Update, recovery + advice 🫶🏻🤍

hey so it's been a long long time since I posted here like 2 years ago when I was 16, I'm 18 now, and I just wanted to share some stuff that may help you and things I've been through and had to learn just incase it may be a missing piece in your own story or problem. Since last year I've had many fluctuating themes with the same and similar patterns, some easier some not as easy, for example rituals I get caught up in which are more pressure, and then more intrusive anxious thoughts that feel harder to control, anyways, recently things go quite bad and I was having bad anxiety + panics, and probably because I'm in a new environment now so my brain generally feels more off balance or like it's harder to escape, i'm only just calming down now the last couple of days, I have recently started sertraline and have been getting positive effects already like less reactive to thoughts and they fade easier and I feel like a normal human being not someone crazily obsessing over things, tho it may have caused the bad anxiety I had before but ofc that calms down eventually, and ofc it's normal if it's not severe. If any of you are thinking of medication I would recommend, ofc it doesn't work for everyone but the majority yes, because I do believe this is working + I'm so glad. My advice for anyone not on medication or just anyways is about something that I find makes the thoughts less powerful and also helps tell me what is exactly going on is to identify the fear, like why are you scared and know that is the reason for the trigger + anxiety, for example, say you have cleaning ocd because you fear germs, you clean and clean but the fear is still there because you are still scared despite what you've done, or simply something that I've been through or triggers me a lot is intrusive thoughts that don't stop or won't go away, the fear is that it'll stay, so you try and push it away but it stays cos you're still scared of that fear. as easy as it sounds you just have to stop thinking about it, for example in 5 steps: 1) disengage from whatever the fear is 2) next time it pops up don't respond + let that fear stay with you (it's uncomfortable because you're body thinks your in danger when ur not) 3) you'll already feel the initial pressure fade 4) it'll probably come back but weaker every single time 5) it can fade into a simple thought with no fear or anxiety attached just a memory When I say don't think I mean don't spiral into rumination and answering your brains questions, I struggled with this a lot and it's annoying when it comes in the multiple waves all at once, but what really helped was the sertraline I believe Anyways I just wanted to kinda do an update and also see if any of the stuff I know can help anyone else cos I know how hard it can be, if you are really struggling definitely get help and get medicated 😭🙏🏻 because idk what I'd do without it If you read all this thank you and also good luck to you and don't give up, whatever it is, is all in your head and you are more than your silly brain 🤍