Anxiety, OCD, and short bouts of depression

People often resist getting help for mental health issues because they feel like they should be able to get over it themselves or that it's really not that big of a deal. While you may be able to still function reasonably well, it can be helpful to think about what it would be like to not feel really down without cause or full of non-stop anxiety.

There are a number of different things that may help these types of symptoms, but the best researched and most widely effective type of treatment for most types of issues is a type of talk therapy called cognitive-behavioral therapy. I'd encourage you or anyone else dealing with these types of issues to look in to it. The link below provides some information about it and can help you find a treatment provider if you're interested

http://www.abctcentral.org/xFAT/?fa=WhatIsCBT

Also this is a great site with information about OCD, its treatment, and where you can find an OCD treatment provider

https://iocdf.org/about-ocd/

Welcome to the club. I've been depressed for 4 years, with occasional upswings in confidence

Agree with the above. Just because things could be worse doesn't mean you should not get resources to help them be better.

Also, long-term anxiety is frequently paired with or a precursor to depression. Your brain can only stay in that anxious state so long. Without adequate recovery, you are prone to depression. (Someone with more expertise can probably better explain the psychobiology, but isn't cortisol implicated in all of this?) I think of it as overtraining syndrome for the brain.

CBT paired with anti-depressants is often a very good combination of therapies, even if you present with anxiety more than depression. Not everyone likes meds, but at least talk to your doctor about them.

Beware of docs who just want to prescribe meds without some kind of counseling therapy. The goal of meds is to help lessen the anxiety enough so that you can do the therapy work that will help you grow. The meds can be an aid, but usually not a substitute.

I hope the best for you.

OP, your story could literally be mine. I had OCD since grade 6, and I'm 29 now. This past April I started on 40 mg of Celexa -- it changed my life dude. Worth thinking about!

Thanks for the replies everyone.When you say it changed your life, how so? Man, I have just thought this was something I needed to suck up for so long. My mind is going crazy thinking I could get help and I would feel better.

Wowiwiwo wrote:

OP, your story could literally be mine. I had OCD since grade 6, and I'm 29 now. This past April I started on 40 mg of Celexa -- it changed my life dude. Worth thinking about!

Wowiwiwo wrote:

OP, your story could literally be mine. I had OCD since grade 6, and I'm 29 now. This past April I started on 40 mg of Celexa -- it changed my life dude. Worth thinking about!

Yup, Celexa is working very well for me as well. I think my OCD would be considered a pretty mild case but I also have Tourette's which is often co-morbid with some degree of OCD. That's not why I take Celexa though. I basically can manage that on my own but a few years ago I had a pretty scary episode with anxiety and needed some help.

In addition to the Celexa I see a therapist once a month. Initially it was once a week until I got past the initial episode but now I really look forward to having someone to talk to once a month.

I'm 38 and pretty successful with a wife and two kids. These kinds of issues don't discriminate and sometimes the people you least suspect are dealing with the same things you are.

Good luck, and please don't feel embarrassed or ashamed about getting some help. This kind of stuff is like miscarriages. It happens to lots of people but because nobody talks about it, you think you're alone.

howard12 wrote:

Thanks for the replies everyone.

When you say it changed your life, how so? Man, I have just thought this was something I needed to suck up for so long. My mind is going crazy thinking I could get help and I would feel better.

Wowiwiwo wrote:

OP, your story could literally be mine. I had OCD since grade 6, and I'm 29 now. This past April I started on 40 mg of Celexa -- it changed my life dude. Worth thinking about!

It basically got rid of all the intrusive, nonsense thoughts I'd have all the time. You know what it's like with OCD: sometimes it gets so bad that you literally feel like you're going psychotic -- at least I did, anyway. A good friend of mine recommended Celexa, so I gave it a shot (reluctantly). I had recently tried Remeron with HORRIBLE results about 3 years ago (mind you, it's not even a OCD med, so I don't know what I was expecting), so I really didn't want to go on another antidepressant.

First 2 weeks on it were kind of rotten -- anxiety was actually worse for a few days, but by 10 days or so it was like my mind was just getting much, much clearer, and all the rubbish, obsessive anxieties were just easy to brush off. I'm now about 10 weeks in and I feel about the best I have in my entire life. Mind is much sharper. I wish I had taken this in university, as I'm certain OCD more or less ruined my academic potential. I highly recommend it.

