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Can anyone talk about what Zoloft does for the brain in the treatment of OCD?

i have been sick for a while now (well over two weeks) and i don’t know what it is. my body stopped being able to hold food or drinks for very long, and it came out of nowhere. i’m sorry for the TMI, but i felt like after i drank even a sip of water i had to pee not even ten minutes later. and it wasn’t just “oh i have to pee”, it was like “if i don’t get to the bathroom rn i am going to pee myself right here”. much bigger TMI warning… the same went for foods; i’d eat and then hardly any time later it would all come right back out of the other end. as somebody who has dealt with ed’s in the past that lead me to sort of severe deficiencies in my body, this scared me. however, even more, with someone with strongly severe emetophobia (fear of vomit) this terrified me. i had no idea if the next step to this sickness was going to be vomit, and if vomiting was the next step, i had no clue when or where it would happen. this triggered my brain very easily to obsess. at the end of that first week, i had a strong, sharp, stabbing pain in my bladder and stomach above the bladder. it would get extremely tight no matter what i’d do, or how i moved, but it would be most intense if i had any sudden movements. sometimes, however, i’d just be sitting there and all of a sudden it would start stabbing me with sharp pains. - i thought maybe i had developed a very severe bladder infection. that went away after a few days and a week from it going away, i am here. almost every time i eat, i end up crying in a small ball over the pain. just tonight i was crying and terrified for hours because i was convinced i was going to vomit. it felt so convincingly like vomit in my stomach and i was trying everything to prevent it. finally, i tried taking pepto pills with some water. the water came right back up about half way through my swallow. i eventually tried oat milk which somehow worked like magic. not only could i swallow it, but i’ve also felt so much better after drinking it. however, i still obviously feel incredibly light headed whenever i sit up or stand up. i have no clue what any of this could be and i am afraid i will not be allowed to go to the doctor tomorrow unless it gets worse; i am honestly scared to even ask about going to the doctor. - i also know, however, if i don’t go to the doctor, my brain will never seem to stop obsessing over figuring out what it is that’s causing this to happen to me. i have a medical encyclopedia that i plan on searching through tomorrow to see if it helps me at all (assuming that’s better than dr. google). does anybody have any clue what this could be? or any tips on how to stop the obsessing? i am a sixteen year old if that helps any of this.

Last year my dad tested positive for Covid but I went to the movies with my brother a day or two after! I wasn’t gonna go but my brother wouldn’t stop asking so I caved in and went. I wore a mask and thought I wouldn’t get anyone sick. Even worse, I went to the supermarket afterwards! Only because it was a quick trip and I passed people quickly. I can’t remember if I wore a mask but I’m sure I did because I wore one at the movies. But don’t I belong in jail for being so careless? Or at the very least, shouldn’t I feel guilty everyday for the rest of my life? I’m a monster. I can’t live with myself.

Hello everyone. My name is Julia and I have very bad OCD it’s debilitating. I’m hoping this app will help me. My worse part of my OCD as of now is my fear of bugs and my fear of getting myself or my kids sick. I wash my hand about 50 times a day sometimes more and take three showers a day on most days. I am on medication and it doesn’t seem to be helping much. My arms have cuts all over them from washing my hands so much. I pray I can connect with others with OCD of any kid and maybe get coping skills. Nice to meet y’all 💗

