Re: OCD-like symptoms. How to deal with them?

[Guest guest]

Dear Brainislav, I am not a phycologist , but I have had experience

with stress, mold exposure, panic and agraphobia, mild

OCD.Stressfull events ,of whatever type can lead to OCD, or in my

case, agraphobia(afraid to leave the house)- as far as I know this

is a well established syndrome. The stress wears trails in the brain-

and the brain learns to run down them- It is a good mental exercie

to try and calm youself ,recognise your feelings, accept them, and

gently put them behind you- I come from a family of OCD types- I

channel in into my work- which is made for it- and now for fighting

mold on all fronts- I would say that at a certain stage , it is good

to obsess about mold- you need to be vigilent, and know the enemy-

but this does become tiresome to friends- so I try and save it for

this site- Good luck

--

- In , " Branislav " <arealis@g...> wrote:

>

> I don't think I have real OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder). I

> hadn't had anything remotely similar to OCD before my first mold

> exposures and related problems, but once that started to happen I

> developed something that might qualify as OCD.

>

> It started like a real obsession about something (mold exposures)

but

> in this case that was an obsession WITH a reason (unlike in real

OCD

> patients who have compulsions unrelated to real threats in life -

e.g

> they'll wash their hands endlessly fearing that if they don't do it

> right something bad will happen, but what that 'something' might

be is

> not clear even to them).

>

>

> So, for instance, if a moldy object such as a trash can in the

street

> has caused me a lot of terrible symptoms, I will attempt to evade

it

> (if I can't dispose of it immediately). But then, I guess my brain

> begins to generalize things and I'll become wary of other trash

cans

> at other places - even though I know they are not moldy. And I'll

> subconsciously evade all such places. The same goes with borrowed

> books (if one of them has caused some problems, I can become too

> cautious about other books as well etc.). But it didn't stop there.

>

>

> Unfortunately I think I have been having almost real OCD symptoms

for

> some time now. Things such as this - if I'm thinking that I will

get

> severely contaminated while I'm writing this sentence, I will

delete

> it and rewrite it. Or, if I'm thinking something moldy is going to

> happen while I'm drinking the coke, I will try to " undo " the " bad

> thought " by taking again another sip of coke. Or, if I switch off

the

> light while thinking something bad will happen, I will turn on the

> light again and try to turn it off but this time I'll try to empty

my

> mind and not to think about anything.

>

>

> Well this sounds like real OCD, and I am getting really worried. I

am

> pretty sure it would all go away IF I could be sure that mold

> contamination would never happen again, but that's not likely.

>

>

>

> I know it is totally absurd to connect two totally unrelated

things,

> e.g. the mere thought about some horrible mold exposure and the

action

> / thoughts you're doing or having at the moment, but I guess my

brain

> has become so terrified and afraid of mold that it says " Well,

even if

> there's only 0,00001% chance that your little negative thought will

> cause mold exposure, you must undo that thought somehow! Do not

jinx

> me, I am overworking and don't need any more bad luck! "

>

> The bad thing is, this OCD-type thoughts and the resulting

compulsive

> actions are further deteriorating my life, adding to the damage

caused

> by mold.

>

>

> Does anyone else have the same problem, and if so, how do you treat

> it? Just ignore the thoughts and have a firm conviction that they

are

> powerless, or something else?

>

[Guest guest]

--- In , " carondeen " <kdeanstudios@v...>

wrote:

>

> Dear Brainislav, I am not a phycologist , but I have had experience

> with stress, mold exposure, panic and agraphobia, mild

> OCD.Stressfull events ,of whatever type can lead to OCD, or in my

> case, agraphobia(afraid to leave the house)- as far as I know this

> is a well established syndrome. The stress wears trails in the brain-

> and the brain learns to run down them- It is a good mental exercie

> to try and calm youself ,recognise your feelings, accept them, and

> gently put them behind you-

Thank you for the suggestions

I'd just like to ask you to be more specific about the part " calm

yourself, recognise your feelings, accept them and gently put them

behind you "

By that did you mean: just ignore compulsive thoughts/actions which

are irrational?

