![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 22 of 22. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by mills on May 6, 2003, at 11:25:33
I used to take Paxil for OCD-like symptoms (I can't get anybody to tell me what I REALLY have, but be that as it may), characterized by compulsive angst-ridden introspection, with not so much the "intrusive thoughts" on the one hand or the "compulsive ritualistic behavior" on the other, but something sort of in the middle, i.e. a strong, demanding, sort of tortured impulse and urge to look over and over at my feelings. I'm interested if anyone has OCD with this symptom pattern rather than the classic "hand-washing" or "lock checking" etc. I can't find anyone (but me) whose primary compulsion is to check feelings who has been diagnosed as OCD. I'm tired of being alone in this and want to know of others who experience this. All the literature is about the classic "intrusive thoughts" obsessiveness or the "ritualistic behavior" compulsions (it's always been strange to me that this is the distinction, because "compulsion" to me speaks of a feeling, impulse or urge, but I've seen so little literature on it).
Paxil worked well, making the urge subside, in fact saved my life, but I HATED the sexual side effects! (You know what they are!). I switched to Lexapro, but it didn't help enough, and so now my pdoc has me on Anafranil. So far so good, but the jury is still out. What do you think? Also, did anyone have a "weird" head while getting on this stuff? Almost dementia-like disorientation. Anyway, it scared me for awhile. Please let me know your experience with this medication and the "compulsive" aspect, the feeling part, the urge itself, of OCD. Thanks.
Posted by Snoozy on May 6, 2003, at 13:21:04
In reply to OCD COMPULSION AND ANAFRANIL: DOES IT HELP YOU?, posted by mills on May 6, 2003, at 11:25:33
Hi Mills -
is this the kind of thing you mean: lying awake at night and going over and over a stupid comment you made 10 years ago, just a passing comment? Or thinking "geez, why did I say that or do that?" over the kind of thing most people would have forgotten about at the time, and you can't really stop thinking about it even though part of your mind knows you shouldn't be worrying about this?
I think of obsessive-compulsivness as a continuum, it's not that you don't have it if you don't have a ritual (though that's just my personal belief). Obviously, you are bothered by this, whatever it might be called.
I haven't found a medication that specifically helps with the obsessive rumination, but it just seems to get better when the mood and everything else gets better.
> I used to take Paxil for OCD-like symptoms (I can't get anybody to tell me what I REALLY have, but be that as it may), characterized by compulsive angst-ridden introspection, with not so much the "intrusive thoughts" on the one hand or the "compulsive ritualistic behavior" on the other, but something sort of in the middle, i.e. a strong, demanding, sort of tortured impulse and urge to look over and over at my feelings. I'm interested if anyone has OCD with this symptom pattern rather than the classic "hand-washing" or "lock checking" etc. I can't find anyone (but me) whose primary compulsion is to check feelings who has been diagnosed as OCD. I'm tired of being alone in this and want to know of others who experience this. All the literature is about the classic "intrusive thoughts" obsessiveness or the "ritualistic behavior" compulsions (it's always been strange to me that this is the distinction, because "compulsion" to me speaks of a feeling, impulse or urge, but I've seen so little literature on it).
>
> Paxil worked well, making the urge subside, in fact saved my life, but I HATED the sexual side effects! (You know what they are!). I switched to Lexapro, but it didn't help enough, and so now my pdoc has me on Anafranil. So far so good, but the jury is still out. What do you think? Also, did anyone have a "weird" head while getting on this stuff? Almost dementia-like disorientation. Anyway, it scared me for awhile. Please let me know your experience with this medication and the "compulsive" aspect, the feeling part, the urge itself, of OCD. Thanks.