One night I started obsessing over how my dad could develop cancer I was watching a movie on Netflix and I kept having to pause the movie to blink and quickly pray to God that he wouldn't so I wouldn't be choosing the movie 'over' my dad. But one time I didn't and I just carried on playing it and then I felt this huge sinking feeling which made me feel like I caused something terrible to happen so I banned myself from Netflix for a year 😭😭and also started banning a ton of other 'materialistic' stuff like chocolate and music because I read in the Bhagavad-Gita that 'life is a balance of pain and pleasure' so I thought that by reducing pleasure I could prevent the pain I could feel from my dad 😭which makes no sense at all Anyway I got over this eventually but today I was watching Netflix again and then I started thinking about how I should probably put it away and go to bed (after I pray for my dad first) but I started thinking about how I don't want to put it away and I think mentally I chose it 'over' my dad- EVEN THOUGH I WOULD NEVER. And then it was like all my OCD faded and I was allowed to pray for other stuff too, etc But then I realised that this could be because Id chosen something above my dad and now he will one day down the line get cancer. I couldn't bear this so I started praying again before bed that I don't choose anything beyond my dad, and that him not getting cancer comes first, etc. Then I got into bed and I keep feeling the urge to get up again and show God I've chosen him and that I don't choose anything instead, and I keep feeling the urge to like tap the floor twice to solidify this but I promised to god that I can't 😭😭 I am so sorry that this is such a long post. Any advice at all would be welcome :(

Ive seen a movie about dementia, and ocd got involved in it. I googled about ocd fear of having dementia cause i was interested if others have this fear too, but i didnt got what i wanted. Instead everywhere i read articles about ocd causes dementia, risks factors, and im questioning if this is true. This is not my main fear, i just developed it now but i know i have a huge health anxiety problem, but bc of this i dont believe in articles like this.

I made a very reckless decision. Last year I went to the movies when my dad tested positive for Covid and I did not even test before I went. Not maliciously at all, I just didn’t even think to since I didn’t feel sick. But I got sick a few days after. I wasn’t gonna go to the movies but my brother wouldn’t stop asking me and I caved in and went, since I wasn’t going to be face to face with anyone and I felt it was low risk. No one sat next to us. I wore a mask of course. But obviously there were still risks. People could have gotten it from touching the door handle that I touched and then touching their face when eating popcorn. Can’t believe I didn’t think of this. I cannot even live with myself. Usually I’m careful when it comes to Covid but not this time. Yes people make mistakes but nobody has made a Covid mistake as bad as this one! I don’t deserve to live.

My brain keeps obsessing over the idea that my mum could develop cancer. My brain keeps saying things like 'move your head twice' or 'tap the floor twice' and it has to feel RIGHT to make sure that she won't. But also all of my compulsions are basically praying until it feels right so when I move my head it's in the direction of the picture of God I have in my house for example, and it feels right. But when I do ERP and delay my compulsions they don't go away, they just come back stronger later in the day like a reminder that I really do have to do this. And if I refuse it's like I'm wasting the opportunity and giving this up, so I'm telling god that I'd be fine with her getting cancer and then she really will. I don't know what to do about this :(

Recently I have started obsessing over my looks especially with regards to aging. I feel that I'm getting "old" (silly I know, I'm 25 turning 26) and I feel like I'm getting body dismorphia or something. Ive realised I'm scared of losing my youth (not necessarily with regards to looks). I am scared to become an actual adult with responsibility. This also correlates with me moving in with my boyfriend and things progressing towards more serious stuff (engagement maybe?). And next year I'll graduate. It's all so scary. And I feel like I'm very very strict and obsessive with a lot of things in my life right now. Anyone relate?

I’ve never been on birth control but I’m thinking that I might soon. I’m a little worried because I’m not sure how it’s going to affect my ocd and my hormones. I also get depressed so I’m worried it will affect this too. Can anyone share their experiences on birth control and how it’s affected both their ocd and non-ocd parts of their lives? Right now I’m leaning towards the implant so any advice on that would also be helpful. Thank you ❤️