For instance, let's take a common example:

Suppose you are reading a book. Suddenly your mind wanders off, and

while reading a sentence from this book you think to yourself:

" Tomorrow I may meet somebody who will cross-contaminate me so much

that I'm going to be in real trouble " . However, despite this thought

you managed to perfectly understand the meaning of the sentence you

just read from the book.

What will you do - Continue with reading as if nothing happened, and

proceed to the next sentence (thus completely ignoring the negative

thought), or return to the sentence during which the nasty thought ran

through your mind and re-read it trying to still your mind and not to

think about contaminations? (the second option would obviously qualify

as OCD-like behaviour)

[Guest guest]

I just ignore them and continue with my activity (washing dishes, reading,

whatever). Or

you could replace those negative thoughts with positive ones, you could even

write one

down if you need to. It is good to wear down grooves in the brain in a positive

direction as

much as possible.

I have definately had some stuff like this come up. When it came up as a direct

result of

allergy testing of molds, I knew it was mold related. Now I think it is actually

caused by

mold exposure. When I get an exposure, I get mentally intrusive thoughts, then

it can

progress to down and out depression- the oh my god I want to die crying here in

bed can't

get up- type. The toxins have not done this, by the way. I have other symptoms

to that.

The last time it happened was a rainy day in the fall, when the outdoor mold

count was sky

high. It is better now, with the freeze. When I lived in thehouse with active

mold, it was

frequent and severe. I was really surprised it was the mold. But neurotoxins

have many

effects, not just neuropathy. My husbands moods have lifted for the first time

in years

since all the active mold is gone. He is regaining his delightful personality.

Diflucan helped, by getting rid of the toxic mold factory in my body, and strict

avoidance. I

also have a flower remedy that seems to help a bit when I get it, I also have

allergy drops

that are supposed to help, too. Also I'll try baking soda and water, or alka

seltzer gold (

that was recommended to me by a MD for food allergy reactions). Heck, I will try

just

about anything non toxic if I think it may help and not hurt. Try not to worry

so much

about what might happen. I found that a good workable motto for me is to " be

prepared " -

prepared for what does and could happen, and when I am prepared (with my mask,

all the

medicines/remedies I might use, etc) then I just don't worry about it. It is a

waste of time

and counter productive for me when I could be thinking about something nice. But

sometimes I am like That guy from " Pan " , the one who lost his marbles,

which were

his happy thoughts, and he couldn't fly any more until he found them.

> >

> > Dear Brainislav, I am not a phycologist , but I have had experience

> > with stress, mold exposure, panic and agraphobia, mild

> > OCD.Stressfull events ,of whatever type can lead to OCD, or in my

> > case, agraphobia(afraid to leave the house)- as far as I know this

> > is a well established syndrome. The stress wears trails in the brain-

> > and the brain learns to run down them- It is a good mental exercie

> > to try and calm youself ,recognise your feelings, accept them, and

> > gently put them behind you-

>

>

> Thank you for the suggestions

>

> I'd just like to ask you to be more specific about the part " calm

> yourself, recognise your feelings, accept them and gently put them

> behind you "

>

>

> By that did you mean: just ignore compulsive thoughts/actions which

> are irrational?

>

>

> For instance, let's take a common example:

>

>

> Suppose you are reading a book. Suddenly your mind wanders off, and

> while reading a sentence from this book you think to yourself:

> " Tomorrow I may meet somebody who will cross-contaminate me so much

> that I'm going to be in real trouble " . However, despite this thought

> you managed to perfectly understand the meaning of the sentence you

> just read from the book.

>

>

> What will you do - Continue with reading as if nothing happened, and

> proceed to the next sentence (thus completely ignoring the negative

> thought), or return to the sentence during which the nasty thought ran

> through your mind and re-read it trying to still your mind and not to

> think about contaminations? (the second option would obviously qualify

> as OCD-like behaviour)

>

[Guest guest]

There are medications for ocd that will help. How do I know , I take them...

Sharon in Westminster , Md.

[Guest guest]

Don't even get me started today! ;-(

Sounds familiar.....who said this before?

Marcie

kl_clayton <kl_clayton@...> wrote:

I just ignore them and continue with my activity (washing dishes, reading,

whatever). Or

you could replace those negative thoughts with positive ones, you could even

write one

down if you need to. It is good to wear down grooves in the brain in a positive

direction as

much as possible.

