# How do I get over my OCD?? ugh



## Ravellian

This is driving me nuts. If I'm watching a TV show and I miss one little thing somebody said, even if it's not important at all, I _have_ to rewind it and watch it again. Even if it's just a tiny little thing. Otherwise it will bug me, and I won't be able to stop thinking about it until I hear what they said.

It's starting to happen with music too. I often restart pieces 3-4 times because I think I missed something important. And in school. I have to read every tiny thing in a textbook carefully to make sure I don't miss anything, even if I know the topic isn't that important.

Is there anything that causes this? How can I force myself to just _let go?_


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## kv466

I started fighting my own ocd, actively, many years ago...it'd difficult...I used to have to turn the same way a certain amount of times and most certainly had the same troubles you described...hmmmm, my best suggestion is to at least keep trying to actively address the issue and take care of it...probably, the same thing won't work for two people but if it makes you feel any better,...I have worked out many of the kinks and they were pretty darned involved.


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## Philip

start drinking :cheers:


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## Dodecaplex

Diagnosing and/or treating yourself is not a great idea. In case you do have OCD, see a psychatrist or a therapist. There is no other way. None.


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## Ravellian

Philip said:


> start drinking :cheers:


this actually makes it worse, because it becomes harder to concentrate and I miss more stuff <.<

And this is kind of a recent problem. I'd really like to nip this in the bud before it gets out of hand..


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## Weston

I do something similar, but never thought of it as a disorder. For instance I savor every word of a novel, even cheesy escapist fiction. I tell myself it took the author several months or years to write it. I should give it the attention it deserves or not read it at all. 

There's also a bit of a ritual involved in watching a show to get really immersed in it. The same with new CD's. 

Part of the beginning of the end of my marriage, over a decade ago now, was my great anger at having bought a new CD, rushing home from the store to hear it, but having to relieve myself first of the all coffee we had imbibed that day. Taking care of my biological needs I hear the opening strains of the CD welling up from the living room where my wife had already put it in the player. Damn it! You get to hear a CD the first time only once. I did not want it to be while I was otherwise occupied. She did not understand my anger, but she would never even have heard of the group before I came along. I felt a little proprietary of them, and felt it was extremely rude of her not to wait on me. But then to her they, and music in general, was just background or something to dance to. There's no depth of feeling there.

So I say, be careful what you want to be rid of. It may actually be a side effect of a virtue. However if it is negatively impacting your life, maybe it is a problem.


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## Philip

in computer science this could be modeled as depth-first search (DFS) vs breadth-first search (BFS). i prefer BFS, thus i listen to the whole piece, then repeat it, each time gathering more and more information, rather than thoroughly analyzing each segment in one pass.


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## Almaviva

Ravellian said:


> this actually makes it worse, because it becomes harder to concentrate and I miss more stuff <.<
> 
> And this is kind of a recent problem. I'd really like to nip this in the bud before it gets out of hand..


Get professional help. Nobody can deal with it on his/her own, regardless of what people may tell you. If it's severe enough to disturb you, you gotta get it treated by professionals. Cognitive-Behavioral therapy and SSRIs (the class of medicines that Prozac belongs to) are very efficacious for the symptoms of OCD.


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## Aramis

> How do I get over my OCD?? ugh


s
UGH UGH FUMBA DUMBA


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## Guest

Definitely agree with Almaviva about getting professional help BUT Weston is probably right too - be careful what you get rid of. Stephen Fry (bless him!) often talks about the great things which can happen to him as a result of having Bipolar Disorder. That's worthwhile if you can intellectualize and stand outside of yourself, as he does. But not everyone is mentally or psychologically equipped to do this and obsessions can be a nightmare, and ruin quality of life. I'm rather obsessive - people, music, films, books, politics - and it drives me (and others, I'm sure) nuts at times. I meet somebody I really like (especially one who loves music and films, for example; age or gender no barrier!!) so I declare 'ownership' of them - if you know what I mean. I met such a fellow once when I was teaching - he was a Casual and came from New York. He knew all about film music and, in particular, the things I loved too. We would sing together in the staffroom, much to the chagrin of others. He said he was "obsessive" and I agreed I was too. But, in that instant, it worked for both of us - except that it drove everyone else in the staffroom nuts. But there are DEFINITELY plenty of instances when I wish I wasn't obsessive (like writing on music forums, for example???!!!). Oh, a final word - if your personal 'resources' are strong enough you can sometimes tough it out with regard to these issues - but I find sometimes that simply isn't enough. My first recommendation is listening to music!