>
>
Posted by mills on May 6, 2003, at 18:02:00
In reply to Re: OCD COMPULSION AND ANAFRANIL: DOES IT HELP YOU? » mills, posted by Snoozy on May 6, 2003, at 13:21:04
snooz, thanks for the reply, and in answer to your question using the example of the phenomenon I do happen to know oh too well, i.e. the “I can’t get a thought out of my head” thing; that is not the type of thing I experience; that sort of thing has been a distressing annoyance to me when I was a kid, but it was never tormenting to me like what I’m talking about; what I experience is more like the inability to get to the bottom of a “feeling” and a driving, compelling urge-feeling to get to it and know what it is, and I can’t, and so I get panicky, because I need to get it; it's more like i'll have a real vague feeling of fear or something nagging me inside, down in my gut (there is an actual physical component that makes me aware of a feeling of tension or pressure in my gut area all the time--I would love to hear someone say something insightful in this area!!), and i keep going back and back and back, because I've "got" to, and feel like i never get to it and cannot let go of trying, and I have to keep revisiting inside myself to see if I can get to it, and of course I never do ; that's the compulsive feeling or urge or impulse I’m talking about that is what I experience; does that makes sense?
i hear what you're saying about the continuum, but I see it a bit differently, if I may say so, at least as far as my experience; I don’t see it as a continuum; I see it as being about two different types of manifestations of the same underlying issue, the “obsessions” (intrusive unwanted thoughts) and the “compulsions” (behaviors generally) and mine simply not fitting either one of them; i have no problem accepting that i've got a problem or the validity of it; i mean, i know i've got a problem, and a serious one, have for 30 years (ouch!), but i want and need to find some personal resources for help, like in books and support groups, someone to talk to who doesn't look at me with their head cocked, etc. i have spent countless hours looking and talking to pdocs and psychologists, and i haven't found anything on my particular issue; I have found no literature describing what I experience, none, and that’s frustrating, but that’s not even the issue; I just need some resources, you know
I see the “obsessive” vs. “compulsive” as being not about a question of degree, but a question of kind; my compulsive introspection is highly highly compulsive, but there is absolutely no “ritual” element to it, which relieves the tension; does that distinction make sense? so it's not just a matter of degree; it's almost like i've got a type that is so uncommon, honestly, i've spent easily literally 1000's of hours researching, and i can't find anyone to address it, which is just odd and on a personal level very frustrating; i just can't get the kind of information i need for on the subject; everything i read on the internet or books or talking to pdocs, etc., etc., etc., talk "only" in terms of the classic definitions, but i'm here to tell you (rhetorically speaking), i've got a serious problem that on a continuum would be pretty high but doesn't fit the classic continuum;
thanks for the input, and I appreciate all you got
mills
Posted by caroline on May 7, 2003, at 13:02:48
In reply to OCD COMPULSION AND ANAFRANIL: DOES IT HELP YOU?, posted by mills on May 6, 2003, at 11:25:33
Hi,
I don't think you're alone; my OCD doesn't fit with textbook cases either, it can be somewhat similar to yours but I always had trouble with compulsions to work-out.
I've been on and off anafranil for past twelve years. I've now been on it 3 years again and I'll never come off it again. It certainly is the most effective for me. I'm also on remeron but that helped not at all with the OCD.I think when I was 20 and first started on anafranil I did feel something of the dementia-like disorientation you speak of, but that may have been due to being on a high dose. I didn't have it when I went back on it in 1999.
Good luck!, Caroline
Posted by mills on May 7, 2003, at 17:58:04
In reply to Re: OCD COMPULSION AND ANAFRANIL: DOES IT HELP YOU?, posted by caroline on May 7, 2003, at 13:02:48
bless you, thank you
steve
Posted by ace on May 9, 2003, at 0:07:27
In reply to Re: OCD COMPULSION AND ANAFRANIL: DOES IT HELP YOU?, posted by caroline on May 7, 2003, at 13:02:48
Posted by mattdds on May 9, 2003, at 0:53:50
In reply to OCD COMPULSION AND ANAFRANIL: DOES IT HELP YOU?, posted by mills on May 6, 2003, at 11:25:33
Hi Mills,
I have had that same intense introspection my whole life. It hit it's worst about 8 years ago, when I was 19-20. But I've always had this tendency. I am quite sure it is how I'm "wired". I have often wondered if I have something that could be considered a sort of atypical OCD.
