OCD – is it really an issue?

Home Forums Decaffeinated Coffee OCD – is it really an issue?

Viewing 25 posts - 1 through 25 (of 25 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #596562
    disturbed
    Member

    is ocd really such an issue, that one should go on medication for it?

    #1052511
    popa_bar_abba
    Participant

    It really is an issue.

    As far as medication, one should make that decision together with one’s therapist. I would be a little suspicious of a therapist who went directly to medication. Probably you should be a more concerned with treating the underlying cause than treating the symptoms.

    (Yes, I know some will say the underlying cause is chemical imbalance. I don’t believe that for OCD. Maybe for something like bi-polar, I believe that.)

    (Aside: I don’t know why some people think it is easier to deal with having an emotional problem if they write it off as a chemical imbalance. It seems to me that a chemical imbalance is more part of you, than environmental factors are. And neither is your fault.)

    #1052512
    yid.period
    Member

    It depends how severely the OCD is affecting your daily life and making it unlivable.

    If it is a particularly mild case, one’s neurologist should/would normally try to avoid putting one on medication.

    If the issue is with a young person, it’s very likely they’ll grow out of it.

    #1052513
    happiest
    Member

    I became ocd from medication that was combating other mental illness issues that I have. The ocd was so over the top that I couldn’t live that way. It started making me depressed because ocd is so demanding. It would take me double the normal amount of time that it took me to leave my house, I couldn’t function properly at work etc. I was taken off my medication and we raised my other medicine and b”H everything calmed down. I also worked on it in therapy but I do not think therapy alone would have helped my situation. In my case, the meds were definitely necessary!

    #1052514
    aries2756
    Participant

    Yes of course OCD is a real issue for those who have it and for those who love them and care about them. What a question? Any illness or issue is “real” to those it effects and it is absolutely rude and insensitive of anyone who question it. If there is something you really want to know about the disease you could have posed your question differently and with more sensitivity.

    #1052515
    disturbed
    Member

    aries – i didnt mean it like that. i meant it like is it a real mental disorder that one should get meds for it.

    #1052516
    deiyezooger
    Member

    everyone has some “o” and some “c” but when someone has enough to obstruct a nurmal healthy lifestyle it becomes “d” a disorder, and if not treated it can be very serious.

    #1052517
    aries2756
    Participant

    disturbed, gotcha but please be careful how you word things it could be offensive to someone with a particular issue or with a family member that has it.

    #1052518
    a mamin
    Participant

    Poppa and aries you seem to have alot of knowledge on mental health issues what can you tell me about bi polar? i just found out someone i know was diagnosed with it. can their spose be expected to ever live a normal life?

    #1052519
    morah reyna
    Member

    Yes it’s a real issue and requires medication like any other mental illness. In order to be diagnosed it has to interfere with daily living not just little idiosyncrasies.

    #1052520
    morah reyna
    Member

    i can tell you a lot about bi-polar. I am divorced because my ex-husband had it. Medication and taking it is the major issue. Dealing with mood swings and mania is another.

    #1052521
    hanib
    Participant

    aries – didn’t you once say you’ve read “reality therapy” by Glaser – he gives a case in one of his books on how someone with OCD was cured without medication. i’ve heard that there’s book called something like brain-lock that deals with OCD. also, i think i’ve heard that there’s someone in Bnei Brak who specializes in it. Dina Friedman, who gives parenting workshops, addresses it a little in discussing OCD in children.

    So, basically, my understanding is that there may be alternative solutions for OCD besides medication. but, definitely need to find the appropriate help for it – there are correct and incorrect ways of dealing with it.

    #1052522
    TikkunHatzot
    Member

    @A mamin, I’m not a psychologist, but there are different degrees of bi-polar or even any mental health matter. I don’t think it matters though since G-d created every person differently, so 1 thing might bother 1 of us, but it doesn’t mean it will bother someone else.

    I’ve lived in 2 different households with bi-polar persons. The first 1 didn’t end well & I couldn’t be in the same house.

    The other person I really enjoyed having around…but then the other person told ME that they couldn’t stand being around since I had too many issues.

    …and what is a “normal life”? I still have yet to meet anyone that is “normal”.