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## Chrythes

Well, i can say that in a way i envy your "disorder".
I myself am quite the opposite - while reading a book i do tend to go back to a specific sentence and try fully understand it, but only if i think it is necessary. But by doing that only so often i think i miss quite a lot of information and thus i remember (or understand) specific parts not as good as i would like. While you are able to be focused and concentrated on one thing for relatively a long time, i on the other hand lose my concentration quite fast, as my mind just drifts away, even if the thing i am doing or studying is of a great interest to me (e.g music). I think it holds my progression (in every sphere that i tried really) in a whole, especially when combined with my lack of passion for anything and my tendency to lose interest in the things that i do. 
So i say again - in my current situation i quite envy you.


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## Almaviva

CountenanceAnglaise said:


> Definitely agree with Almaviva about getting professional help BUT Weston is probably right too - be careful what you get rid of. Stephen Fry (bless him!) often talks about the great things which can happen to him as a result of having Bipolar Disorder. That's worthwhile if you can intellectualize and stand outside of yourself, as he does. But not everyone is mentally or psychologically equipped to do this and obsessions can be a nightmare, and ruin quality of life. I'm rather obsessive - people, music, films, books, politics - and it drives me (and others, I'm sure) nuts at times. I meet somebody I really like (especially one who loves music and films, for example; age or gender no barrier!!) so I declare 'ownership' of them - if you know what I mean. I met such a fellow once when I was teaching - he was a Casual and came from New York. He knew all about film music and, in particular, the things I loved too. We would sing together in the staffroom, much to the chagrin of others. He said he was "obsessive" and I agreed I was too. But, in that instant, it worked for both of us - except that it drove everyone else in the staffroom nuts. But there are DEFINITELY plenty of instances when I wish I wasn't obsessive (like writing on music forums, for example???!!!). Oh, a final word - if your personal 'resources' are strong enough you can sometimes tough it out with regard to these issues - but I find sometimes that simply isn't enough. My first recommendation is listening to music!


Well, there is a gradation that needs to be taken into account.

There are obsessive traits. These are not that bothersome.
When the traits become excessive, we talk of obsessive personality disorder.
When there are intrusive thoughts, rituals that impair people's ability to function, then there is OCD.
Only the latter requires treatment with medication. The first one mentioned requires no treatment. The second one can be treated with psychotherapy.


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## graaf

One psychologist once told me (without a shread of cynicism) that for 80% of people it is enough to listen to them, and say something like "go home and think about all you said, and meet me again in a week" and problem is solved. Not because problem never existed, as some poeple are quick to conclude, but because the amount of time we spend reflecting seriously on ourselves (before trouble happens) is infinitesimally small. On the other hand, therapist gotta eat too... and that's where we get to the "therapy or failure" attitude.

I'd use analogy with diet - for so many people it would be enough to quit completely on fast food, soda, bad fats and industiral sugar, and to add fruit, vegetables and home cooked stuff (doesn't have to be haute cuisine, any basic cooking beats McDonalds). And for quitting on KFC and Pepsi you don't have to be a nutritionist, but to have some discipline. Again, this is not to say that nutritioists are useless, it is to say that changing basic habits in regard to food can make the biggest difference. 

But nutritionists, just like therapists, gotta eat...

TLDR: We can't do everything by ourselves, but we usually don't need professionals to teach us how to chew gum and walk at the same time. It is a huge spectrum from one extreme to the other, and I have a feeling that modern world is going towards "walk while chewing" coaching. 

Try to see what makes you do that, see someone if you don't suceed at first and get some literature on the subject (choose literature carefully).

