OCD and Addiction

Hi im 24 male and this is my first post on here, I have suffered from severe OCD for about 5 years now, but looking back i have had moderate OCD since i was a child. I went to a psychologist about 3 years ago for my cleaning, counting and intrusive thoughts among many others and feel it helped a little.

About 6 years ago i went through a tough phase in my life which included a sexual assault and mugging for which i dealt with at the time. I dont feel this affects me now but it could be a possible trigger for my more severe obsessions. Soon after this i felt i had alot more sexual compulsions, as i started to go walking around dark and lonely places when i was drunk looking for men and women. Looking back i put my self in alot of danger, but i felt i couldnt stop these urges and thought it had something to do with what happened to me. I couldnt understand why i had these thoughts especially as im not gay. I seem to have got these urges under control but now for the past year or so i think i have become addicted to pornography and cybersex. I feel it subsides my OCD and almost acts like a drug as i escape from my life while using it. I have a truly wonderful girlfriend and supportive family, who dont know about my addiction but know about everything else that has happened to me. I really want to give this up and stop messing up everything good around me.

If anyone can give me advice about OCD and addiction, and inform me if you think all this is my OCD, im just a bit confused as i dont seem to obsess over my sexual urges i just seem to have compulsions.

Thanks in advance for any help.

I have OCD diagnosed, my friend, and understand all that you have written. I agree wholeheartedly that what youve described is related to OCD too. I think that addictions of all kinds have their basis in an 'OCD' way of thinking. I suspect that many apparently normal people have mild OCD too, but they have learned how to deal with and counteract it. What sort of help did you get from your psychologist years ago? I ask because I was referred to a cognitive behavioural therapist (CBT) by my psychiatrist (who diagnosed me with the OCD), and the CBT then helped a lot.

As you learn more about how OCD affects you specifically, you should be able to manage it better. Think of it as getting to know yourself better - i.e. what makes you 'tic'; what makes your OCD worse; what makes you feel anxious; etc. Maybe then things will improve a little

Kevin

I had CBT and thought it helped a little but i feel i didnt take it to seriously as i just wanted to go out and party with my uni friends, i felt a bit angry thinking why am i here and everyone else is enjoying themselves. It still helps now though as i use all the techniques i was learnt. Im currently unemployed and feel that this may be my undoing as alot of people have said if you keep yourself busy then you dont think as much, but i can never seem to concentrate on doing other things as my OCD always interferes. I understand how irrational some of my cleaning routines were (it took 2 months to clean my bedroom with 6 bottles of bleach) and i feel stupid that i wasted time, but i can never see how irrational my current obsessions are. I feel surprisingly good today so i feel this could be a good time to try and overcome this addiction and to rationalize my obsessions!

I do remember feeling the same when I had CBT - i.e. that I was missing out on things and could have been doing 'better' thigns than having therapy. I think I might even have cried a few times during the sessions, but the therapist was a great woman with a very high reputation in my home country (Ireland). Try to see the positives in everything you do though, and that even includes cleaning your room! I mean, it is better that it is now clean rather than leaving it the way it was? If it was still dirty, then it might have 'weighed' on your mind more in the long term.

Nothing is ever wasted in life, so long as you are prepared to find the positives in them.