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mental health and well-being

IS DEALING WITH OTHER PEOPLE DRIVING US INSANE?

Mini disclaimer: Today’s blog post may come across to some of you as rambling and all over the place, because my thoughts are definitely all over the place on this topic. So, please bear with me. Thanks!

Big greetings to all of my friends! Hope you are well and happy!

As the headline states – is dealing with other people driving us insane, to utter madness?

I am writing this post, because of all of my DECADES of dealing with human beings. I know I am focusing on my negative experiences, such as dealing with the overly religious people, the people who were mean to me and who tried to bully me and belittle me, and the human beings I had to act a certain way around or say certain things to. It was soooooo tiring. I am absolutely tired of it. This is why I desire to be alone more and more. I even have a desire to live away from people out in the country somewhere. And I NEVER thought I would feel that way. I just feel now that people are in my way. I even go to the grocery early in the morning to avoid the crowds. And yes, I even take social media breaks. And that is okay!

People – earthlings – or “earth things” as I like to laughingly refer to them, can be EXTREMELY complicated. Simple yet complicated at the same time because of emotions and belief systems and their underlying “stuff” or “baggage” that all of us come with. It can be VERY arduous to handle.

So many different personalities to deal with on a daily basis. So many different ideologies. Different energies emanating from different people. It can be so mentally draining and such a mindblower. But I suppose the world would be boring if everyone was the same. However, sometimes at the end of the day after dealing with all of the people madness, you just wish to be alone and chill. (And no wonder so many people prefer animals/pets to other people)!

But speaking of different energies, I firmly believe that you can tune into the vast energies of others. It happens all the time. Some people may be very happy when you see them. Others can be very sad or depressed. Others angry. Others just simply blah. I can almost tell the state of an earth thing when I see them. And we pick up on those energies, and they can permeate through us and, definitely, affect us, too.

But some people’s energies can be too much to bear. Whether they are that chatty person who will not shut up.

Or the nagging person who will not shut up LOL

That family member who is always making caustic statements that they claim are just joking comments.

Or that sort of “friend” who does that sort of “joking,” which quite frankly pisses you off.

Your partner or loved one or significant other who is constantly putting you down.

Or the partner or significant other who is not independent at all, but clingy and cloying.

The buttinsky in-laws.

The noisy neighbors!!

What about those coworkers who are rude, inconsiderate, talk your ear off, or bring all their drama to the workplace????

Also, in managing these divergent individuals, you may find yourself watching what you say so as not to make them angry.

Or question you.

Or belittle you.

Now, there are basically four types of earth things that I cannot stand to deal with:

  1. Overly religious people. (I feel like I have to walk a tightrope around them, watch what I say.)
  2. People who talk too much. (They never let you get a four-letter word in edgewise. They are draining and often put me to sleep as I tune out.)
  3. Those individuals who must belittle you constantly. (They think they are being funny; they are just being obnoxious.)
  4. Humans who correct EVERYTHING you say, i.e. again, you feel you must watch what you say around them. (Another set of a draining bunch, the know-it-alls. I don’t like being corrected as it is, but these people take it to an extreme!)

I want you all to know that I am not in any way blaming anyone else for my/our problems. But one thing I have discovered about life and people in general, is that it can be rather laborious to have to navigate around and through other individuals, whether they are your family, close friends, your more personal and intimate relationships, and just people in general.

The other thing I have definitely learned is that sometimes it is not life or even life circumstances that bring us down. It’s the people.

I am also going to be transparent in saying I know for a fact that I have been a challenge to deal with due to all of my problems and mental imbalance and neuroses. I used to take my mental horror show out on others, which is a big NO NO. (And unfortunately, I just did it again, which will be another blog post.) We should NEVER do that. But I know sometimes, we unfortunately do. I have allowed my emotional instability and nonsense to affect everyone from family to close friends to even strangers. It was horrible. So, I am putting myself out there first and foremost.

And, of course, there have been MANY times I have been affected by humans and their whatever. We all have.

And so addressing the question again, is dealing with people making us insane? Or maybe insane is a strong word. Edgy? Cautious? Careful? Nervous? Anxious? Crazy?

I asked a friend and frequent reader of my blog what bugs him the most about people. His answer was their selfishness. I can see that. There are those individuals who CLEARLY only care about themselves. For me, it is the tiny ways in which people show their selfishness. Whenever you are at the grocery store and they want to block the aisles. Or they are in their car and another car is on the other side of a two-lane road or street, and they decide to hold a conversation from their cars. Of course, there are bigger ways people show their selfishness, such as thinking of themselves rather than the needs of others.

