Tag Archives: support

Advice From an OCD Sufferer: How I Controlled My Harming Obsessions

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My advice to those having fears of harming themselves or fears of harming others, and OCD thoughts in general, is: you can outsmart the OCD.

Your creative mind is picking the worst possible things you imagine doing, producing high levels of anxiety.  Rituals that follow, i.e. checking, reassurance seeking etc., are what you are doing to reduce the anxiety. The urges you feel to complete the rituals is incredibly strong. However, as I’m sure you have experienced, rituals are time consuming, can take away life enjoyment, and can feel very overwhelming and annoying. Know that you are definitely not alone with your thoughts and rituals, and that OCD need not take over your life.

Know that having these thoughts does not mean you are crazy, and it does not mean you will act on these thoughts.  As someone that has OCD, I know that the amount of doubt OCD brings can make it feel impossible to trust yourself and know for sure that you will not act on your thoughts. I want you to imagine believing in yourself again, and all the ways that it will positively impact your life. I want you to picture having the thoughts that cause your anxiety levels to shoot up through the sky, no longer producing anxiety. This is entirely possible.  As you trust your mind and body more, the trust in yourself will build.

One of the things behavior therapy has taught me is the power of the brain. The mind is a brilliant thing and takes care of many processes without you having to constantly monitor, check, or seek reassurance.  You don’t constantly have to worry if you are hurting yourself or others. I always felt like I had to watch myself to make sure I didn’t do anything wrong, so this was a hard thing to accept. The fact is, this won’t happen overnight. It takes hard work, but you can build trust in yourself. I was highly suspicious of this at first, and felt that I would have to live with my fears forever. However, exposure therapy continues to build my trust in myself, and allow me to face my fears.

No matter how depressed you feel, know that changing your behavior can change your thoughts. Resisting exposures and trusting your mind and body takes time, but can make living with OCD manageable. You can enjoy life again in ways that you never imagined possible. The power of medication and therapy available to OCD patients today is truly amazing compared to where it has been in the past.

Know that your OCD does not make you a damaged individual and is not something you have to be ashamed of. I didn’t believe this just a few short months ago. However, I now realize that the words ‘happiness’ and ‘I have OCD’ can coexist in the same sentence.

A Former OCD Sufferer Gives Hope and Support to a Current Sufferer

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An OCD sufferer who has successfully gone through the recovery process and an OCD sufferer who is currently struggling talked about their experiences with OCD and social anxiety. Here is some of their conversation:

Current OCD sufferer: I have OCD and social anxiety and a little bit of depression. I feel like it’s harder for me to make friends just because of the social anxiety and it sometimes gets lonely. For the OCD I worry about harming other people. Specifically, when I’m in my car driving and worry about hitting other people in my car. And then harming other people in general like if I brush up against someone or also doing something sexually bad. So it’s a wide range, but that’s a little bit of me. Do you have any advice for going through the exposures? I’m just trying to do one of playing the recording for an hour a day. And I’m sure you’ve went through that and it’s probably hard in the beginning.

Former OCD sufferer: It’s really hard to first kind of say out loud anything because the first thing you want to do is not think about it. But that’s actually what makes it worse. What I think is by not facing it and trying to not think about it would make me think about it more. So I think a lot of it was just talking about it and saying it out loud and knowing that it wasn’t me. It wasn’t something that I was actually going to do. The fact that it really bothered me to even think about it, the more I thought about it I was like, “well if I’m really worried about doing this, I wouldn’t be worried about it, I would just be doing it.” People who worry about doing things, they just do it. There’s no conscious behind it – it’s just something they act on. Do you know what I mean?

Current OCD sufferer: Yes. I think the OCD thoughts, like you were saying, now I know it’s not me and that I’m not actually going to do whatever thoughts go through my head. A lot of the things I would do involved checking or asking for reassurance. So I’m trying not to do that as much. I feel like it’s pretty hard, but hopefully it will pay off.

Former OCD sufferer: It will. I’ve gotten so much better and it’s a huge relief because it was the hardest time in my life. The OCD to me was worse than my social anxiety, but my social anxiety – I still have issues with that. It’s an ongoing thing with my social anxiety and it’s something that I’ll probably have for a while. I’m just trying to really get out there and talk to more people because honestly what really helps is having people to talk to. Because when you’re alone – that’s when it’s worse for me. If I’m alone and if I don’t talk to people, and if I don’t reach out and try to communicate with other people I start to get depressed and then my OCD will start to act up, and my social anxiety. Because you’re just alone.

Current OCD sufferer: And do you find it’s worse when you’re working? Or is it better when your mind is busy focusing on what you have to do?