The obsessions will shift to different areas of my life. When I was 19 I could literally think of nothing but religion (mainly doubts about what I had been taught all my life, as I came from a religious background). I didn't have any rituals or classic OCD signs, but I was certainly overly preoccupied with the subject. The thoughts however, seemed "ego-dystonic", because I had a very difficult time stopping the incessant rumination. I have since worked through all this (and wound up agnostic if not overtly atheist in the process), but there was a time where I was so introspective, I literally found it hard to talk or even relate to people, because I felt nobody would understand. I wanted to engage in real life, but I could not direct my attention voluntarily to outside events, I kept getting sucked back inside myself.
I also had what is called body dysmorphic disorder at one time. At 20, my hairline receded a little bit (thank goodness, it did not get too far, even 8 years later). I would catch myself looking at other people's hairlines, comparing mine to theirs, worrying about the implications or being bald, checking how many hairs were on the comb and pillow, looking at my forehead in the rearview mirror of my car until I had a headache....all to the point that my brain literally HURT!
Now that I am older, I am aware that something is different about the way I'm wired and have been able discern that I have some sort of mental illness (duh, took me long enough!). I wonder if I have become obsessed with that, too. All this studying and thinking I do about mental illness, I wonder if this is just part of the same old beast that has plagued me for my whole life! And YES, I catch myself "checking" how I feel all the time!
I believe it was the same obsessive tendency that drove me to learn about my obsessive (or whatever you want to call it) tendency. How's that for a paradox? A disease reaching out to heal itself! I have probably read every book about cognitive therapy available at my university library! If you are not aware, many studies have shown that CBT is equally effective as antidepressants for OCD, with better long-term outcomes.
CBT has helped me *feel* tremendously better, even if I have not altered my core "nutty" thinking pattern. I did not have much luck with any of the classes of antidepressants (every SSRI at high doses, TCA's), although I have not tried an MAOI. SSRI's were, however, extremely effective at killing my orgasmic function, which made me obsess about not having one. Klonopin helps quite a bit, however. I take anywhere from 0.5 to 1.0 per day, depending on symptoms.
So, your condition sounds a lot like mine. I'm sure we're not alone. Sometimes it takes time to articulate what is going on in your mind. My guess, is that many people, if they were to read our posts would say, "Wow, that sounds just like me!"
Best,
Matt
Posted by mills on May 16, 2003, at 13:22:34
In reply to Atypical OCD? » mills, posted by mattdds on May 9, 2003, at 0:53:50
You sound JUST like me! Do you have any physical manifestations of your preoccupation with your innards, i.e. tightness or knot?
CBT really honestly sort of scares me; it makes me feel like I would have to do the very thing I cannot do and do not want to do, and that is to deny or betray my feelings; any issues with that?
Thanks
Steve
> Hi Mills,
>
> I have had that same intense introspection my whole life. It hit it's worst about 8 years ago, when I was 19-20. But I've always had this tendency. I am quite sure it is how I'm "wired". I have often wondered if I have something that could be considered a sort of atypical OCD.
>
> The obsessions will shift to different areas of my life. When I was 19 I could literally think of nothing but religion (mainly doubts about what I had been taught all my life, as I came from a religious background). I didn't have any rituals or classic OCD signs, but I was certainly overly preoccupied with the subject. The thoughts however, seemed "ego-dystonic", because I had a very difficult time stopping the incessant rumination. I have since worked through all this (and wound up agnostic if not overtly atheist in the process), but there was a time where I was so introspective, I literally found it hard to talk or even relate to people, because I felt nobody would understand. I wanted to engage in real life, but I could not direct my attention voluntarily to outside events, I kept getting sucked back inside myself.
>
> I also had what is called body dysmorphic disorder at one time. At 20, my hairline receded a little bit (thank goodness, it did not get too far, even 8 years later). I would catch myself looking at other people's hairlines, comparing mine to theirs, worrying about the implications or being bald, checking how many hairs were on the comb and pillow, looking at my forehead in the rearview mirror of my car until I had a headache....all to the point that my brain literally HURT!
>
> Now that I am older, I am aware that something is different about the way I'm wired and have been able discern that I have some sort of mental illness (duh, took me long enough!). I wonder if I have become obsessed with that, too. All this studying and thinking I do about mental illness, I wonder if this is just part of the same old beast that has plagued me for my whole life! And YES, I catch myself "checking" how I feel all the time!
