Stress Center Peer Support

In my area (Ohio) Oprah will be doing a show with Dr. Oz on the subject of OCD. I am going to watch in order to see if there is anything new for all of us to learn.

After watching, how about we make some comments-see you later. Carolyn

Sounds interesting! Too bad I won't be able to watch it (I'll be at work when the show airs). I have several different tyes of OCD. Please let us know if you find out anything interesting. Thank you!
~Britt55

Great!
I would love the show touch on ALL the different types of ocd and not just handwashing, counting, order, hoarding, etc; Not that those are not important but probably most of the general public, when they think of ocd, they think of these(most common?????) types of ocd. Bringing obsessive intrusive thoughts out in the light or Hit and run obsession or.....? I can imagine how mant folks across the nation watch Opra, and who some of those people suffer in silence, not really knowing anything about the disorder and are too afraid to mention anything.

i totally agree sierra . i wish it was going to be on the scary thoughts so that way when you tell someone about them they don't think your crazy because they already make you feel that way just by the looks they give you when you tryng to explain it. i think if they would do an ocd show on that then there would be more information on it and maybe help people realize there not losing it and they are normal.

Yeah,
I had a counselor years ago that said I was seriously sick when i mentioned my problems with these thoughts. You can imagine how i felt when i left the session. Then, I just happen to scrape by the information in a book about obsessive thoughts(pure o) and started seeing an ocd specialist who said its quite common for general therapists to not have any knowledge of the different ocd problems that present with anxiety disorder, and that he commonly had other patients complain of the same thing. I drove 2 hours to just see this guy and it made the world of difference. I told my Mom while going through the worst of it years ago and she broke down crying saying she too has suffered from the same kinds of thoughts her adult life and that now she doesnt feel so alone.

This was a good program. There was an emphasis both by Dr. Oz and Dr. Grayson, that this type of treatment is best experienced with a professional guide. I totally agree with that. Preferrably, as Grayson points out, someone who is trained as a specialist in "exposure response prevention." During the second day of the treatment, three criteria were listed as goals of the treatment: no to fixating; no to paralyzing; saying no to any and all ritualizing. The six people who took part in this experiment had OCD to the extreme. I believe just reading Dr. Grayson’s book would not help these six people overcome their disorder. If, on the other hand, a person has obsessive thinking which hasn’t crippled their life, I’m sure his book would be helpful. Oprah’s comments suggested she’d be a good candidate for going through this program (with a professional guide) Just kidding.

PS: Dr. Grayson's book is described on this link:
<A HREF="http://www.anxietypanicattack.com/ocdbooks.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.anxietypanicattack.com/ocdbooks.html</A>

Pecos, you summed it up well. I hope all that could watched because it showed us how very brave people are who face their fears and stare them down...that's exactly what it takes.

Dr. Grayson has worked many, many years in this special area. I have spoken with him on the phone and he is a good man, and dedicated therapist. He also indicated that there were centers around the country with specialist to help in the treatment of severe OCD.

His book is worth reading along with others on the subject. Hope to hear from more of you who watched. Carolyn

I got to see most of the show. I kept thinking, "wow I could never do that", when they were touching the dirty trash cans... and then puting their fingers in their mouths... ewww. I am not extreme OCD like they were, but I would like to read Dr. Grayson's book sometime. I am trying to babystep into this program first. I often tackle too much at one time and then get overwhelmed and give up on everything. So first, I want to work on my main issue, anxiety/depression... I am going to focus on this program.

I was thinking the same thing about the licking their hands thing. However, I thought. . . if licking a toilet seat was going to cure me, I'd do it!!

Something just struck me today though about breakthroughs. I have always had a big fear of medications. Recently I started taking hormones, then something for my stomach. I had a huge panic attack the first day, but then after a few days when I made myself keep taking them (I generally can take something once but taking it again gets harder) I felt stronger and stronger. After taking it for a few days I just felt SO GOOD about myself. For me, taking those birth control pills (to control my cycles) was the equivalent of licking a toilet seat. I had no idea that having that fear in the back of my head had so much power. I was also afraid of drinking coffee. I know that sounds a little silly. But I had a bad experience where the coffee gave me a PA. So, I made myself drink a cup just to prove to myself I could. I'm also now actually trusting to drink a cup of decaf that I didn't make. In the past I wouldn't trust it unless I made it. Now Know that if it does have caffeine it won't kill me. I've also been able to add a few vitamins to my daily routine which I know I needed.

Those people must feel so good overcoming their fears. I wonder how they're all doing now and if they're getting follow-up though.

The lady with the food fear made me feel so sad for her. It reminded me of myself with meds. . .I didn't think i was going to get poisoned per-se. . .but after my first birth control pill I almost made myself throw up because I worried what it would do. (it didn't do much other than help me feel more balanced!)