Hi everyone my name is ysabelle and I am 16 years old. I would like to share my on going battle with OCD, DPDR, depression and anxiety. About a few months ago I had a intrusive thought that sounded similar like “what if I kill myself, would I be normal again?” (Going off of my DPDR) for those who don’t know what DPDR is, it is basically feeling fake, Truman show, out of body. There is depersonalization which I have 24/7 with episodes of derealization. I’ve had this for 3 years and on going. I immediately went into fight or flight mode and started having a panic attack. I couldn’t be around knifes because a thought would pop up into my head like “what if you cut yourself”. I was so terrified of these thoughts. I was thinking am i suicidal?? Am I depressed?? Eventually I stopped eating, talking, taking care of myself, long story short I fell into depression. Now today as I am writing this my depression has sadly worsened and now I have no hope to get better. I developed existential thoughts so with that being said I have both DPDR & existential thoughts so sadly I question myself if I know my mother, grandmother, brothers, family members and myself. My mom used to be my comfort person with anxiety attacks, panic attacks anything I would feel safe in her arms. Now I feel debilitated and alone because my fear of “forgetting” or getting dementia latched onto my DPDR. I still have suicidal intrusive thoughts but when they pop up into my head I just feel more defeated and depressed. I’m writing this to find someone who’s going through the same thing as me hoping to find some type of comfort & relief. I used to be terrified of these thoughts but I’m not anymore and this makes me think am I getting to that point? Thank you for reading if you’ve made it to the end. Thank you.

Hey Everyone, I have been recently diagnosed with OCD within the past year. Finding this information out gave me an answer to so many years of struggle and feeling alone. I have had ups and downs and have been successful for a long time along this path of my own. Unfortunately, I experienced a massive panic attack 3 years ago that hospitalized me and has left me feeling at the 'start' again, but this time it feels worse than it ever has before. Anything that puts me potentially by myself or having to do anything by myself I cannot fathom, I can barely make it to the gas station at the corner of my house alone. I have been in therapy, went through EMDR/ACT and CBT. I was doing great for a little bit and even made one appointment about 10 minutes away from my home all alone by myself (also note I am in a new area completely that I just moved too). I was on medication at this time *lexapro 20MG*, I am no longer on it due to my bloodwork being extremely abnormal for my age. Now that I am no longer on it - I have fear creeping in that the lexapro kept me sane and that I cannot cope without it. I understand this is not the case entirely but there is something in me that believes that to be true. Long story short, I am looking for individuals who have had the same experience as me and could give me some hope into getting back to my normal routine (even knowing I have OCD now). I just want to be independent again and not burden my loved ones and learn to be okay with myself. Thanks in advance!

Does anyone have experience with Hydroxyzine for short term anxiety? My doctor just prescribed it but I’m curious to see if others have tried it.

I had an intense discomfort in my upper abdomen/lower chest (couldn’t really tell) for most of the day, and I have spent hours thinking I’m going to have a heart attack (despite being a decently healthy 18 yo) because of my moderate maybe chest pain combined with back/neck soreness and a headache (which I think was caused by the stress). I took some antiacids + neutralizers and the pain mostly went away, but everytime my head hurts or I breathe in too deep and feel a crook in my chest I immediately jump to heart attack. I’m scared to fall asleep because I think I’ll die in my sleep. I might go waste money at urgent care just because I need to hear from a professional that it’ll be okay. This similar feeling happened 3 weeks when I thought I had a brain aneurysm, I feel so scared