All the best,
graaf


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## Ravellian

Thanks for the comments everyone. I don't think I need to seek professional help at this moment, like graaf said I should just do whatever I can do to adjust my behavior by myself. Maybe if I stop and do some self-reflective thinking whenever I feel the urge to be obsessive, I'll be able to handle it.

It's part of the line of work I do (public accounting) to be extremely detail-oriented. If I slightly miscalculate depreciation or make an incorrect reference to another sheet of paper, I could be in deep ****. I just need to be able to separate work from private activities more to make sure my home life isn't impaired.

I've also edited this post about 5 times. alright, time to stop <_<


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## Jeremy Marchant

Ravellian said:


> Thanks for the comments everyone. I don't think I need to seek professional help at this moment


All my training tells me you should seek help now. If the condition is currently mild, then it will be relatively easy to move through it. Why wait for it to get worse, and have a far harder task to move forward? It might not get worse, but why risk that?

I hear resistance to the idea of just asking a professional, and that resistance can't be born of a reasoned analysis of the situation.



> Maybe if I stop and do some self-reflective thinking whenever I feel the urge to be obsessive, I'll be able to handle it.


That will certainly help. It also shows you have insight into the problem and this will make dealing with it far easier. A cognitive behavioural approach might well be indicated. If nothing else, this will help you optimise the benefit from self reflection.

NLP is also likely to be useful, given this is a behavioural situation. However, in the UK - and I would imagine in the US -, there are many essentially incompetent practitioners, so proceed with caution down this route.

Send me a PM if you wish.


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## Almaviva

graaf said:


> One psychologist once told me (without a shread of cynicism) that for 80% of people it is enough to listen to them, and say something like "go home and think about all you said, and meet me again in a week" and problem is solved.


This sounds to me like something a clueless, incompetent psychologist would say. This is actually quite outrageous. This guy should urgently go back to school, supervision, books, whatever. If this is the notion he's got about what constitutes psychotherapy, he should limit his practice to pseudo-psychological advice in women's magazines and day-time talk shows. Skilful, well-trained psychologists would *never* believe in this kind of gross simplification of what psychotherapy is about.


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## graaf

Almaviva said:


> This sounds to me like something a clueless, incompetent psychologist would say. This is actually quite outrageous. This guy should urgently go back to school, supervision, books, whatever. If this is the notion he's got about what constitutes psychotherapy, he should limit his practice to pseudo-psychological advice in women's magazines and day-time talk shows. Skilful, well-trained psychologists would *never* believe in this kind of gross simplification of what psychotherapy is about.


If you could read my post with an open mind, you might see that maybe, just maybe, the guy was saying that 80% of people who come to the therapist do not actually need psychotherapy, but some self-reflection. Instead, you attack the guy for being "clueless, incompetent, outrageous" simply because he doesn't put on prozac anyone who visits him. I have warnings on my username, so I'll stop here - the only reason I replied at all, was to address the fact that you used rather harsh words to describe someone you don't know at all and most probably simply misunderstood.


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## Igneous01

graaf said:


> If you could read my post with an open mind, you might see that maybe, just maybe, the guy was saying that 80% of people who come to the therapist do not actually need psychotherapy, but some self-reflection. Instead, you attack the guy for being "clueless, incompetent, outrageous" simply because he doesn't put on prozac anyone who visits him. I have warnings on my username, so I'll stop here - the only reason I replied at all, was to address the fact that you used rather harsh words to describe someone you don't know at all and most probably simply misunderstood.


I agree to some respect with this. Im sure most people in the world are left with a void of meaning in their lives and how little value they have compared with so many other people around them. Considering that in our times recognition or even identifying a person is non-existent for some people. The ability for someone to listen, and acknowledge our existence is all it takes for people to get over their said issues.

But I guess being Human is too much now?