The SSRI's you'd be best to try are: Celexa, Lexapro (which is just about the same thing), Zoloft, and MAYBE Effexor (although a lot of people really hate this one). There are other antidepressants out there, but they'd be useless for your condition (things like Remeron, Elavil, etc.) Make sure it's one that is actually effective for OCD, like the ones I listed.

Celexa and Zoloft are very effective for your type of anxiety/depression. I bet you'd feel a heck of a lot better.

For anyone who has access to a psychologist or psychiatrist, utilize their knowledge. At the end of the day, these guys have a job to help you. And most of the time, they're pretty successful.

There is a big belief that all antidepressants are bad and that doctors today are just pill pushers. While the latter statement has some validity, there ARE good doctors out there who will care about you and help you. And don't think that antidepressants are "unnatural". The reality is, people today are so far removed from our "natural" state that literally no one is living like our ancestors. We have to make due with the resources available to us now.

If you don't have access to professional help (if you're uninsured, for example), a few general life changes have generally helped people in the past:

1) Make sure your diet is on point. Get enough water, complex carbohydrates (blood sugar crashes can make anyone depressed, so go easy on refined carbs and juice), vitamins, minerals, and Omega 3s. There is plenty of free nutritional information online, so see if you're deficient in anything and start making changes.

2) Do new things. For whatever reason, our brains crave newness. Even if you find something you love, chances are in a few years it won't be as exciting to you as it is now. A lot of people spend a lifetime chasing past feelings by doing the same things over and over again. They usually fail because the novelty factor has long been gone. When you do new things and develop new patterns, your brain forms new neural networks, making you smarter, more well-rounded, and excited about life.

3) Talk to your friends and family honestly about your issues. I can't tell you how many times I've bottled up frustrations and sadness for weeks only to have them completely washed away as soon as I heard a different perspective on them from a friend or family member.

And if you're suicidal, there are a number of free organizations out there to help you.

Medication can certainly be helpful, but for OCD you should be aware that only about 50% of people taking SSRI's see a response, and most people that do respond still have significant symptoms.

The treatment of choice for anxiety (including OCD) is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT; see link above), as most research shows it to be more effective than medication. Combining therapy + medication has shown little additive effect in anxiety.

For depression, medication and evidence-based therapies like CBT, interpersonal therapy, and short-term psychodynamic therapy have relatively equal response rates, and combination strategies can work better when depression is quite severe.

I can give you citations for these findings or more resources if you're interested

I'm the same. I didn't get treatment until after 2 divorces.

Do you find you're also obsessive and have bouts of anger.

I'm on Lamictal which has taken off the highs and lows but 8 years of therapy hasn't made that much difference.

Family docs know nothing, they'll put you on whatever samples they were given after their last drug company funded shebang.

Excellent post

I'm another case where getting on meds after years of suffering made a huge difference. My OCD was completely controlling my life and destroying my relationships with women. I have something called retroactive jealousy. Basically, I obsess about my partners past dating and sex life. Like, all day every damn day. Small video clips of my significant other doing sex acts with ex's. If I saw a pic of a ex it would destroy me. Weird, I know.

Well, I got on zoloft and it changed everything. Completely rewired me and now it's a non issue and instead of being suicidal at times and not enjoying my life I can actually think straight.

The zoloft did make me feel weird and lifeless in a way so the doc added a small daily dose of welbutrin. I'm 42 and I've never felt mentally better in my life. I'll never get off these drugs.

I thought about medication for 20 or more years but never went through with it. Wish I'd have done it earlier.

Wanted to add that I would fly off the handle in fits of rage. Would bottle these horrible thoughts up and then explode when I couldn't take it anymore. I was a complete wreck. Couldn't deal with life worth shit and acted in ways that I knew were flat out wrong but I seriously couldn't control it.

People that claim meds can't help have never had a real mental disorder in my opinion.

What dosage of Lexapro is recommended to start and how long until the pt notices a difference.

Prescription noted was 10 mg per day generic to treat anxiety, OCD, depression in combo with 20 mg per day for ADD (not ADHD). Therapist 2 times per month. Highly intelligent student athlete tested positive for ADD in grad school. National class distance runner.

20 mg per day Adderall. ^^^^^^^^

You don't know the history of psychiatry. I do. I've studied it. All these drugs do is mask the problem. You're not getting to the reason why. There is no such thing as a chemical imbalance. Vitamins and exercise are all you need. Drugs are not the answer.