>
> I believe it was the same obsessive tendency that drove me to learn about my obsessive (or whatever you want to call it) tendency. How's that for a paradox? A disease reaching out to heal itself! I have probably read every book about cognitive therapy available at my university library! If you are not aware, many studies have shown that CBT is equally effective as antidepressants for OCD, with better long-term outcomes.
>
> CBT has helped me *feel* tremendously better, even if I have not altered my core "nutty" thinking pattern. I did not have much luck with any of the classes of antidepressants (every SSRI at high doses, TCA's), although I have not tried an MAOI. SSRI's were, however, extremely effective at killing my orgasmic function, which made me obsess about not having one. Klonopin helps quite a bit, however. I take anywhere from 0.5 to 1.0 per day, depending on symptoms.
>
> So, your condition sounds a lot like mine. I'm sure we're not alone. Sometimes it takes time to articulate what is going on in your mind. My guess, is that many people, if they were to read our posts would say, "Wow, that sounds just like me!"
>
> Best,
>
> Matt
>
>
>
>
>
>
Posted by Jack Smith on May 16, 2003, at 13:44:24
In reply to ARE YOU MY DOPPELGANGER?, posted by mills on May 16, 2003, at 13:22:34
> You sound JUST like me! Do you have any physical manifestations of your preoccupation with your innards, i.e. tightness or knot?
>I think I may be with you guys too. Mills, when you say physical manifestations, do you mean like a knot in your chest or your neck. I constantly have this and even when my depression is in remission, I still get it. It's weird. Benzo's can control it but usually just keep it at bay.
JACK
Posted by mills on May 16, 2003, at 13:54:24
In reply to Re: ARE YOU MY DOPPELGANGER? » mills, posted by Jack Smith on May 16, 2003, at 13:44:24
Jack, god bless your soul! Yes, a highly resistant (that's putting it extremely mildly) knot or tightness in my gut and diaphragm area with some tightness sometime in my neck and even my mouth sometimes. It is such a part of my long term experience and I read NOTHING by "experts" (except from what I think of as offshoot or fringe segments usually found in areas like Bioenergetics or Rolfing, etc) on psychological phenomenology about something that is common to my everyday experience. But, yea, you're on the right track, Jack.
Thanks,
Steve
Posted by Jack Smith on May 16, 2003, at 14:11:36
In reply to Re: ARE YOU MY DOPPELGANGER?, posted by mills on May 16, 2003, at 13:54:24
Yes. Sometimes, it just feels like a lot of mucus in my throat. Sometimes, it is in my stomach and it is like I can feel the skin on my stomach much more than anything else. I always thought of it as a physical symptom of GAD but I don't know if that is the correct diagnosis. Do benzos help for you at all?
JACK
> Jack, god bless your soul! Yes, a highly resistant (that's putting it extremely mildly) knot or tightness in my gut and diaphragm area with some tightness sometime in my neck and even my mouth sometimes. It is such a part of my long term experience and I read NOTHING by "experts" (except from what I think of as offshoot or fringe segments usually found in areas like Bioenergetics or Rolfing, etc) on psychological phenomenology about something that is common to my everyday experience. But, yea, you're on the right track, Jack.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Steve
Posted by mills on May 16, 2003, at 14:25:19
In reply to Re: ARE YOU MY DOPPELGANGER? » mills, posted by Jack Smith on May 16, 2003, at 14:11:36
Yea, I hear you on the elusive diagnosis issue; the story of my OCD-stained life. I have never taken benzos, because frankly the tightness is not in and of itself something I care about per se; it is however the direct manifestation of the anxiety that sits of the core of my soul. Sorry, ouch! And, it's the "magnet" that pulls/compels my attention inward, the nagging, vague gnawing that demands my attention. Is that like yours? And have you felt like you didn't fit in because you couldn't show a "ritual" (i.e. compulsion) or an "intrusive thought" (e.g. "Oh No!! I think I ran over somebody!!, etc.) (i.e. "obsession")? It's been very frustrating to me not to be able to identify, much less "label", what is obviously a disorder of some kind.