I also find the expectations and pressure people put on us extremely draining. There are the expectations from family, friends, PARENTS, and yes, even children and significant others. You try to match said expectations and live up to them, which is intricate, wearisome and downright exhausting.

The best one can do in this situation is to breathe, take a step back, and realize that you can only expect the best of yourself, and that you do not have to live up to the expectations of others. Children, of course, are different I would imagine. But also, as long as your children are provided for and well cared for and nurtured, I think you should still make sure you are taking care of yourself, too.

Ending on a positive, try gravitating to those individuals that energize you, prop you up, bring a smile to your face. THOSE are the people I wish to be around.

However, it is okay to be by yourself to refresh. Reframe. Recharge. And we need to seek the comfort of ourselves from time to time to simply regain balance.

Well, this is the end for today. I hope you enjoyed this post, and I look forward to seeing you next week.

As always, please be mentally well!

DEREK’S DISCLAIMERI am not a medical professional, neither am I giving any medical or legal advice. If you are seeking help from a doctor or an attorney, please consult said professionals.  These are my personal thoughts and feelings on the subjects discussed, and my blog is my own personal experiences and journey with mental imbalance.  Thanking you in advance!

AFFILIATE DISCLAIMER:  There are products on this page.  By clicking on the links, you will be redirected to that page at no cost to you.  However, I will receive compensation if you purchase something (which I hope you do 😊).

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mental health and well-being

I HAVE DECLARED WAR ON MY OWN MIND! – PART 2

Welcome back for another round of the Battle of the Minds!!

As I discussed in my last post, I decided that enough is enough. I am beyond sick and tired of these recurring and intrusive thoughts that have marred my entire life. It is now WAR!!!

Please see last week’s post below for Part 1.

Fear

Before we dive in, I definitely think one component of this whole thing for me and for anyone else suffering from recurring, bothersome thoughts is fear. I have discussed this previously. I personally think that fear is at the root of intrusive thoughts. Think about it. If it was something great and wonderful that crosses our minds, we wouldn’t mind that at all. And actually, we look at good thoughts more like daydreaming rather than being intrusive or bothersome.

So, I am challenging myself (and you, as well) to face those fears. Whatever is troubling you or being intrusive, etc. FACE IT. Have the courage to face it head on. Perhaps that will lessen the thoughts.

Now. How does one declare war on their own mind? Very simply: It is like a “we’re mad as hell, and we’re not going to take it anymore!!” mindset, no pun intended.

And how do I plan to engage in a battle with my own mind?

Boy George in Culture Club’s video, “The War Song”

By being more vigilant as to what I will and won’t allow into my thought processes. It has been said that we cannot control what we think. And to some extent that is true. However, I do believe that you don’t have to fall for the negative thinking or go down the rabbit hole, as I like to put it, of a negative thought. Just don’t feed the monster.

For example, if I think ‘oh my God! What if one day I will go blind,’ I have three choices (probably more than that), but here are my top 3:

  1. You can talk back to that thought and say ‘no I’m not’ or ruminate on it, which actually makes things worse.
  2. Just ignore it.
  3. Think about something else.

Talking back to your intrusive thoughts

This may sound strange, but it is true that we talk back to our thoughts. We wonder ‘why did I think that?’ which takes us down the rabbit hole of ‘there must be something wrong with me for thinking that thought.’ This is when we get into ruminating over our negative, intrusive thoughts, which gets us into trouble. I know it has gotten me into trouble lots of time.

I have read many articles on the subject of intrusive thoughts, and that is the one thing they all say you should never do is engage with these horrible thoughts. That is only going to make them worse and stick around much longer. So, in other words, don’t talk back to them (or in this case, “think” back to them – ha!). Just let them pass through your mind. Which brings us to the second point.

Ignore them

Easier said than done, I know. But you can do it. We have sooooo many thoughts that pass through our minds every single day, that when you think about it, there are those that we ignore. They are so quick and so fleeting, that we don’t even think about them. For example, you may think “I need to go to the store.” Okay, you realize that and don’t even pay attention to it anymore. So, how come we cannot do the same with a horrible thought such as ‘I could just run over that small child’? Oh how gruesome, but our brains are wired that when something like that comes into our minds we feel grotesque, evil, and strange. So much so that we want to turn this awful thought around and around and around in our heads. We want to know WHY we even thought that. We wonder if there is something wrong with us. And no, actually, there isn’t. It is our minds. And as I have realized we are NOT our thoughts.

Think about something else

I discussed in yet another blog post a while ago about changing the channel in your mind. If you feel like you are stuck, change that channel. Think of something else. Allow your thoughts to be flooded with another, more positive, happier thought. For example, ‘I could just run over that small child’ or ‘oh my God! What if I go blind,’ why not think of beautiful flowers? Or a trip to Europe? Or eating good food? Who says we have to be stuck on the horrible thinking?