    #1052523
    SilentOne
    Member

    I was helped greatly by medication; my problem was more obsessive worrying, but med’s work well for both the compulsive and obsessive behavior. Meds can literally change a person’s life around. It might take a while to find the best medication for any given person, but a competent psychiatrist will find it. Med’s should be combined with psychotherapy (cognitive behavioral therapy) since the combination of both offers better imrpovement than either one alone).

    What are the concerns – why does the person feel reluctant to take meds? Is money a problem or fear of stigma? No one should be left untreated because of lack of money – although I unfortunately do not know how to find financial assistance for treatment.

    #1052524
    a mamin
    Participant

    This bi polar patient does take their medication without any problem(at least for now) though they are not getting therapy along with it, only seeing the famous Dr. Lebowitz. i am very concerned for the spouse, we never know what tomorrow will bring??

    #1052525
    adorable
    Participant

    are you talking about doctor Lebowitz in Lakewood, NJ or someone else? I heard about a women who had OCD and goes to bathe and wash up a million times before going to the Mikvah and still then she says it wasn’t good and will go back…. sounds nuts to me but who knows?

    #1052526
    a mamin
    Participant

    Dr. Lebowitz in Manhattan.

    #1052527
    kollel_wife
    Participant

    I always wonder if I’m a bit OCD – maybe you can answer this – I like things to be clean and also very neat, and it bothers me very much when they’re not. I can only do so much with a family of kids and do look away when I can’t straighten up or don’t have strength. But it does make me nervous when things are out of order and give me such a good feeling to clean and organize. When I go down to the laundry, I notice if the stairs need to be swept and if someone brushed their teeth, I notice that now the mirror is now spotted up. I don’t loose my temper but sometimes feel tense inside from things not being the way I want. Any recommendations? Books ideas etc?

    #1052528
    adorable
    Participant

    I think you are normal and just like things neat which makes a lot of sense. I am the same way. I cannot go to bed if the house is a mess or if I notice that the floor needs to be swept but Im not OCD I just like clean things.

    #1052529

    I know this is a dead topic but to adorable – I don’t know about this woman you heard about but when the OCD behavior is about religious things (as it is with me, according to the opinions that I have it in the first place) there tends to be a good deal of rationality involved. Sometimes all it takes is pointing to the right place in the shulchan aruch and the behavior stops. Other times the person might need a special heter custom-made for them. Maybe by non-religious stuff its also rational – I wouldn’t know.

    TikunHatzot – The way I see it is that all treatments are annoying. They are expensive, and they either play around with your brain or take a significant time commitment. Some may have side effects too. So since they’re annoying, they should only be taken when the O and C become even more annoying than the alternative. Or if you feel a religious obligation to go on treatment, which is often related to how disturbing the O and C is. My take on things.

    #1052530
    LanderTalmid
    Participant

    Such a person should realize that they are serving Hashem better, will receive more schar in olam haba and will grow more in all areas of torah umitzvos when they ignore their doubts, even if this will cause them to violate certain halachos (even chiyuvei karess such as niddah). (This will probably not happen anyways since the doubts are usually unfounded)

    #1052531
    Health
    Participant

    Yehuda Goldstein -“but when the OCD behavior is about religious things (as it is with me, according to the opinions that I have it in the first place) there tends to be a good deal of rationality involved.”

    If s/o is diagnosed with OCD, then it isn’t rational, even if the OCD pertains to Frumkeit. Usually those that have OCD are put on medicine. When s/o has mental illness – it’s usually a 2-pronged Tx. – Psychiatrist & therapy (Psychologist or Social worker). There are Frum therapists that deal with OCD. This is preferable for a Frum patient!

    #1052532
    👑RebYidd23
    Participant

    Part of the definition of OCD is that it is a disorder. If it’s not a problem, it’s not OCD.

    #1052533
    Health
    Participant

    RebYidd23 -“Part of the definition of OCD is that it is a disorder. If it’s not a problem, it’s not OCD”

    “Not a problem”, for whom? If it is a problem for s/o, eg. spouse, children, etc., then it could also be OCD!

    #1052534
    👑RebYidd23
    Participant

    Not a problem in general.

Viewing 25 posts - 1 through 25 (of 25 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.