So, the benzos help you? Is yours like a "feeling" of a "compulsion?" My problem is the compulsive urge itself, and I don't really have a choice of whether to look within or not; I've got to, i.e. what I think of as a "compulsion" in the first place, right?
You and Matt are the only two people I have ever met that could even relate to this type of OCD. What do you say when people ask you what you have or what are you taking meds for, etc.? I say now an "anxiety disorder" but I even feel weird saying that. Sheesh, I've 48 years old and I'm worried about this type of s***!
> Yes. Sometimes, it just feels like a lot of mucus in my throat. Sometimes, it is in my stomach and it is like I can feel the skin on my stomach much more than anything else. I always thought of it as a physical symptom of GAD but I don't know if that is the correct diagnosis. Do benzos help for you at all?
Posted by Jack Smith on May 16, 2003, at 16:35:18
In reply to Re: ARE YOU MY DOPPELGANGER?, posted by mills on May 16, 2003, at 14:25:19
> And, it's the "magnet" that pulls/compels my attention inward, the nagging, vague gnawing that demands my attention. Is that like yours? And have you felt like you didn't fit in because you couldn't show a "ritual" (i.e. compulsion) or an "intrusive thought" (e.g. "Oh No!! I think I ran over somebody!!, etc.) (i.e. "obsession")? It's been very frustrating to me not to be able to identify, much less "label", what is obviously a disorder of some kind.
I have never thought of myself as having OCD, and I still don't think I would fit into that category, specifically because I don't have any sort of ritualistic behavior.
>
> So, the benzos help you? Is yours like a "feeling" of a "compulsion?" My problem is the compulsive urge itself, and I don't really have a choice of whether to look within or not; I've got to, i.e. what I think of as a "compulsion" in the first place, right?
>Same here. Just sort of the compulsive feeling of what's wrong with me? And it manifests itself in a tightness in my chest, etc.
> You and Matt are the only two people I have ever met that could even relate to this type of OCD. What do you say when people ask you what you have or what are you taking meds for, etc.? I say now an "anxiety disorder" but I even feel weird saying that.
Benzos definitely help me but I have never taken them long term. Though I am considering that. But I also clearly have classic signs of depression, mostly atypical symptoms--oversleeping, rejection sensitivity but no overeating.
The label I have always gone with is depression and GAD, I am surprised you were diagnosed with OCD and not GAD. It doesn't really matter what someone calls it because the treatments really overlap and what works for some doesn't work for others.
JACK
Posted by worrier on May 16, 2003, at 21:09:58
In reply to Re: ARE YOU MY DOPPELGANGER? » mills, posted by Jack Smith on May 16, 2003, at 16:35:18
> > And, it's the "magnet" that pulls/compels my attention inward, the nagging, vague gnawing that demands my attention. Is that like yours? And have you felt like you didn't fit in because you couldn't show a "ritual" (i.e. compulsion) or an "intrusive thought" (e.g. "Oh No!! I think I ran over somebody!!, etc.) (i.e. "obsession")? It's been very frustrating to me not to be able to identify, much less "label", what is obviously a disorder of some kind.
>
> I have never thought of myself as having OCD, and I still don't think I would fit into that category, specifically because I don't have any sort of ritualistic behavior.
>
> >
> > So, the benzos help you? Is yours like a "feeling" of a "compulsion?" My problem is the compulsive urge itself, and I don't really have a choice of whether to look within or not; I've got to, i.e. what I think of as a "compulsion" in the first place, right?
> >
>
> Same here. Just sort of the compulsive feeling of what's wrong with me? And it manifests itself in a tightness in my chest, etc.
>
> > You and Matt are the only two people I have ever met that could even relate to this type of OCD. What do you say when people ask you what you have or what are you taking meds for, etc.? I say now an "anxiety disorder" but I even feel weird saying that.
>
> Benzos definitely help me but I have never taken them long term. Though I am considering that. But I also clearly have classic signs of depression, mostly atypical symptoms--oversleeping, rejection sensitivity but no overeating.
