Hi @Jude17
I just wanted to reach out and welcome you to the forums - it’s great to have you here 💜
Thank you so much for sharing this part of your story with us 💜
As I sat here listening to you, so much of what you shared resonated with me - especially when you said, ‘I get overwhelmed with the anxiety and fear of the uncertainty and so I end up asking for reassurance.’
I also live with anxiety and OCD and over the years, I’ve lost count of the number of times when I’ve repeatedly asked for reassurance in relation to the same issues! There have also been numerous times in my life when my anxiety has been so high, that I’ve asked for reassurance in relation to the same issue every few minutes!
Just the other day, I found myself in a situation where I could feel my anxiety starting to rise and I desperately needed some reassurance. However, instead of asking someone else to reassure me (which is what I usually do) I decided to try something else instead 💜
Over the years, not only have I asked people directly for reassurance - but I’ve also sent them emails and text messages too! I’m not sure what made me think of this, but as my anxiety began to rise, I went back through my emails and I found some of the responses that people had sent to me.
As I read through people’s responses (I read them numerous times 😊) I could feel my anxiety starting to decrease, which was such a huge relief! I also noticed that I felt a little bit more in control - as in that moment, I had managed to find a different way to comfort and reassure myself 😊
However, although this strategy worked well on that particular day, I’ve realised that if my anxiety escalated to the point where I start to panic, it would be incredibly difficult for me to find the emails when I need them. As such, I was thinking about writing the questions that I repeatedly ask (and the responses that people give me) on small cards, so that when I need reassurance, help will be close at hand 😊
Although this particular strategy won’t completely stop the compulsions, it did prevent me from asking someone else for reassurance - which is something that I really want to change!
I really love how you’re searching for some additional support for yourself and as such, I just wanted to share a few resources with you - in the hope that these may be helpful 💜
The first resource that I thought may be of interest to you, is an organisation called Mental Health Foundation Australia 😊
They provide a variety of different services, one of which is a support group for people who are living with OCD 😊
Although this particular support group meets face to face in Victoria, people are also welcome to participate via zoom 😊
I’ve just shared the link to this particular group below, in case you would like to take a look:
https://www.mhfa.org.au/SRG/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-support-group
I also wondered if one of our special events known as Topic Tuesday may be of interest to you 😊
Basically, Topic Tuesday is a live online discussion that’s facilitated by a guest speaker who has expertise in the topic that’s being discussed.
In March of last year our Topic Tuesday focused on ‘Living With OCD’ and as such, the conversations were guided by a guest speaker from an organisation called The Anxiety Recovery Centre in Victoria 😊
During this time, our Community Manager and our guest speaker created a safe and respectful space where they gently invited members of the community to share their experiences.
Although this particular event was held last year, I just wondered if you may like to read through the conversations and the information provided by our guest speaker.
I’ve included the link to this event below, just in case you would like to explore this further:
https://saneforums.org/t5/Special-Events/Topic-Tuesday-OCD-Behind-The-Mask-Tues-13th-April-7-00-8-30PM/m-p/1025007
We also had a Topic Tuesday in 2017, that focused on ‘Managing Compulsions’ which I thought may also be of interest to you 😊
I’ve included the link to this event below, just in case you would like to read through some of these conversations:
https://saneforums.org/t5/Special-Events/Topic-Tuesday-OCD-Managing-compulsions-25-Jul-7pm-AEST/m-p/223304
Also, just while I remember, one of the things that really helped me when I was new to the forums and still finding my way around, was that if you would like to chat with another forum member, or reply to one of their posts, place @ in front of their username just like I did at the start of my post to you i.e. @Jude17 that way, they will receive a message that you have contacted them 😊
Please know that you’re always welcome to reach out here whenever you need to 💜
Take kind and gentle care of yourself,
ShiningStar 💜