Im feeling really low, im scared and sad that im here despite all the work i did for years, and i went to the same place i did before. I cant find help for this cause everyone is pushing this idea that "if you want to face panic and recover from it, you have to get checked by a doctor to know that EVERY symptom you have is not a big problem". This is very anxiety fueled, its not possible and its time consuming. I know cause i did that when i started to have anxiety and panic back in 2019. I went to every doctor to se if my symptoms are safe, it consumed time cause symptoms do change alot and its not like you just have one or two. I went to doctors alot, and here is the funny thing, i know that people appreciate doctors, i do too, and people really trust in what they say, but even that my symptoms were caused by anxiety and panic, i still got meds prescribed sometimes or they said something that still made me afraid of my health. One good exemple is that one of my friends has panic now and she went to get checked and its panic but the doctor said if she will have panic in the future it will worsen her health and she can develop hearth problems. True or not i dont care, but how do you face with panic if you think that everytime i have its making me prone to hearth issues? Either they say something that makes you spin more or they find something else that makes you spin. This is my experience. Now im having panic attacks again and the problem is that when i have it, im afraid that there might be a problem and i avoid it to get checked, but i was checked before, it was a long time ago, but bc of these experiences i dont want to go, cause i know it wont solve the problem, then i will get obsessed to check all my symptoms. This doesnt means that i always avoid doctors, not so long ago i had a back pain and i knew that thats not normal and without question i went to get treatment. But with this is different, its lot of symptoms, i know it wont solve it if i just get one done, and theres the possibility that they say something that makes me afraid more. I have alot of bad experiences with doctors,there are good too, but the anxiety related ones are really bad. Not to mention once i got diagnosed with lung fibrosis by a doctor and i was depressed for a whole week until i went to another one and they said im okay... When theres a serious problem i go to get checked but when theres signs that might be anxiety i wont cause they will just tell me things that will make me spin more. So yeah im stuck and spin over my panic, what if im its a real problem, even if its panic what if it will worsen my health, make me develop hearth issues, and i notice too that i want to get reassured cause im sure its panic but i get these what if thoughts and i want to know they arent true... but it will shift to another symptom. So can you share me something that can help me?

I never had much of a problem with germs and stuff when I was younger but after co-opting in a elementary school and working at a nursing home I’m overly sensitive to germs now and for 1. Am wondering if OCD can effects this or is this is even OCD 2. Is a story how I was out with friends and we went to the lake and I got water it my mouth but when I was a kid I would go so far as to open my eyes in the water without a care but this occasion and lately it’s been gotten worse to the point I want to cut open my skin to pour bleach and soap and antibacterial spray inside me or drink it to get the germs and bacteria and parasites or human piss and vomit it decomposed body cuz who knows what happens in a lake. I thankfully didn’t and talked with one of my friends there who has OCD and she said all this was OCD but I truly wonder if it is since I wasn’t like this before????

I wanted to take a moment to share how ERP has given me freedom back, which I’ve been reflecting on lately. I used to have terrible driving anxiety. I didn’t like driving more than 15 miles on the freeway, and avoided doing so. Forget driving at night or when it was raining-so out of the question. While I really didn’t want to work on this, I told my therapist, and she gave me some exposure work. I watched videos of car crashes, and wrote a worry script with my worst case scenario. Prior to ERP, I preferred other people drive to the far off places, and if I drove by myself, I was constantly checking my body, in case I got light headed or lost control of my ability to focus and steer and brake. Which truthfully just caused more anxiety, which didn’t help. So, for several weeks, I worked on this fear until it got easier to manage. And yesterday, I drove 45 minutes away, so I could attend an OCD walk hosted by the IOCDF. I met someone in real life that I’ve seen in my support groups, I walked with a friend who was recently diagnosed herself, and I was surrounded by people who have OCD, a disorder that can be so invisible and isolating, so terribly isolating. To be in a community of people with similar struggles to mine, after I struggled with feeling isolated for so long, was beautiful. There are many wins and struggles that led me here, but being able to drive again, to take the reins back from a fear that controlled me, is more wonderful than I can say. I can drive alone now, I can go to favorite cities and beaches that are farther from home to do some self care. If my friend is tired, I can drive instead of hoping she would. The thoughts aren’t gone, and I know they don’t disappear. I do sometimes think “I’m going to die on the freeway today,” or “there’s going to be an earthquake on this bridge as I drive over it.” But the thoughts are more like whispers now, easier to manage and talk back to. Today my anxiety was going up, I feel like I don’t have control over my upcoming work week, I know I needed to relax but I didn’t know how to relax in just the “right way.” But I can breathe through the things that used to drown me. So if your ERP feels like a nightmare, or hard, keep going. It’s so worth it, even if you’re clawing your way through like I was early on. ❤️

I had OCD as a child and then my symptoms became less noticeable and easier to manage as I got older. Now I am in my 30’s with my first dog and am constantly terrified he is sick or dying. Any abnormal behavior triggers it- a cough, not eating as much as usual, excessive sleeping. I monitor how many times he goes to the bathroom. It’s exhausting. I know logically that he’s okay, but I just can’t seem to shake the anxiety and OCD pattern of calling his vet, asking my husband if the dog is okay, or taking him to the urgent care. Anyone have any advice? This is my first post here. Thank you in advance.

