Hello All, like others in this forum i’m suffering from Hiv ocd. It started around 25 years ago althougth I suppose I have always had a personality prone to worries. I had never had what experts consider real risks but I cannot get it out of my mind. I was able to manage it (more or less..) suffering high anxiety peaks and with 1 or 2 tests anually. However in the last two years It has gone our of control. I started a psicodynamic therapy which helped me to slightly control the anxiety in the short time but I think It made worse the ocd. Last July I changed of therapist and started an Exposure Reponse Prevention therapy. I also started on medication with Paroxetine and I think that things are starting to go slowly better.
For me this has been a taboo for many years and also sharing with my family in the last months has also been a great relief. I have discovered that sharing and not taking the things all for my own is also helping me.
If someone is on the same situation and wants to share feedback it would be great.
In the lasts months in addition to therapy I have also been reading some books and online content which have also helped me to better understand the condition and start my recovery journey. Some of the bests I want to share are:
Books:
- The man who couldn’t stop (David Adam)
- Brain lock (Jefrey M Schwartz)
Online:
Anxiety, OCD and depression recovery (John Glanvill) https://youtu.be/nXk75ezkRK4
Greetings and strength to all OCD sufferers! :-)