Former OCD sufferer: It is so much better when I am around people and my mind is busy and when I’m busy. The worst time for me would be when I was alone at night. That’s when my mind was open to think of everything. And if I had a change in schedule, change would bring on my OCD more, and if I was more tired that would bring on my social anxiety and OCD. I noticed if I’m more refreshed, if I sleep enough, and eating well, healthy, that I hear can help with mood as well.  It’s really hard. Your mind is a powerful thing. It will make you think things, and make you think that you’re going to do things, and you can really start believing. I was really believing that I was very capable of doing everything I thought. And to just know that I’m not the only one who thinks that, I’m not the only one who has had thoughts. And even talking to other people with OCD, it’s still like “I don’t want them to think that I’m actually really going to do this because their problem is a little different from my problem.”

How to Apply for Disability for Severe OCD

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(Thank you to Ram Meyyappan for this very helpful information for OCD sufferers with disabling symptoms:)

If you suffer from severe Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) that makes it impossible for you to maintain gainful employment, then you may be able to qualify for Social Security Disability (SSD) Benefits.

Social Security Disability Programs and OCD

There are two programs available through the Social Security Administration (SSA):

  • Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
  • Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

To receive benefits under either program, you must meet the SSA’s basic disability definition and must additionally satisfy the technical eligibility requirements for the program as well.

The SSA’s definition of disability requires your condition:

  • Is medically determinable, which simply means provable through acceptable medical means
  • Has lasted, or is expected to last, at least 12 months, or is a terminal condition
  • Can be proven to be so severe that it prevents you from maintaining gainful employment

The technical eligibility rules for SSDI include having sufficient work credits and meeting the monthly income limitations.  Learn more here.

For SSI benefits, you must have very limited income and other financial resources available to you.  Learn more about this need-based program here.

OCD as a Medically Determinable Disability

The SSA follows standard procedures in reviewing applications to see if they contain the appropriate evidence to prove a medically determinable disability.

For OCD, the first step in the process is to see if your application meets the requirements found in the Blue Book  under Section 12.06 – Anxiety-related Disorders, which requires you experience at least three of the following symptoms along with your persistent anxiety:

  • Tension in your motor muscles
  • Uncontrolled hyperactivity affecting your nervous system
  • Consistent problems with feeling apprehensive
  • Pronounced issues with always needing to be on guard or on watch, known as vigilance and scanning

You can also meet the listing in Section 12.06 by proving you experience one of the following:

  • Ongoing and irrational, uncontrollable fears related to certain activities, situations, objects, or other circumstances, including a pronounced tendency to avoid that which causes your fears
  • Severe and frequent panic attacks, occurring at least once a week
  • Ongoing obsessive or compulsive urges and behaviors that cause pronounced distress and disruption in your daily activities
  • Intrusive and ongoing memories or flashbacks to the traumatic experiences

Your medical records must also prove you either:

Cannot function at all outside of your own home, without constant monitoring and support

OR

You experience at least two of the following limitations to your activities of daily living:

  • Pronounced difficulty completing normal, daily tasks
  • Severe struggles with social functioning
  • An inability to concentrate, remaining on task, or complete activities at a “normal” or reasonable pace
  • Repeated episodes of decompensation, which are periods during which your symptoms that may have been relatively under control revert to a pronounced state again

Qualifying for SSD under a Medical Vocational Allowance

Even if your OCD does not meet the listing in Section 12.06 of the SSA’s Blue Book, you may still be able to qualify for disability benefits. To do so, you will need to prove your functional capacity is so severely affected by your condition that it prevents you from maintaining gainful employment.

After reviewing your claim under the listing in Section 12.06, the SSA will then conduct an RFC analysis to see if you qualify for benefits under what is known as a medical vocational allowance (MVA).

You and your doctor will need to complete a functional analysis report form detailing the ways in which your OCD impacts your “activities of daily living” and your ability to complete normal job functions and perform everyday activities in your personal life as well.

Completing Your Application and What to Expect

There are multiple ways to apply for SSD benefits. You can:

  • Complete and submit your application on the SSA’s website,
  • Under some circumstances, make arrangements for a phone interview to complete your application,
  •  Set an appointment to complete your application in person at your local SSA office, with the help of an SSA representative,
  • Fill out all the required forms as hardcopy documents you get from the SSA office or download from the Internet.

You should work closely with your doctor to document your OCD and its effects on your everyday abilities. You may additionally want to seek the assistance of a Social Security advocate or attorney, particularly if your OCD does not meet the listing in the SSA’s Blue Book for the condition.

Most disability applications, regardless of condition, are denied at the initial review stage.

If your OCD application is denied, you will need to request a reconsideration review and potentially an appeal hearing to continue trying for benefits.

A disability attorney or advocate can assist you throughout the entire process and can potentially increase your chances of eventually being approved for benefits.

For more information contact:

Ram Meyyappan

Social Security Disability Help

www.disability-benefits-help.org/blog