So many thoughts are coming into my head right now I don’t know how to think. I don’t even know how I am going to put this into words on here I just don’t know what to do . I am so scared of throwing up it’s so hard to explain . Everybody tells me “well no likes getting sick” but they don’t get it. It’s not just that, I am scared about getting any major illness and my mind keeps making me think that everything will give me food poisoning or a stomach bug if I am not careful or if I don’t check my temperature ten times in a row . I have to wash every produce throughly if I don’t I will do it again. And it sucks . Every time my stomach hurts I think that I will get sick. I barely eat and sleep because I am so scared . I am scared to sleep because I genuinely think that “anything can happen while I am asleep” so even if I take sleep medication my mind makes me stay awake out of fear. I just want to feel normal . I can never eat out without doing research of the place I am eating at and even after that it doesn’t help. I always feel worried that I will get sick on an important date just because that day is important like Halloween or an upcoming concert or hanging out with friends , so now I just mainly stay at home … but it hurts me because i want to live ( it's ironic because Liv is my name) so badly . my dream is to someday go on a Europe trip but i can hardly leave my state without thinking that something bad will happen to me . its getting unbearable at times . I wonder what it would feel like to not be completely burdened by anxiety and horribly disgusting thoughts every second of my life. And if you're wondering why I haven't had any medication prescribed to me is because I am also scared about taking any medication . I just feel helpless and it's my own fault . And I know I am holding myself back at times but I just don't know how to stop being scared and how to stop worrying about every aspect of my life . It's going to drive me insane .

Just sharing this a bit as I got to terms with the end of my high school career. I feel like I've spent a big time after starting medication on rumination and just feeling overall terrible. I didn't recieve any treatment until it got unbearable for myself, my family, my friends, and my school work. I was constantly having breakdowns and trying to get someone around me to understand. I can recall instances of these breakdowns where I would just get called crazy and irrational, which does not help at all. I was always terrified of getting close to people. I start having bad intrusive thoughts but I know that I would never want to hurt anyone. I can't stop thinking if people would've just taken me seriously in the beginning I could've done so much better. I had many failing grades as a lot of days my mind gets so occupied by every little thing ever I can't even just focus on working. This made my post-grad plans complicated. I want to apologize to the pain I've caused to my family and anyone involved in my life. I'm scared if they touched me I'll contaminate them with something. I was also constantly in ans out of hospital from stress relatwd illnesses as well as "illnesses" my brain convinced me I had. I feel like an instrument of destruction. When I was really young I was fully convinced I was the anti-christ and the only way to change that is if I ended my life. I went off on a tangent, but overall I'm glad at last I could get some chemical relief. While it still effects me everyday, I try to push myself out of my boundaries while making sure I have people around me to reassure me even if the reassurance is "if you do get a heart attack we'll call an ambulance". The best advice that has worked for me as a hypochondriac ia when i feel like mind spiraling to crazy ends like illnesses and possible deaths, I think abt even if you were getting close to it, theres always a way to srop it through diagnoses and help from professionals. It calms me a little to know that even if my obsessions are "right"(they never are), There is always a solution to it. Hope as time goes on I can come to terms with the way my brain is wired, and function like the ones around me do. I had a therapist told me I was incredible for staying in school despite all that I've told her. I felt a relief at that moment since for the longest time I thought I wasn't doing Thanks for making it to the very end sorry for the incredible long vent!