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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Any Advice For Treating OCD In A 22 Yr Old Female?

hi im a 22 year old woman from nc and evr sense I was a young girl ive battled OCD. ive never been diagnosed bc I never really knew anything was wrong with me or tht me doing repedetive rituals was a mental crisis of any kind. however over the years its gotten worse to the point tht ive done my research and fo9und tht I think I have this mental illness. I lost both my parents at a young age and have always found myself counting things repeating things until they feel right always worrying abt death or loosing someone else I love and its very time consuming. im a smart goal oriented lady and I feel this is always setting me back and causes me extreme anxiety bc I don'treally know how to deal with it or what will make it go away. any advice will help. thnks
Mon, 3 Feb 2014
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Psychiatrist 's  Response
Greetings !

Well you see OCD is a stubborn yet treatable condition with good outcome expected if early diagnosis and treatment are provided to the patient. In your case you ignored the importance of seeing a professional like a psychiatrist or a clinical psychologist and that is the reason why your symptoms of OCD have become so severe.

I am suggesting below a strategy which you can discuss with your doctor and start on it and this shall help in managing OCD effectively.

1) Drug therapy -- A combination of an anti depressant drug like escitalopram or sertraline and 1 anti anxiety agent like clonazepam or lorazepam shall be started which will form a forbidable drug regime to counter OCD.

2) Psychotherapy/counseling -- You can seek counseling a.k.a therapy from a clinical psychologist and learn coping skills to manage and subdue your obsessions and compulsion. ERP ( Exposure Response Prevention) therapy is best suited for OCD. It is included in CBT therapy.

So combination of drug therapy and psychotherapy shall be used to fight against you OCD.

I hope this helps.

Wish you all the best.

Regards

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Any Advice For Treating OCD In A 22 Yr Old Female?

Greetings ! Well you see OCD is a stubborn yet treatable condition with good outcome expected if early diagnosis and treatment are provided to the patient. In your case you ignored the importance of seeing a professional like a psychiatrist or a clinical psychologist and that is the reason why your symptoms of OCD have become so severe. I am suggesting below a strategy which you can discuss with your doctor and start on it and this shall help in managing OCD effectively. 1) Drug therapy -- A combination of an anti depressant drug like escitalopram or sertraline and 1 anti anxiety agent like clonazepam or lorazepam shall be started which will form a forbidable drug regime to counter OCD. 2) Psychotherapy/counseling -- You can seek counseling a.k.a therapy from a clinical psychologist and learn coping skills to manage and subdue your obsessions and compulsion. ERP ( Exposure Response Prevention) therapy is best suited for OCD. It is included in CBT therapy. So combination of drug therapy and psychotherapy shall be used to fight against you OCD. I hope this helps. Wish you all the best. Regards