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## Sid James

I don't know if Ravellian has a psychological problem, in any case it's hard to tell online. As Alma said, it's only a problem if you can't run your life, or the the main part of your life, properly. People with the worst cases of OCD do things like wash their hands over and over again until they literally bleed, stuff like that. & as you answered Ravellian, accounting is a very pedantic (an*l?) profession, with high attention to detail. Having said that, I knew an accountant well once, and she didn't come across as being like that. 

But it might just change with age. I was a pretty pedantic type of person before, but now I'm not. I realised that focussing too much on the details ends up with me losing the big picture. I'm actually not that good at details, I'm better at the big picture. I hate jargon & technical cr*p, I like the human side of things more now. When someone starts talking to me about their digital camera and all the features, it simply drives me up the wall. I begin to filter out what they're saying, I'm hearing them but not taking any of it in. It bores the **** out of me.

So basically, you might change as you mature & get older (& wiser, maybe, but I'm far from that, unfortunately, but that's another story!)...


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## Almaviva

graaf said:


> If you could read my post with an open mind, you might see that maybe, just maybe, the guy was saying that 80% of people who come to the therapist do not actually need psychotherapy, but some self-reflection. Instead, you attack the guy for being "clueless, incompetent, outrageous" *simply because he doesn't put on prozac anyone who visits him*. I have warnings on my username, so I'll stop here - the only reason I replied at all, was to address the fact that you used rather harsh words to describe someone you don't know at all and most probably simply misunderstood.


Huh... where is Prozac mentioned in my post???
I'd thank you for not putting words in my mouth.

As for what this "psychologist" supposedly said, I stand by what I said.

If these folks only need self reflection and hey, "problem solved" like he said, then he shouldn't be accepting these people for psychotherapy and charging money for it. Psychotherapy has indications *(and side effects),* and a little need for self-reflection that would be able to solve magically whatever problem the prospective patient presented with, is most definitely *not* one of them, and is a gross simplification (more like something like a lay person would say). So, 80% of people who seek psychotherapy don't need it? Simple, don't accept those people for psychotherapy. That's the ethical thing to do, not merely dispensing this kind of advice and saying "come next week to see me."

Analogy: a "patient" goes to a doctor's office and says: "I believe I have high blood pressure. Please prescribe the strongest blood pressure medicine you have." The doctor then measures the person's blood pressure and finds out that it is perfectly normal, or very minorly elevated to the point that reducing the salt in the diet would - hey - solve the problem the next day.

Ethical, well trained doctor: "You don't need me. Change your table salt to a salt substitute you find in any supermarket and be on your way, you'll be fine. You don't need to come see me again, unless in the future you develop real hypertension, and then I'll be happy to help you. Buy in any pharmacy a blood pressure monitor and only come back if it is really consistently elevated."

Unethical doctor: "Here is this medicine [Almaviva's note: a placebo]. Come see me next week." [Almaviva's note: outrageous behavior - "treating" and charging for the treatment a problem that doesn't need treatment].

Incompetent, clueless doctor: "Here is this strong blood pressure medicine [Almaviva's note: not necessary for the patient and full of side effects]. Come see me next week."

Get it?

I said "it sounds like" - and again, I stand by what I said. Because, of course, this might have been misrepresented, that's why I said "it sounds like" because I haven't heard it directly from the mouth of this psychotherapist. What I meant was that a competent, well-trained, ethical psychotherapist wouldn't be uttering *nonsense* like this. Psychotherapy is serious business, not some advice column in popular magazines, and really competent professionals know this and don't indicate it lightly or accept requests for it lightly.

Harsh words? Yes, I don't like it when psychotherapy is mischaracterized (something that happens often in Hollywood movies, TV series, advice columns in magazines, and talk shows like Dr. Phil and other such nonsense - and this includes Internet fora).

I'm not trying to shoot the messenger, but the occasions when you'll see me reacting harshly is when ideas that can have an implication for public health are uttered here or anywhere else, like the recent thread in which people kept saying that vaccines were harmful and not efficatious. The notion that 80% of people in psychotherapy only need a piece of advice like "engage in some self-reflection" and hey, problem magically solved, revolts me. It's a banalization that may encourage people who really need it to refrain from seeking it, by thinking that it's all that it does therefore it is not worth the commitment in time and money.