I have definately had some stuff like this come up. When it came up as a direct

result of

allergy testing of molds, I knew it was mold related. Now I think it is actually

caused by

mold exposure. When I get an exposure, I get mentally intrusive thoughts, then

it can

progress to down and out depression- the oh my god I want to die crying here in

bed can't

get up- type. The toxins have not done this, by the way. I have other symptoms

to that.

The last time it happened was a rainy day in the fall, when the outdoor mold

count was sky

high. It is better now, with the freeze. When I lived in thehouse with active

mold, it was

frequent and severe. I was really surprised it was the mold. But neurotoxins

have many

effects, not just neuropathy. My husbands moods have lifted for the first time

in years

since all the active mold is gone. He is regaining his delightful personality.

Diflucan helped, by getting rid of the toxic mold factory in my body, and strict

avoidance. I

also have a flower remedy that seems to help a bit when I get it, I also have

allergy drops

that are supposed to help, too. Also I'll try baking soda and water, or alka

seltzer gold (

that was recommended to me by a MD for food allergy reactions). Heck, I will try

just

about anything non toxic if I think it may help and not hurt. Try not to worry

so much

about what might happen. I found that a good workable motto for me is to " be

prepared " -

prepared for what does and could happen, and when I am prepared (with my mask,

all the

medicines/remedies I might use, etc) then I just don't worry about it. It is a

waste of time

and counter productive for me when I could be thinking about something nice. But

sometimes I am like That guy from " Pan " , the one who lost his marbles,

which were

his happy thoughts, and he couldn't fly any more until he found them.

> >

> > Dear Brainislav, I am not a phycologist , but I have had experience

> > with stress, mold exposure, panic and agraphobia, mild

> > OCD.Stressfull events ,of whatever type can lead to OCD, or in my

> > case, agraphobia(afraid to leave the house)- as far as I know this

> > is a well established syndrome. The stress wears trails in the brain-

> > and the brain learns to run down them- It is a good mental exercie

> > to try and calm youself ,recognise your feelings, accept them, and

> > gently put them behind you-

>

>

> Thank you for the suggestions

>

> I'd just like to ask you to be more specific about the part " calm

> yourself, recognise your feelings, accept them and gently put them

> behind you "

>

>

> By that did you mean: just ignore compulsive thoughts/actions which

> are irrational?

>

>

> For instance, let's take a common example:

>

>

> Suppose you are reading a book. Suddenly your mind wanders off, and

> while reading a sentence from this book you think to yourself:

> " Tomorrow I may meet somebody who will cross-contaminate me so much

> that I'm going to be in real trouble " . However, despite this thought

> you managed to perfectly understand the meaning of the sentence you

> just read from the book.

>

>

> What will you do - Continue with reading as if nothing happened, and

> proceed to the next sentence (thus completely ignoring the negative

> thought), or return to the sentence during which the nasty thought ran

> through your mind and re-read it trying to still your mind and not to

> think about contaminations? (the second option would obviously qualify

> as OCD-like behaviour)

>

FAIR USE NOTICE:

[Guest guest]

--- In , " kl_clayton " <kl_clayton@y...>

wrote:

>

> I just ignore them and continue with my activity (washing dishes,

reading, whatever). Or

> you could replace those negative thoughts with positive ones, you

could even write one

> down if you need to. It is good to wear down grooves in the brain in

a positive direction as

> much as possible.

Thank you KL and all others who responded, good to know there are

other people out there who manage to deal with this kind of obtrusive

thoughts.

I try to ignore the negative thoughts as well, since they are

obviously unrelated to what will really happen in reality, but

sometimes, especially after serious problems with mold, this can be

really hard to achieve.

Scientificaly speaking thoughts are just chemical processes in our

brains and have no direct influence on reality (unless you act on them

using your physical body).

But we've all heard those anecdotal stories that merely wishing

something strong enough might actually manifest that wish - both

positive and negative. There's even the well-known saying: " Be careful

what you wish, because you may get it! " .

From the scientific and common sense point of view this " thought

magic " doesn't make any sense and as a matter of fact it is

IMPOSSIBLE, but when one is often beset with mold one cannot always

dismiss even such wacky notions.