>
> The label I have always gone with is depression and GAD, I am surprised you were diagnosed with OCD and not GAD. It doesn't really matter what someone calls it because the treatments really overlap and what works for some doesn't work for others.
>
> JACK
>
>
>Gee guys, you have really made me think. I've had panic attacks for almost 20 years and was always able to more or less deal with them up until a year or so ago. Made the big mistake of mentioning them to my MD who put me on a whirl-wind tour of virtually every antidepressant know to man all of which made things much worse. To make a long story as short as possible, paxil sent me over the edge and I haven't really come all the way back yet. The thing is, post-paxil I seem to be experiencing the same sort of thing you all are describing...a constant awareness of a tightness in my chest,sometimes in my throat too.I have called it anxiety for lack of a better term, but your comments about constantly "checking" physical sensations really hit home. I find that I am exceedingly aware of my heart rate...you name it.Almost like my brain is constantly scanning my body for anything slightly out of kilter. Is this anything like what you've described? Benzos help alot, but the underlying "awareness" never completely goes away.Comments would be appreciated. Worrier.
Posted by Ed on May 17, 2003, at 14:21:44
In reply to Re: ARE YOU MY DOPPELGANGER?, posted by worrier on May 16, 2003, at 21:09:58
Whatever you guys have, I have it too, and I've have had it for decades (I'm 47). I'm referring to the "magnet" and that sense of being compelled to direct one's attention INWARD (i.e., to constantly monitor one's condition as if something unknown might be about to happen to you) rather than being able to direct one's attention OUTWARD. For me, Nardil and alcohol will each normalize the situation pretty well (but who wants to be on either?), and benzos will take care of the neck or chest "knot" but benzos don't really solve my vague sense of preoccupation. Meditation also helps greatly (if you have a couple of hours a day to spare) and I think it does so by forcing you to focus on a specific single point and thereby training you to avoid falling into the default of generalized internal "monitoring" or "preoccupation."
Maybe this vague preoccupation "magnet" is simply the "hypervigilence" noted in anxiety disorders; or maybe the "magnet" is what some simply describe as "insecurity." Maybe it is the difference between being an introvert and being an extrovert. Maybe all three! It certainly could be described as "lack of peace of mind!" Sometimes I think the preoccupation "magnet" results from the inescapable human condition- that it is a perfectly normal adaptative response to ensure survival in a world where (at least until recently) nature was "red of tooth and claw" and life was "brutish and short."
> > > And, it's the "magnet" that pulls/compels my attention inward, the nagging, vague gnawing that demands my attention. Is that like yours? And have you felt like you didn't fit in because you couldn't show a "ritual" (i.e. compulsion) or an "intrusive thought" (e.g. "Oh No!! I think I ran over somebody!!, etc.) (i.e. "obsession")? It's been very frustrating to me not to be able to identify, much less "label", what is obviously a disorder of some kind.
> >
Posted by KarenB on May 17, 2003, at 15:47:13
In reply to ARE YOU MY DOPPELGANGER?, posted by mills on May 16, 2003, at 13:22:34
Hi. Have any of you ever tried Geodon for your excessive ruminating thoughts? It certainly helped with mine and there is no weight gain, unlike Zyprexa.
Karen
Posted by Ed on May 17, 2003, at 16:35:15
In reply to Re: ARE YOU MY DOPPELGANGER?, posted by KarenB on May 17, 2003, at 15:47:13
In my case, at least, there are no thoughts involved whatsoever. The preoccupation is more like a distracting "sense" or "feeling" of there being some sort of unfinished business that needs to be attended to. You can;t focus on the outside world because the "magnet" draws you back; but when you try to consciously pinpoint the source of the vague preoccupation, you find you can't identify it. So it remains lurking back there, always knawing at you but never subject to identification or resolution.
> Hi. Have any of you ever tried Geodon for your excessive ruminating thoughts? It certainly helped with mine and there is no weight gain, unlike Zyprexa.