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## graaf

Almaviva said:


> Huh... where is Prozac mentioned in my post???
> I'd thank you for not putting words in my mouth.


Of course there's no prozac in your post, I used "prozac thing" as a phrase and thought it would be obvious - as in "prozac nation" and so on. Now I'm not sure if I need to say this, but since I could as easy be accused of chauvinism as I did for putting words in your mouth, here I say it: I do not think that Americans are addicted to prozac, but that there's such phrase and also a movie based on a book.


Almaviva said:


> If these folks only need self reflection and hey, "problem solved" like he said, then he shouldn't be accepting these people for psychotherapy and charging money for it.


Talking about putting words in other people's mouth - did I say he charges them? Does he even work in private practice or mayb, just maybe, for a governmental institution? And are there even such things as medical systems different from US? Etc, etc, etc...

Anyway that's as far as I managed to force myself to read your post. The level of misunderstanding seems intentional to me, so I have to quit discussing.


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## Almaviva

graaf said:


> Of course there's no prozac in your post, I used "prozac thing" as a phrase and thought it would be obvious - as in "prozac nation" and so on. Now I'm not sure if I need to say this, but since I could as easy be accused of chauvinism as I did for putting words in your mouth, here I say it: I do not think that Americans are addicted to prozac, but that there's such phrase and also a movie based on a book.
> 
> Talking about putting words in other people's mouth - did I say he charges them? Does he even work in private practice or mayb, just maybe, for a governmental institution? And are there even such things as medical systems different from US? Etc, etc, etc...
> 
> Anyway that's as far as I managed to force myself to read your post. The level of misunderstanding seems intentional to me, so I have to quit discussing.


About the Prozac thing: yes, it was putting words in my mouth. You said "Instead, *you *attack the guy for being "clueless, incompetent, outrageous" *simply because he doesn't put on prozac anyone who visits him*." So, you indicate there that the reason I'm attacking the guy is *simply *because he doesn't prescribe medication - do you even know if I favor psychotherapy or medication or both? My point was purely about what this guy says about 80% of his patients, I made no relationship whatsoever between my point and the idea of prescribing medication or not - by the way, you said he's a *psychologist*, and those are not licensed to prescribe medications (*psychiatrists* are). So, now, you make reference to the Prozac nation, it's gotta be those Prozac-crazy Americans, right? (More on the Americans part later).

I didn't say you said he charges *them*. I said he charges *for it *(read it again). Either he charges his patients directly, or he charges his employer for his time, through his salary. I wasn't putting words in *your* mouth (refer to the "not shooting the messenger part), I was merely explaining why what he said is wrong (because there's always a charge). Unless this guy is ultra-rich, doesn't need to work for a living, and practices pro-bono in some sort of charity setting and never sees anybody for a private fee or for a salary, what I said stands. There is no free lunch. Somebody is paying for these treatments that are *not needed and not indicated* (apparently *80%* of his practice, *in his own words*) be it the patients or the tax-payers or some other institution.

Not charging for psychotherapy doesn't eliminate its side effects. If this technique/modality of treatment is not indicated, one shouldn't apply it, regardless of whether it's private pay or salary. A practitioner under salary should still use his/her caseload wisely for the benefit of the population he/she is trying to assist and/or the institution he works for, instead of taking under his psychotherapy practice (private, public, or institutional) 80% of people who don't need it (easy cases, maybe - but his time on the government tab should be used more wisely).

I don't know what you're tryting to prove, graaf. I've worked for 5 years in Europe and I know quite well other medical systems besides the American one. The point about systems of care has nothing to do with what I raised. Taking on 80% of easy cases who don't need treatment and *making them come back* in a public setting is as bad as charging the patients directly for it in a private setting. Whether it's the patient's money or the taxpayer's money, it's still a *banalization* of the technique and *inappropriate use of resources*.

