OCD and anxiety

I have had OCD all my life but about 20 years ago had it confirmed. I will be fine for years and then all the sudden it hits me I will get a stupid worry in my head and my mind just worries about it for weeks.
I was just put on Zoloft after being on prozac for a cpl years. I have been on zoloft for a little over 2 weeks now and the thought is still there. The same worry about what if one day I start talking to furniture and lose my mind. I have been dealing with this round at least 5 weeks now and its really getting to me. These dumb thoughts come out of now where but when they come they don't leave for a few weeks or until the antidepressants start to work. I am depressed inside and not crying. It makes it hard to work like this. Does anyone have any advice for me? I see a therapist tomorrow but so far this zoloft is not workiing. By the way, I forgot to mention I am 57 and Im wondering it this could get worse with age. Thank you!

Hello and welcome to the forums!

OCDsuffere57 wrote:The same worry about what if one day I start talking to furniture and lose my mind.

Oops. I'm in trouble, then....

You mean other people don't talk to things?

I... do that? But now if you mean conversations, no. I don't have conversations with inanimate objects.

For me, it's a matter of practicing not caring about intrusive fears. I am about your age. I've had OCD for... ever? And intrusive harm thoughts since I was ten maybe. The common intrusive harm thoughts: killing family, pets, partner- that sort of thing.

I cultivate an attitude of not caring. I'll care about it- I'll worry about it, when I've done it. Not before. I've had all this time to get on the front page of the newspaper. I have not. Therefore.... those thoughts can't make me do anything.

If my fear was talking to furniture as a symptom of insanity, then um, I'd have to practice ignoring those thoughts when they pop up. And make the decision to not care if I do wind up having conversations with furniture. I'll worry about it, when I'm doing it- not before. OCD wants us to put the cart before the horse.

That's all that has worked for my harm OCD. The intrusive harm thoughts. I have to ignore the thought as it pops in, and just remind myself that it can't make me do anything, and I'll worry about it, when I've done something horrible. Until then, I make the decision to not worry. It seems to me that OCD is about decisions. We decide to worry. So we have to decide to not worry.

It's not a perfect system, but it works for that aspect of my OCD, anyway. Other aspects, not so much. Or maybe I just haven't applied it properly to other things. But as far as intrusive thoughts with no basis in reality, it does pretty good for me. Hitting invisible pedestrians, okay a little harder to not drive back and check- but... it can be done.

Like anything, it just takes practice. It's nothing magical, it's just a decision to have an attitude that I don't care about the fear.

I'll add that I don't know that OCD gets worse with age. I haven't found that to be the case. But it doesn't seem to go away, either, does it?

Just a weird thought that comes into my mind when this ocd hits. Gets to me sometimes but ty for responding. I appreciate it!

Pretty sure no thought is too weird for OCD. Only when looking at them from the outside. When it's you, it's limited only by the imagination.