So has anyone got over it and felt normal. And what's the best way you learnt to handle it to feel may be even a bit okay
I have OCD. I'm 28 and I've had it since I was a kid. It doesn't fully go away but it does get better if you treat it. I did exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy about 2 and a half years ago and it helped so much. My therapist says improvement is kind of like turning the volume down on the intrusive thoughts, even though you can't shut them off entirely. I still struggle with it but it doesn't control my life the same way it used to.
@EdgeVerge There are ways to manage. I'm not sure if OCD is something you "get over" as much as it is something that you learn to cope with. Unfortunately, many mental illnesses are this way. It really, really sucks.
Good news is that people are okay living with it. Many people have been successful in their journey. It isnt easy, and its a lot of work but you can be ok. This means different things for different people. Me personally, I'm doing okay if I'm not self harming. My intrusive thoughts are so horrific that I need to damage myself to make it stop.
Like @Pleiades20 said, it does get better if you work with it. Its really a personal question. What does being ok mean for you, exactly?
@Blinkk
Yeah, definitely agree that "no OCD symptoms" doesn't have to be the goal to get to "feeling/being okay." You can get to a place where it's definitely still part of your life but its intrusion is minimized enough that you can feel much better mentally and live a normal life.
@Pleiades20
Is there any self help that can help me reach there? Or I need to have to have a psychologist
@EdgeVerge
I think there are probably things you can teach yourself or books that might help, but I would really suggest looking for a therapist who specialiazes in exposure/response prevention (ERP) therapy because that's considered the best treatment. It was what really made the difference for me.
If you can
CBT has helped me so much that I don't actually have rituals any more. Therapy, sometimes with the help of the right medication, really can help. I'm not 100% free of it and I likely never will be, but I'm much more functional now than before and I have hope that I can contribute to improve in the future.