There is no misunderstanding whatsoever, from my side. What this "psychologist" - if accurately reported - said is misguided any way you look into it. It would be understandable *without* the *"come see me next week"* part. I think *you* are the one who is misunderstanding what I'm saying. If what he said implies that most people who *seek* therapy don't need it and would only need some self-reflection, sure - but then he should send them on their way like in my analogy of the patient with minimally elevated blood pressure. But if he takes them under his care and keeps making them come back, then it's wrong, plain and simple. He is using a powerful tool (one that can stir up anxieties, result in transferential storms, etc) for people who don't need it and don't have an indication for it.

Now, if you don't want to read the entirety of my post, be my guest, ignore me if you will (there's a function for that), but I'm saying this not just to you (thus my "I don't want to shoot the messenger") but to anyone reading this thread and getting the wrong idea regarding what psychotherapy is about and for what cases it is indicated (just like I reacted to the mischaracterization of vaccines the other day). Psychotherapy is not for people who merely need some self-reflection.

And why do you keep making of this an issue about Americans? Can't you talk to me without looking at the _Location: USA_ part of my avatar? What in the hell being American has to do with my opinion? I'd stand behind it anywhere in the world where psychotherapy is used as a treatment modality.


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## kv466

I'm only curious if the folks who are quite quick to send someone to a head doctor or to start taking medication have actually experienced these things for themselves. If so, bog bless you. If not, perhaps you might consider taking a step back and not commenting so strongly on something you know nothing (doesn't count even if your mother has it) about.


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## Almaviva

kv466 said:


> I'm only curious if the folks who are quite quick to send someone to a head doctor or to start taking medication have actually experienced these things for themselves. If so, bog bless you. If not, perhaps you might consider taking a step back and not commenting so strongly on something you know nothing (doesn't count even if your mother has it) about.


Well, if I know nothing about it, I must have been doing something different during my last 31 years of professional practice.
I believe I pretty much know almost *everything* that there is to know about it.


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## Fsharpmajor

Almaviva said:


> Now, if you don't want to read the entirety of my post, be my guest, ignore me if you will (there's a function for that), but I'm saying this not just to you (thus my "I don't want to shoot the messenger") but to anyone reading this thread and getting the wrong idea regarding what psychotherapy is about and for what cases it is indicated (just like I reacted to the mischaracterization of vaccines the other day). Psychotherapy is not for people who merely need some self-reflection.


Let's take the extreme example--a person goes to their family doctor and reports having suicidal thoughts. Will he or she be told to just snap out of it, or automatically be given a prescription for Prozac?

The answer is no. Modern medicine isn't perfect, but it is _not anywhere near that slipshod_.

In my opinion, anyone who says that psychotherapy is useless doesn't know a goddamned thing about it.


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## HarpsichordConcerto

Ravellian said:


> This is driving me nuts. If I'm watching a TV show and I miss one little thing somebody said, even if it's not important at all, I _have_ to rewind it and watch it again. Even if it's just a tiny little thing. Otherwise it will bug me, and I won't be able to stop thinking about it until I hear what they said.
> 
> It's starting to happen with music too. I often restart pieces 3-4 times because I think I missed something important. And in school. I have to read every tiny thing in a textbook carefully to make sure I don't miss anything, even if I know the topic isn't that important.
> 
> Is there anything that causes this? How can I force myself to just _let go?_


Hi Ravellian, most advice so far seem spurious to me. My advice to you, and please don't take this as an offence, is you need a girlfriend and some good action in bed. Then, all the frivolous **** that bother men become trivial.


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## kv466

HarpsichordConcerto said:


> Hi Ravellian, most advice so far seem spurious to me. My advice to you, and please don't take this as an offence, is you need a girlfriend and some good action in bed. Then, all the frivolous **** that bother men become trivial.


I second that!


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## Almaviva

HarpsichordConcerto said:


> Hi Ravellian, most advice so far seem spurious to me. My advice to you, and please don't take this as an offence, is you need a girlfriend and some good action in bed. Then, all the frivolous **** that bother men become trivial.