And if you are having trouble thinking of something else, distract yourself with music. Try talking to a friend. Watch television. Read a book. Be around people. Something/anything to get your mind off things. By the way, check out the blog post where I discuss changing that channel and other helpful tips in dealing with your intrusive thoughts. Please see below:

Affirmations

You’ve heard of them PLENTY of times by now. Why not use them in your/our battle against intrusive thoughts? I do them EVERY day, and I find it helpful. When all else fails, I will fall back on them. One of my personal faves is “no person, place, THOUGHT, feeling or thing has any power over me.”

But here is a list of some affirmations that I use daily that are more in line with mental health issues:

  1. I no longer allow my thoughts to interfere with my life.
  2. My mind is unstuck and normal and working properly.
  3. I refuse to worry or obsess needlessly.
  4. I am no longer fearing the future, and I am not catastrophizing anymore.
  5. I will not let my thoughts bother or upset me.
  6. My mind is clear and free of fear.
  7. I am no longer allowing recurring and intrusive thoughts to hold my mind hostage.
  8. Stop being afraid of your own mind.

These are just some of my own personal affirmations. Feel free to use them or create your own.

Another way I am amping up the fight is to simply meditate even more. I go inside my mind and picture the best possible images I can. I even see myself going way outside of my body into outer space and seeing swirls of smoke (I’ve heard meditation gurus say to visualize balloons to represent your thoughts. So, choose whatever you like). The swirls of smoke represent my negative thoughts that I just allow to move seamlessly past me. I have no connection to them. I pay no attention to them as they float by.

And regardless of your belief system, prayers can also be helpful.

Overall, I have decided to not allow myself to be eaten alive by my own mind. It is a struggle, yes, but manageable. I truly do believe that sometimes it is an extreme deep dive into your consciousness and also even your own life and what is going on with you. ALWAYS check in with yourself to see how you are feeling, holding up, etc. Keep fighting the good fight.

And, of course, if the battle is too much, by all means seek professional help.

Again, I wish to thank all of you for reading and continuing with me on my/our journey. And until the next time, please be mentally well!

DEREK’S DISCLAIMERI am not a medical professional, neither am I giving any medical or legal advice. If you are seeking help from a doctor or an attorney, please consult said professionals.  These are my personal thoughts and feelings on the subjects discussed, and my blog is my own personal experiences and journey with mental imbalance.  Thanking you in advance!

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mental health and well-being

I HAVE DECLARED WAR ON MY OWN MIND! – PART 1

DEREK’S DISCLAIMERI am not a medical professional, neither am I giving any medical or legal advice. If you are seeking help from a doctor or an attorney, please consult said professionals.  These are my personal thoughts and feelings on the subjects discussed, and my blog is my own personal experiences and journey with mental imbalance.  Thanking you in advance!

Hello there, all my dear friends following this blog!!

Things are going to get a bit strange. So, hang on. Today, I am declaring war on my own mind. That’s right. You read it here. It’s a showdown. Derek v. Derek’s Mind!

By now, you all know I suffer from intrusive and/or recurring thoughts. These thoughts are like a scratchy and broken record that just won’t turn off!!

And I have had enough of this shit! I realize that I have been tolerating this long enough. I have been putting up with it and suffering in silence. I have allowed my mind to just go off the rails for far too long. I have already spoken at length about my intrusive thoughts, thoughts that have plagued me for YEARS. Hell, for DECADES! Since childhood.

However, they have gotten worse. I personally believe it is because of the past four years. And we all know what happened the last four years. So, it is of no surprise that that would be such a major trigger.

I am going to take a deeper dive into these thoughts. So, here is a timeline of the horrors that have gone on in my mind. I am hoping that this will help someone else who may be suffering from this rather strange disorder.

Before we start, I revealed some of these recurring thoughts in my last post. Please see below.

Anyway, the time has come to finally once and for all stand up to this crap and face ALL my fears from the past, and now in the present. This means WAR!!!

A Dresser Drawer, Derek???

My earliest scare and subsequent thought(s) that got stuck in my mind was wayyyyyy back when I was living in Washington, D.C., as a child, and I was dreaming that the dresser drawer in the living room would come to life in my nightmares. And it would tickle my back. Strange, I know. But I lived in fear of going to sleep at night. And this was one of the things I obsessed about, referring back to some of my obsessions from last week’s post. I would even talk to this chest of drawers during the day to try and understand why it was attacking me at night. I was so frightened and talked about it so much that my mother even considered taking me to see a psychiatrist!!! Sometimes I wish she had …

Of Course I would obsess over DEATH!

