![]() “So I think that’s why it took me so long to figure out what was going on. “So I do acknowledge that but I think there is such a high percentage of people who’ve got OCD that are probably completely unaware and just don’t even think to explore what OCD is, or even try to get a diagnosis because there’s nowhere near enough information out there around what OCD can look like. I mean, there are people out there with OCD who might see it manifest in that way,” she said He helped her find a medication balance that suited her, and she said while she still has the occasional intrusive thought – like many do – she can now recognise it and let the thought go.Ībbie is now trying to bust the myths about OCD and what many people believe it is, thanks to depictions on television and film that consistently show the mental heath issue as external compulsions such as cleanliness. The GP went above and beyond, speaking with a psychiatrist about Abbie’s intrusive thoughts. And I was really open with him probably more often than I had been in the past with professionals,” she said. And I decided to book in an appointment with a GP. “I was becoming really distressed again, concealing those thoughts and feelings a lot. Picture: Suppliedīut, when she moved to Australia from the UK at 22, things became difficult once again and Abbie knew she needed to see someone. ![]() She tried a few different medications and cognitive behavioural therapy but none were as effective as she hoped. “So it was hard, I guess, still to get that, that proper help and support because of the stigma.” “But I think even at that point, I was still quite secretive about the intrusive thoughts and didn’t feel completely comfortable in being up and about them,” she said. Two years after her internet search, Abbie went to a doctor about her anxiety and depression and mentioned her thoughts about having OCD. Instead, she did more reading in an attempt to discover more about what OCD was, how it may manifest and coping tools for when it was at its worst. She now had a name for what she had but she was still scared to seek the advice of a doctor for what she had been going through. And this sounds like exactly what I’m going through right now as well’.” “So it was kind of like a weight was lifted, because I realised, ‘oh, okay, I’m not completely losing my mind. ![]() “I found an online forum where people were talking about similar thoughts, and they were talking about it in the context of OCD,” she said. One day, the intrusive thoughts had a tight grip on her so she turned to the only place a 17-year-old teenager could think of – the internet. The thoughts continued on as she got older. She felt incredibly alone, often spending days sitting in her bedroom in the dark with no television on because she was worried it would set her off.Ībbie was terrified to talk to anyone about what she had been going through her mind, afraid people would think she would be thought of as a bad person or, even worse, be sectioned.
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