>
> Karen
Posted by Donna Louise on May 18, 2003, at 21:39:24
In reply to Re: ARE YOU MY DOPPELGANGER?, posted by Ed on May 17, 2003, at 16:35:15
> In my case, at least, there are no thoughts involved whatsoever. The preoccupation is more like a distracting "sense" or "feeling" of there being some sort of unfinished business that needs to be attended to. You can;t focus on the outside world because the "magnet" draws you back; but when you try to consciously pinpoint the source of the vague preoccupation, you find you can't identify it. So it remains lurking back there, always knawing at you but never subject to identification or resolution.
>
>I am a member of this club too. But reading that this is no doubt common to alot of us helps me realize that there is really nothing wrong, it is just the illness looking for a place to land. This is going to help me to be able to not pay attention to myself. On the other hand, there won't be any crafty cancer able to sneak up on us!!
Donna
Posted by mattdds on May 18, 2003, at 23:10:39
In reply to ARE YOU MY DOPPELGANGER?, posted by mills on May 16, 2003, at 13:22:34
Hi Steve,
Indeed, we sound a lot a like.
Yes, I get physical manifestations, like the tightness you mentioned. Like the gastrointestinal expression of existensial angst.
CBT doesn't advocate suppressing or betraying feelings. But it is common that people have misconceptions of what it is. Read more about it, it can only help, and can't hurt.
Best,
Matt
Posted by mills on May 19, 2003, at 10:08:38
In reply to Re: ARE YOU MY DOPPELGANGER?, posted by Ed on May 17, 2003, at 16:35:15
Wow, Ed, I think I've finally found my peeps!! Hallelujah! That, what you described, my friend, is EXACTLY what I experience. I just feel something is wrong inside, some unpleasant discomfort in my psyche somewhere (actually somewhere in my gut--which is interesting to me in and of itself, that it has a home!), and I go to deal with it, and I can't "put my finger on it"; Have you talked to counselors about this on level? I'm really interested; thanks
> In my case, at least, there are no thoughts involved whatsoever. The preoccupation is more like a distracting "sense" or "feeling" of there being some sort of unfinished business that needs to be attended to. You can;t focus on the outside world because the "magnet" draws you back; but when you try to consciously pinpoint the source of the vague preoccupation, you find you can't identify it. So it remains lurking back there, always knawing at you but never subject to identification or resolution.
>
> > Hi. Have any of you ever tried Geodon for your excessive ruminating thoughts? It certainly helped with mine and there is no weight gain, unlike Zyprexa.
> >
> > Karen
>
>
Posted by mills on May 20, 2003, at 10:32:12
In reply to Re: ARE YOU MY DOPPELGANGER?, posted by mattdds on May 18, 2003, at 23:10:39
Matt, thanks for the advice. I will look into CBT. I mean, I've got to research something, right? I wonder how many OCD'ers are or wish they had been researchers for a living. Hmm.
Yea, I was an existentialist before I ever heard the word, and "angst" is my middle name.
I sincerely appreciate everyone's response; it's more helpful than you can know.
s
> Hi Steve,
>
> Indeed, we sound a lot a like.
>
> Yes, I get physical manifestations, like the tightness you mentioned. Like the gastrointestinal expression of existensial angst.
>
> CBT doesn't advocate suppressing or betraying feelings. But it is common that people have misconceptions of what it is. Read more about it, it can only help, and can't hurt.
>
> Best,
>
> Matt
Posted by mills on May 20, 2003, at 10:58:22
In reply to Re: ARE YOU MY DOPPELGANGER?, posted by KarenB on May 17, 2003, at 15:47:13
Karen, like Ed, mine main culprit is the feeling or urge itself; the thoughts I have are only natural given the compulsiveness of the core urge to examine a vague sense or gnawing anxiety. I need something that addresses the underlying urge, not the ruminations themselves at this point. My pdoc put me on risperdal for awhile, but I didn't like it at all. The best thing that has ever helped for me is Paxil, and I just want to have a sex life so I couldn't stay on it, but I may go back and tell my girlfriend not to expect too much from me. Thanks.
> Hi. Have any of you ever tried Geodon for your excessive ruminating thoughts? It certainly helped with mine and there is no weight gain, unlike Zyprexa.
>
> Karen
This is the end of the thread.
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