: Sat, 04 Oct 2014 10:51:46 +0000
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