Ocd?

[Millwallj]

Has anyone here ever suffered from intrusive violent, sexual thoughts?

This is a syptom of Obsessive compulsive disorder and is very painful.

Wondering if anyone has been diagnosed or has made recoveries etc?

[pedagogue]

I'd suggest seeking therapy. Many times intrusive thoughts (especially violent and/or sexual) are the by-product of other problems. Suppressed anxiety, trauma, guilt, and other issues may actually be the root of your problem, but the root is presenting through these intrusive thoughts.

A therapist can help walk you through the meaning and origin of these thoughts. I am sure they are causing some discomfort, so it would behoove you to seek a professional opinion.

-pedagogue

[Millwallj]

Originally Posted by pedagogue

I'd suggest seeking therapy. Many times intrusive thoughts (especially violent and/or sexual) are the by-product of other problems. Suppressed anxiety, trauma, guilt, and other issues may actually be the root of your problem, but the root is presenting through these intrusive thoughts.

A therapist can help walk you through the meaning and origin of these thoughts. I am sure they are causing some discomfort, so it would behoove you to seek a professional opinion.

-pedagogue

Thanks for your advice.

I have been diagnosed with OCD and these thoughts, after nearly two decades of reasearch into OCD, do not have subconcious, or Freudian pshchodynamic roots (what does!!?). OCD is an anxiety disorder and is certainly nothing to do with supressed meanings or "hidden" trauma.

[doorknob]

Hey Millwall,

I agree with you. Psychoanalysis has shown to have pretty much no effect in treating OCD. Medication and behavioral or cognitive behavioral therapy has had the best results especially when used in combination. Studies with PET scans show that they cool down the parts of the brain that are overactive in OCD patients.

Doorknob

[pedagogue]

Originally Posted by doorknob

Hey Millwall,

I agree with you. Psychoanalysis has shown to have pretty much no effect in treating OCD. Medication and behavioral or cognitive behavioral therapy has had the best results especially when used in combination. Studies with PET scans show that they cool down the parts of the brain that are overactive in OCD patients.

Doorknob

I actually agree with you that CBT and medication has been impirically validated to be effective in treating OCD. I should have been more clear with my response. I actually don't come for the psychodynamic school, but sometimes I use some of their terminology.

My reference to rooted anxiety or trauma is not based on typical fruedian beliefs, but that of an anxiety (or trauma) that is manifested as OCD. Many times people with OCD lack control in other parts of their life, and their obsessions/compulsions and resulting rituals are a response to having some semblance of control. Also, if I were treating someone with OCD, I wouldnt' take a psychodynamic approach....though suprisingly I can see the parallels of psychodynamic and CBT. (I actually prefer a combination of CBT and some humanistic techniques....but it depends on the case). In the given case I would (hypothetically) first examine the person's cognitions to find any incongruence or problem areas. Then I'd deconstruct their cycle (stimulus, cognition/automatic-thought, response/ritual), then I'd work on alternative coping methods to extinguish the conditioned response. I'd probably re-evaluate at each step, because it never goes as you originally though.

Hopefully I cleared that up.

-pedagogue

[Millwallj]

Cool, I see.

The reason I wanted to put the record straight is that I believe for me to delve deeper into what my symptoms mean would exagerate them, and most of the top dudes in OCD agree. I keep it simple.

You approach sounds very thorough and I totally agree about the not having control in other areas of ones life.

For me the thoughts are all about beliefs: I belive that having these thoughts mean that I could be dangerous, or a pschopath. Or I believe that I must control all thoughts etc. I have about five or six beliefs and cognitive biasis that have been identified and I daily use techniques to readjust them.

In your experience, and you sound very experienced, do you find it an easy beast to get under control? I hear some shock stories of OCD'ers leading lifes of lonliness and misery and the become so distracted by their obsessions that nothing else matters. Thankfully, this has not happened to me. I had a swift diagnosis, a swift treatment, and things get better slowly, day by day.

Also, from your point of you, do you agree with my analogy in that my 'episode' was 'growing pains' - meaning that I actually feel far better than I did before I had OCD even though I have ocd today. Which nudges me toward the idea that OCD was a kind of mental clearing out, a changing of the guards if you like...

Your thoughts?

[pedagogue]

Originally Posted by Millwallj

In your experience, and you sound very experienced, do you find it an easy beast to get under control? I hear some shock stories of OCD'ers leading lifes of lonliness and misery and the become so distracted by their obsessions that nothing else matters.

Also, from your point of you, do you agree with my analogy in that my 'episode' was 'growing pains' - meaning that I actually feel far better than I did before I had OCD even though I have ocd today. Which nudges me toward the idea that OCD was a kind of mental clearing out, a changing of the guards if you like...

Your thoughts?

By definition, the actions of someone with OCD are clinically impairing in one or more areas of your life, so getting that 'under control' is more of a spectrum, than an absolute. Ideally you'd like the OCD to terminate, but for realistic purposes, you hope to get it under control. For people who let their OCD take over their life, they can live a very lonely and miserable life.

I disagree with your analogy not because it isn't 'true' to a certain extent, but because there can be a better alternative. The reason you feel better about your OCD is because your rituals (which are a product of your OCD) act as a coping mechanism for your underlying faulty cognitions. If you can reformulate your cognitions, thus reducing your OCD tendancies/frequencies, which in turn would reduce your need for rituals.

I think OCD actually adds to the 'clutter' of your mind (in your terms), because it doesn't allow you to process the incoming information without first filtering them first through your faulty cognitions. If you could readjust that filter, you would probably find that there is less clutter, because you can process the information for what it is, and not what you think it is.

Here is an example: If you see a door that is slightly ajar, a person without an OCD tendancy would probably either ignore the door, or possibly go up and close the door. A person with OCD (that specifies orderliness, safety, etc) would feel the need to not only examine the door, but then close it. Some may close it 5 times, and check it each time they close it to make sure that it is in fact closed. Then they might check every other door in the building, following the same ritual.

In this example the person without the OCD tendancy would see an open door, and most likely close it.....and be done with that thought. A person with the applicable OCD tendancies would have an elaborate thought plan that revolves around why the door was open, if it can be closed properly, if other doors are open, if they can be closed, etc. It takes much more 'mental lifting' for the second person, which can 'clutter' the mind.

-pedagogue

[doorknob]

Thanks Pedagogue,

That makes alot of sense.

Doorknob