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What to do during an OCD meltdown?

I've had OCD for as long as I can remember, with my earliest memories as a child being of my torment of the disorder. I am in my early twenties now. I am constantly bombarded by negative thoughts and emotions, and thus having to do stupid, repetitive things that are mentally and physically exhausting and distressing, just to "ward off" the bad things that might happen to me. I have extremely low self esteem, and I am constantly in a state of self doubt, and feel like a failure at life. I have to do things and say things to myself thousands of times a day to get rid of my anxiety and assure myself that I am not a failure, but now these compulsions are not working as well as they used to.  I perform them, but the anxiety and thoughts are still there, leaving my in distress, frustrated and in a state of almost panic. It gets to a point every few days where I have a bit of an 'episode', where my day is so bad because of my OCD, that I just can't do anything other than sit in my misery and anxiety, and cry. I used to look forward to going to sleep, because I'd at least get a break for a few hours from my OCD, but now that's not working anymore. My OCD torments me in my dreams now, and even when I'm asleep, I still feel the same negative emotions I do when I am awake. I always liked being unconscious because I have some temporary escape from my conscious self, but now that's not even working any more. What I'm asking now is, whilst in the midst of an OCD meltdown, what can I do to make the thoughts and emotions go away? I am so exhausted and at my whit's end with everything. I have been trying to get professional, medical help, but it has all been going extremely slowly, and it has come to a stand still. Basically my doctor said that I need CBT and medication, but because psychiatrists are so expensive, and there are hardly any of them anywhere near me, I won't be able to be seen by one. The doctor said even if I were suicidal, it would be very difficult for me to be seen by a psychiatrist. So I decided that paying for private treatment myself would be a better option, but ALL the psychiatrists I have contacted have said that they don't take private patients, they only take referrals from a doctor (on the NHS). So I am stuck in a rut. My doctor can't refer me to a psychiatrist, (because in her own words, they are too expensive, too scarce and you aren't suicidal enough), and I can't see one privately because they don't accept private patients. I just want to get better, and this can only happen with CBT and medication, but nobody will give it to me. I have seen several doctors so many times now, and nobody is putting me in the right direction.
Best Answer
1699033 tn?1514113133
I found this on the following website

"In the unlikely event that your GP refuses to give you any treatment or refer you for cognitive behavioural therapy, you can get advice from your Citizens Advice Bureau or the General Medical Council."

The website is

http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/support-info/resources
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1699033 tn?1514113133
Check out the link I sent you.  There are a few places to contact if your doctor is not referring you.  
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it!
I'm in the UK, and our health service is the NHS. Basically, it is sort of free healthcare, but because it's free, you have to wait a very long time for treatment. This is okay, because if I knew that I was on a waiting list, I'd be happy knowing that I have treatment to look forward to. But the doctors keep sending me to the wrong things. For example, they send me to a group eating disorder talk session thingy, when I don't even have an eating disorder (I said that a symptom of my OCD is having to eat certain things, and avoid certain food groups), and I am underweight, but not seriously underweight, only by a few pounds. It's like they are trying to make me try everything else first before going down the route of CBT and medication, when I KNOW that medication and CBT is what I need. A family friend is a psychotherapist, and she gave me an official diagnosis. She said that because I've had it since birth, it is too embedded in me for anything else to work. I have told several of my doctors that I need this, but they seem to sort of dance around the topic, delaying it as much as possible, and trying to coax me into alternatives. There's also a lot of bureaucracy, which is why it is proving to be difficult to get the treatment I need. Even after I offered to pay for it myself, I'm still being met with delays, "no, sorry but...", and refusals. I have asked to be prescribed medication, but they told me that "they aren't qualified to just hand out medication for mental health issues. Only a psychiatrist can do that." Yet every attempt I have made to get seen by a psychiatrist has been met with a "no, sorry". I'm just at a loss. I know of many people who are on anti-depressants and receiving CBT, so I just don't understand why they seem to have gotten it so easily, when I have been asking for weeks and weeks.
Helpful - 0
1699033 tn?1514113133
I agree that you need CBT and medication BUT what I don't get is why these doctors won't refer you.  In the states, psychologists usually teach CBT and they cannot write prescriptions so if you are not seeing a psychiatrist as well, the GP gives you a prescription.

I apologize for not understanding your health system very well.  But from what I have heard is that you see the doc, they recognize the need for treatment, and they refer you (which takes quite a while) and in the meantime I believe some patients have been put on medication by the GP.  You are suffering for God's sake.  If you are sitting on their exam table completely coming apart at the seams, does that consistitute being "suicidal"?  I mean, it will lead to depression and depressed people do stupid things.  

Don't they have the means to prescribe a SSRI and perhaps a benzo to help you sleep?  How many doctors have you tried?  

I'm getting mad at your health system just thinking about this :(  
Helpful - 0
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