Anxiety, OCD, and short bouts of depression

If this is serious, no. You are a minor. tell your parents. i am guessing they have health insurance, and you can talk to a professional. most parents want the best for their kids and would be concerned for their well-being. if racing is causing you anxiety, a professional mental health (psychiatrist or psych) may be able to help you.

It might seem mild to you, but it sounds extreme to someone like me who doesn't deal with any of that. Go talk to a professional. If nothing else, it will feel much better talking to someone directly about this.

I hope posters are lurking. It's always nice to hear how others are learning to deal with OCD.I started counting when I was in preschool - haven't stopped since. Like a lot of you it was never unmanageable until I was out on my own. I symmetrize, have a few somatic checks, isolate, ruminate for weeks or months at a time...the whole thing. I take an SNRI and adderall, and have done years of therapy.

I was certain of the same thing through university, and it stunk. I chose OCD over running. My perspective has changed a great deal since then, and I no longer feel it was time wasted. I can't absorb (or think I can't, anyways ;)...) anything when I'm in the grip.

My compulsions are the same way. For a long time I thought it was less impairing than it was precisely because I could hide it so well. If all I have to do is count to four four times left right left right it should be better should I count to four again four times four four four four left down up right right left left right....and on and...four four four four...

I did that all day every day for ~10 years before I realized it was even going on. Nuts. I won't make this post too long - I'd hate for anyone to obsess over anything I say.

Welcome to what everyone else has. At some point in life, we peak (college for you). From there, everything else seems to not be as good. You're sad when the weekend is over? So is everyone else.

Those aren't freaking OCD issues, everyone has those, they are more like superstitions. Look up OCD and tell me if you have that, go ahead. When I enter into a certain bathroom, regardless of who is in there, what time of day, etc, I have to walk in with a drink, put my phone in my hand, check the level of the ringtone but not adjust it while taking 2 small sips of the drink, gulp gulp. Put the phone down on the counter. Put the drink on the counter with my right hand, pick it up with my left hand then walk 2 steps to the right. I have to wait until there is no one to my right if that sink is occupied. I then repeat that process twice more. If I am having loose stool, it has to wait until I finish. That's one of the ticks I have to do daily, along with many others, and I have it easy.

No need to de-legitimize what someone else has gone through because you feel like you have it worse Moby Dick. A post like that is only going to discourage someone from getting the help they might need.

Howard12, the OCD you describe may be more minor, depends on how much time you're doing those things and the extent to which they interfere in your life or cause distress, but the anxiety you are describing is definitely consistent with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). There are good psychological treatments out there, and I would really encourage you to look in to cognitive behavioral therapy. People often live with anxiety or depression for decades without getting the proper help and then when they find a treatment that works wonder "Why did I wait so long to get treatment and waste all those years being miserable?"

WowwGreatthread wrote:

My anxiety and OCD is so bad that I can even go outside for an easy run without having an anxiety attack. My OCD hinders me from reaching my running and academic potential and my severe anxiety before races messes up the race (fast breathing and high heart rates make me tired early in the race). I'm 17 and I'm too scared to tell my parents about all this. Should I just see a psychologist myself?

Agree with the above poster that telling your parents is probably your best option, because they will have the resources to get you the help you need.

You don't have to tell them the specifics of what your OCD or anxiety is about, just tell them you're having a hard time and want to see someone about it.

I'm curious why people posting with these problems haven't gone to seek help. Are you not convinced that what you're going through is a problem? Do you not want to admit you could benefit from professional help? Do you not believe that things could be better? Not challenging anyone I'm just genuinely curious.

SSRI's are very effective for OCD. Do not be brainwashed into thinking it's the illuminati trying to use mind control or something. They just level off your anxiety and irrational thoughts.

Does running make you OCD or does the sport tend to attract people with a predisposition for this disorder?

Also I'd like to know how prevalent depression is with other collegiate athletes. Just about everyone that's a collegiate athlete has been involved in their sport since at least middle school, so by the time you're 22 you've spent almost half your life with that sport as your focus. When you get to college that 4 years is just a count down until The End.

Most people will never go beyond college as a pro, and the one thing runners have going for us is that we CAN continue to race on the roads, trails, and tracks post-college if we so desire, even if we're now paying to do so. Others can really do that. So now you are 22, you no longer have the sport that's defined you and occupied so much of your time, and you're booted out into the real world. It's not easy to deal with all that at one time.

Tom Cruise wrote:

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.

It's a-holes comments like that that stop people getting treated effectively for depression.

In saying that, there is no quick fix. FPs tend to prescribe popular drugs like Lexapro but not all psychological disorders are the same.

You need to talk to someone with the right background.

Randy Oldman wrote:

Tom Cruise wrote:

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.

It's a-holes comments like that that stop people getting treated effectively for depression.

