Posted by Adam on January 25, 2000, at 20:41:38
In reply to Re: Looking For Panic/OCD Disorder Answers!, posted by Sam on January 25, 2000, at 18:05:44
Hey, Katie,
Rather than upping the dose of your medications, you might try augmenting your treatment with behavioral therapy. I have in the past and am currently augmenting my treatment for depression with this approach, since I have few options for treating OCD pharmacologically while on an MAOI. I find it immensely helpful, and perhaps even more effective in some ways than drugs because I can adapt what I learn in behavioral therapy and apply it to a number of situations. This is not to say you should not also look into pharmacological interventions, just that, especially for OCD and OCD-spectrum disorders, behavioral therapy can be (and in my case is) a big help.
I would add one caveat: Behavioral therapy for OCD isn't always for the faint of heart. At times it feels a bit like paying someone to torture you. Repeated exposure to what you find most distressing, and the discipline that must be exercised to abstain from rituals after this exposure can lead to real distress. I have even found my obsessions may "move around" a bit in response to therapy, as if my brain is trying to outsmart the therapist and search about for other ways keep me in the cycle of anxiety and fleeting relief. If you can bear it, though, it's worth trying, in my oppinion. I've found, after some intensive (and arduous) behavioral therapy a long time ago, that OCD isn't that much of an issue anymore, and most of what I do now is an attempt to get rid of some nagging symptoms. I am not currently on an SSRI or clomipramine, and at one time my OCD caused me real and debilatating problems. That just isn't the case any longer.
Best of luck!
-Adam
poster:Adam
thread:19667
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000112/msgs/19692.html