There should be a button to dislike this.
There is a tendency here sometimes to go into a frontal assault on any kind of organized knowledge, as if decades and centuries of science could be just thrown out the window because somehow the school of life will take care of everything.
As much as it would be nice if symptoms of OCD were something one could just shrug off and cure by engaging in some hot sex, the reality is that they're a lot harder to eliminate and don't usually respond to pop psychology and bartender kind of advice.


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## Ravellian

HarpsichordConcerto said:


> Hi Ravellian, most advice so far seem spurious to me. My advice to you, and please don't take this as an offence, is you need a girlfriend and some good action in bed. Then, all the frivolous **** that bother men become trivial.


Sex doesn't appeal to me much anymore, mostly because of a few very bad relationships that I've had since a few years ago.. it's kind of a personal thing.

Thank you for all the advice Alma.. I simply don't feel comfortable going to a professional at this time, because I feel like my symptoms are not serious enough to have a doctor take me seriously. I feel like I'd just be wasting their time, and they'd just give me a few pills and tell me to go on my way.


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## Dodecaplex

Ravellian said:


> Sex doesn't appeal to me much anymore, mostly because of a few very bad relationships that I've had since a few years ago.. it's kind of a personal thing.
> 
> Thank you for all the advice Alma.. I simply don't feel comfortable going to a professional at this time, because I feel like my symptoms are not serious enough to have a doctor take me seriously. I feel like I'd just be wasting their time, and they'd just give me a few pills and tell me to go on my way.


That's like saying you don't want to go to a dentist until you've lost a minimum of five teeth. You're using some horrible backwards logic here.

Also, they won't force you to take medication. If you just want therapy (since your condition hasn't aggravated that much yet), then they'll just give you therapy.


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## Almaviva

Ravellian, this is a decision that only you can make.
It all depends on how much these symptoms impair your ability to function decently throughout the day, how much anxiety/suffering/psychological pain they cause, etc.
If you feel that it's not a big deal, then fine.
If you feel things are getting / may get out of hand and become a real nuisance like you said in post #5 above, then get help.
Like I said, there is a matter of gradation. Mild symptoms are likely to respond to cognitive behavioral therapy and are not likely to require medication. Severe obsessive-compulsive symptoms often require a combination of therapy and medication. By what you're saying, you don't seem to be there - but I'm only saying this tentatively, since nobody can assess these things over the Internet in a Classical Music forum. What I'm telling you is just generic fare that is likely to be true in most cases - but each case is different and only a face-to-face evaluation would bring you answers and would result in an individualized treatment plan, if treatment is warranted.
On the other hand, these things are slow to evolve, so if you feel you don't need or don't want any professional help at this time, fine.
The summary of my advice for you is - if you feel that the symptoms are hindering and impairing your life *significantly*, go get some help. The rule of thumb for this is that if you spend/waste more than 1 hour per day obsessing about stuff and not getting things done because of the obsessions, then chances are that the symptoms require professional attention. If the symptoms don't get to this level of seriousness, then getting them treated is often optional and depends largely on the amount of psychological pain/impairment that they cause/access to care/affordability of care, etc.

Good luck, whatever you decide to do.


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## Ravellian

It really is more of an annoyance than an impairment at this point. I just have an extremely strong attention to detail in the work I do in my profession and at school and when I analyze music, which definitely helps me thrive in those environments.. but not in my "regular" home life. At home I don't _need_ to obsess over and consider every detail, but the habits just tend to transfer over anyway.

If it gets to the point where I simply can't enjoy any home activities, then I'll seek help. Until then, I'll just see if I can help myself.


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## Almaviva

Ravellian said:


> It really is more of an annoyance than an impairment at this point. I just have an extremely strong attention to detail in the work I do in my profession and at school and when I analyze music, which definitely helps me thrive in those environments.. but not in my "regular" home life. At home I don't _need_ to obsess over and consider every detail, but the habits just tend to transfer over anyway.
> 
> If it gets to the point where I simply can't enjoy any home activities, then I'll seek help. Until then, I'll just see if I can help myself.


OK, fair enough. Maybe you should look into this:

Self-help books for OCD

And this:

List of Websites with info on OCD and resources for it


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