In saying that, there is no quick fix. FPs tend to prescribe popular drugs like Lexapro but not all psychological disorders are the same.

You need to talk to someone with the right background.

Everybody has bad days. Even me. The problem with today's youth is that they feel like every day should be special. Every day must be exciting. They aren't. That's just a lie. Many days are dull and boring. That is not depression. I know depression. Take vitamins, get fresh air. Pills will only cover the symptoms.

Anxiety can be caused by modern technology. Everyone wants everything now, fast, today, pronto. Check your phone every 30 seconds. It's not working. You don't know psychiatry, I do. A pill can't fix this. You need to put the phone away, go out in nature and sit, reconnect. Breathe deeply and realize you don't need to know everything or have everything today. That is why you are anxious.

One more voice in support of those who say:

1. Psychology is complicated, and it's not easy to tell from symptoms what is at the root, what is primary. OCD? Anxiety? Depression? Biological? Situational? Both? Let professionals help you sort that through, and even with professionals, it will probably take time.

2. I am also among those who always had a reason not to go to therapy (busy with work, not really debilitating, could always point to others who were much worse, didn't know how to find a good therapist) and feel like I wasted time because of it. In my heart I knew I could use some therapy, but never went until a combination of grad school and a breakup brought me to a crisis. I wish I hadn't waited for a crisis.

Props to you, OP, for wanting to be an active agent in your own well-being, and for reaching out at a relatively young age. Follow through, that's my advice. None of us can give you a clear diagnosis or treatment plan, just ideas. But I think you can see a lot of people support your reaching out for help. It will make you stronger and more compassionate at the same time.

Isn't this why we run. Isn't that why we go to the track and beat on ourselves. Just another tricky day.

Tom Cruise wrote:

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.

THIS IS WRONG!!!

This is horribly dangerous advice. Don't listen to it.

I have personally seen someone with severe mental illness go through years of therapy and every other kind of non-chemical treatment, with disastrous results. Then within two weeks of taking the right medication, they were able to settle down to a fairly normal existence. It was freaking night and day! Like flipping a switch in the brain ... just like some people are saying here.

You know NOTHING about the history of psychiatry! If you had even the most basic experience with these kinds of issues you would have seen this for yourself. If I were a moderator I would delete your posts to protect those who desperately need help.

While not all problems are caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, the most serious issues that no apparent external cause are. For anyone who buys into this "you're just masking the problem" argument, you should answer this question:

"If you feel like shit for half your life for no justifiable reason, and someone could give you a magic pill to mask those shitty feelings, wouldn't you take it? Would care about the cause?"

Tom Cruise wrote:

Everybody has bad days. Even me. The problem with today's youth is that they feel like every day should be special. Every day must be exciting. They aren't. That's just a lie. Many days are dull and boring. That is not depression. I know depression. Take vitamins, get fresh air. Pills will only cover the symptoms.

Anxiety can be caused by modern technology. Everyone wants everything now, fast, today, pronto. Check your phone every 30 seconds. It's not working. You don't know psychiatry, I do. A pill can't fix this. You need to put the phone away, go out in nature and sit, reconnect. Breathe deeply and realize you don't need to know everything or have everything today. That is why you are anxious.

What if I told you I knew a guy who is set financially, works for himself and makes his own hours, works outside every day in a very rural area , eats well, and does not own a smartphone or use a computer. He is completely disconnected from the typical city life you are referring to. Yet he struggles with similar intrusive, repetitive, negative thoughts and anxiety. (This is a real person)

Technology and entitlement, an easy cop-out when referring to "today's youth". You say with certainty, "That is why you are anxious." You have no idea why they, specifically, are anxious. Keep your overly generalized internet diagnosis to yourself.

DiscoGary wrote:

This is horribly dangerous advice. Don't listen to it.

It's just a regurgitation of a bizarre Tom Cruise interview with Matt Lauer. Ignore it.

Tinfoil Hat wrote:

DiscoGary wrote:

This is horribly dangerous advice. Don't listen to it.

It's just a regurgitation of a bizarre Tom Cruise interview with Matt Lauer. Ignore it.

I'm also amazed at the people not recognizing the Tom Cruise refernce.

mehhhhh wrote:

Tinfoil Hat wrote:

It's just a regurgitation of a bizarre Tom Cruise interview with Matt Lauer. Ignore it.

I'm also amazed at the people not recognizing the Tom Cruise refernce.

He got me, I guess I haven't seen it.

dreamin wrote:

mehhhhh wrote:

I'm also amazed at the people not recognizing the Tom Cruise refernce.

He got me, I guess I haven't seen it.

Basically Brooke Shields took Paxil for her postpartum, and Cruise stated that the real way to end postpartum is through vitamins and exercise. He basically has the classic paranoid attitude towards SSRI's and the like.