I think I have always had an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, but very mild. Since I started having MAV symptoms, my OCD has drastically increased to the point that I really feel like I am going insane. The combination of the MAV and OCD stuff is really freaking me out. Does anyone else on this forum struggle with both OCD and MAV? Any thoughts as to why the OCD has increased so much since this MAV stuff started?
Ryan
Ryan, any medical condition that’s not well controlled layered on top of an anxiety disorder is likely to have an impact on your “circuitry” which is wired for more anxiety than most. In your case, it’s OCD - I don’t have it, but I have some tendencies which is probably because I have family members who had it.
It’s important to realize that you’re wired this way and accept it - can you find some humor in it? I know that sounds strange, but the person in our family who had it the worst is someone we adored and it helped a lot that she could make fun of herself. Not everyone can do this - I know, when you’re really suffering it’s very hard to do. But it might be a goal to think about. The important people in your life will be more supportive of you when you can talk about the OCD stuff you do in a humorous way - if it’s always “heavy” it will be more difficult to talk about. But if you never talk about it, it will be like the elephant in the room. You need support, now more than ever, so you need to talk about this stuff. It’ll be easier for everyone if you can make a joke about it sometimes.
It doesn’t sound like you see a doctor or take meds or see a therapist for your OCD. If you were seeing a therapist, you would be coached to be doing things like deep breathing and other relaxation strategies because people with anxiety disorders need to work on the “freaking out” part by doing things to counter that, and there are practices that work if you make a habit of doing them daily. If you think your OCD has moved out of the “mild” category into moderate or severe, you really should consider seeing a doctor about it. Sufferering with this on your own isn’t necessary. It isn’t your “fault.” Plus, some of the meds that work for OCD are also helpful for MAV - have you tried SSRI’s?
If you have a neurologist, please at least tell him/her about your OCD. Don’t try to handle this on your own. This is a medical condition and you should seek medical input, OK?
Wow that is so weird, I too suffer from OCD! I have been diagnosed with MAV also. I found that I wasn’t as bad with my OCD until I started having all the stress that came along with not feeling well, not knowing why, not accepting why, and just not being able to get better. It adds sooo much stress to my daily life that I never had before. My OCD increased over time as my anxiety about this condition increased. I watch obsessed, it’s a show where they help people with OCD. It helps me, it reinforces the good angel on my one shoulder a little bit more so that when I start my OCD crap I just try to think to my self what the therapist said to the person on obsessed. BUT DO NOT WATCH the show if listening to peoples OCD obsessions trigger more obsessions in your head!!! I’ve gone to therapy for it and I know what I do is just because of a mental illness that millions of people have OCD. I’m not magical, the tissue, the light switch, and the lock on the door do not change anything in my future. You can not control your future, everything I do with my OCD is wasting the time that I’m trying to save so really the OCD is the evil thing here!!! All I can say is go to a therapist who specializes or knows a lot about OCD and see them. Also tell your neurologist it’s very important to know, as you know stress makes migraines worse and ocd makes stress worse and stress makes ocd worse which makes migraines worse and so on…vicious circle!!!
MaryAlice and Laurennk22,
I really appreciate your advice. I have not taken any meds for MAV except the occasional benzo, which is still rare. I am still afraid to take the meds, but am strongly considering Nortriptyline. I think I am going to go see an OCD therapist. It is amazing to me, that I realize the OCD things I do are ridiculous, but yet I still can’t stop the insanity. I was reading that there are theories that OCD is part of evolution:
"It is contended that obsessional phenomena are archaic, involuntary, repetitive thought processes that stimulate strong aversive emotional states (e.g. fear, disgust) and lead to risk avoidance behaviour. It is hypothesised that the neurobiological system that generates these phenomena has the function of generating risk scenarios without conscious intervention and may thus function as an �Involuntary Risk Scenario Generating System� (IRSGS). Compulsive rituals, the other component of OCD, are conceptualised as primitive harm avoidance behavioural routines that are under semi-voluntary control (Bradshaw, 1997). It is suggested that the IRSGS operates primarily as a self-generated conditioning system whereby the individual can develop harm avoidance behavioural strategies without experiencing the risks involved in real-life dangers.
The adaptive function of this system is that it saves the individual organism from having to experience physical and social dangers in vivo, but instead produces the same learning response in total physical safety. Therefore, the ability of some organisms to learn to avoid common dangers without the need to experience them in real life would have conferred a clear advantage on the individuals who possessed this trait over those who did not. This would have ensured the spreading of the obsessional traits within the population but, as with most traits, extreme variants may prove harmful and can reduce reproductive fitness.
The obsessional process may be akin to the generation of antibodies by the immune system. Whether or not an antibody increases in concentration will depend upon the subsequent feedback. While antibodies have the function of protecting the body from invisible dangers within the body, obsessional thoughts are designed to protect the individual primarily from external dangers within the environment. It is suggested that both operate through a selectionist process - that is, the better fit antibody or thought survives. Some authors have suggested that a similar process, involving the selection of random and spontaneously generated thoughts, lies at the heart of all human thinking (Blackmore, 1999;Gazzaniga, 1992; Plotkin, 1994 & 1997)."
I am trying to find the positive in all of this OCD stuff.
Ryan