Absolute BS Tom Cruise. Stick to the movies.

I can relate a bit in regards to your anxiety and ocd problems.

I used to be a music performance major in college. I was at a university that was ranked in the top 3 music schools in the country, and the atmosphere was pretty cut throat. I pushed myself to the point where I had terrible performance anxiety. It went beyond butterflies in the stomach or dreading getting up to play. When I played in auditions or solo performances I would shake so bad that all of energy was focused on controlling my emotions instead of playing music. It affected other areas of my life too. I was constantly nervous and on pins and needles, obsessing over practicing, how others played, and constantly stacking myself up against other people's performances. I was narcissistic and always thinking about myself, and all of this inward pressure eventually brought my music days to an end.

After a year and a half of this life, I decided to walk away from music. It was the toughest decision of my life. I broke down and cried in my professor's office for an hour, walked back to my apartment, cried some more, and went to work at the library and cried while stacking books. I was a complete wreck.

That was over four years ago, and to this day I haven't found anything that I love as much as music. I've thought about it every day since I stopped playing, and I often wonder if meds and therapy would have helped. As you can see I wasn't right mentally, which ended up hurting me physically. Perhaps if I had sought professional help instead of trying to overcome my demons on my own I'd still be playing today. Unfortunately, at the time I was hurting for money pretty badly. I was working 10-15 hours a week at $7.40 an hour and couldn't spend more than $50 a week on food, and even that was pushing it.

I've had a few bouts with ocd since then. Thoughts will populate in my head and drive me crazy, like constantly thinking about breathing, or an awareness of saliva in my mouth, or how my eyes feel. Whenever I get these thoughts I take a deep breath and tell myself it's just my ocd acting up and try to occupy my mind elsewhere.

So my advice would be to seek professional help. Discomfort in telling your family of your problems or desire for help shouldn't keep you from getting assistance. It's your life, and it's too short to spend constantly anxious and fighting mental highs and lows.

Appreciate all the responses. It's nice to see people have similar issues.

In all my 27 years, I haven't really spoke to anyone about these. Like I said, it seems mild and It's easy to hide away. After thinking more about this today, let me give more details...

Depression - I'm never terribly depressed for long periods of times. I will admit, it became much worse the past 4 years. I might have a random week and feel completely down for no reason. I might start thinking about a past event or time in my life, then I'm depressed for several days missing those times. I will feel like quitting my job, breaking up with my GF, and starting over. It's strange.

Anxiety - This is the worst, and it became very bad the past 5 years after college. If the house is messy, my shin hurts from a run, or I have a meeting...I'll be pretty distressed. I become so full of anxiety, that I feel sick. Like I already stated, I don't race for these reasons...and I was a pretty competitive runner. I almost felt like I was going to lose my last job because of anxiety and depression at times. I would go to work and just sit there, not doing anything for days. The dumbest things will put me in full blown anxiety...running late...going fishing and forgetting something, too much talking, thinking someone is mad at me, etc. It's hard to really explain, but it has become very bad. I've started drinking herbal teas to calm myself. I guess it works at times.

OCD - This is something that took years to fully realize, and once I did realize it, I ran from it, thinking I was a freak. I have intrusive thoughts that cause me to do compulsive things in order to make those thoughts go away. From what I have read online, it's almost like a tic. This involves blinking multiple times, rubbing my fingers together, turning the radio knob a certain amount of times until satisfied, looking behind me while running multiple times in a race, dragging my toe while running until satisfied, clearing my throat, etc. Yes, I know...I sound like a friggin creep. No one has really noticed these things because I'm able to control them a bit...I guess that means it's more mild? It was much worse when young, but is still here and becomes worse when feeling anxious or nervous. To be honest, I think my many years of running helped keep some of these things mild. The past year, I have been running less and less...and now I'm wondering if this is what's impacting everything. I don't know.

Anyway, no need to respond. I think I just wanted to throw that out there. if someone can relate or offer advice, I'd love to hear some more. I have never told anyone about this because I feel pretty weird. Just to let everyone know, I imagine there are people affected by these things you wouldn't think. I have a successful career, good life, and had many years of great running. I'm still trying to figure all of this out. Perhaps all of this is pretty mild and I'm fine. I really do not know.