My next memory of vivid intrusive thoughts was when I was living in North Carolina, and I began obsessing over death for some strange reason. I was in about the 1st grade, I think, when this started. I always thought I would not make it to the next grade, and I don’t know why. I don’t remember ever telling my family about this one. I just suffered in silence. And every movie about death and dying that I saw on TV made the thoughts worse. One such movie was Dark Victory with Elizabeth Montgomery, not the Bette Davis one. I feared that everything that happened to Elizabeth Montgomery in this movie, would happen to me. So, when Elizabeth’s character developed a brain tumor, so did I. She lost her memory and so did I. She had blurry vision and so did I. And so on, if you catch my drift. It was a nightmare. (But Elizabeth turned in a bravura performance, though – LOLOLOLOL)!

And this is where the fear of memory loss came in during this time. I remember constantly saying to myself over and over my name, my address, my birthdate, the names of my parents, grandparents and aunt to make sure. I did these little check-ins. So, in hindsight, I guess this was my compulsion, going back to the previous post from above – “Possession Obsession.”

At the Height of Things

Next up was the height thing starting in about 7th or 8th grade where I thought I would NEVER grow taller. All my other classmates suddenly were GIANTS compared to me, including the girls. But my growth spurt hadn’t happened yet. So, what did I do? I stuffed my sneakers with socks so I would appear taller. I thought I was taller because of doing it, but I probably didn’t appear that way to everyone else LOL!

And for the record, I did get over this one, because suddenly later in life I was taller than everyone else. And to me, suddenly other people were short!! LOL

WAR!!!!

Let’s skip to the 80s and high school and the Cold War between the U.S. and Russia. Oh. My. God. This was the time I thought we were all going to get nuked off the face of the map!!! Those of you alive back then know exactly what I am talking about. And everytime I would visit my parents and brother in D.C., I lived in constant fear that a nuclear war would break out, and we would all be dead. And of course, the movie The Day After didn’t help ease my fears or quell my intrusive thoughts over the matter. And there were other such movies of that theme back then, such as Threads and Testament, but The Day After was the WORST!! It was so graphic!!

Around this time, Culture Club released one of my absolute favorite songs by them, with one of THE BEST videos EVER! (Sorry Michael Jackson’s Thriller). I think the song and video depict this horrible topic quite well. Check it out.

Losing my RELIGION!!

Ugh! This storyline picks up when I started college.

Quick backstory: When I entered UNC-Chapel Hill’s hallowed halls back in August of ’85, my grandmother was immediately on my back to go to church. After all, I had been forced – yeah. I said it. – FORCED to go to church every Sunday from the time I started living there in 1972 to go to school. And my grandmother wanted to make sure that I continued to do so. So, I ended up going with my then friend whom I referred to as “Big Daddy.” His sister, who was a year ahead of us, was attending this church known as United Christian Fellowship. So, I went with them. Oh my God that turned out to be a HUGE mistake. Let’s just say it turned out to be a cult. True, we could come and go anytime we wanted, but the rules were so strict. We couldn’t have anything to do with the “world” at all. No secular music or TV programs, which meant no more Culture Club or Hall & Oates, et al or soap operas!!!! I was in pure HELL – so to speak.

So, it didn’t take long for my mind to begin to spiral out of control. And at the very center of this was actually another Culture Club song entitled Dangerous Man. There is a line in there that goes – “Martin had the Devil just like any man can,” and I began to suspect that I had blasphemed the Holy Ghost. I just knew that by singing that particular line in that song that I was going to burn in hell for eternity, because according to the Bible, that is the one sin you can never be forgiven for.

So, I went to the pastor of the church at the time and told him my fears. He actually convinced me that I was not going to burn in hell because of that. But I needed that validation. Eventually (and thankfully), I left that church! And later, organized religion all together!

Hey, but the song that started this is HOT! Needless to say, I am well past that nonsense, and I have continued to enjoy this song and sing that lyric ever since. LOLOL Check it out!

Insanity and Sexuality

Skipping ahead to 1999 when on a road trip with some friends back to North Carolina, I saw an astrologer whom I had seen previously before I moved to Atlanta. Well, I decided it would be fun to see him again. Big. Mistake. To cut to the chase, he told me two things that frightened the hell out of me: That Atlanta and several other American cities, especially New York, would be destroyed in a nuclear war. Yeah, so THAT old fear came flooding back. But actually the most troubling one was when he told me that I was bisexual. BISEXUAL??? WTH???

Needless to say my mind went into yet another tailspin. I hadn’t declared myself as bisexual since I was 13, and even then I felt more homosexual. I guess I just wasn’t ready to acknowledge my true homosexuality at that age. But by 1999, I was 32 years old and VERY homosexual!!! I had had several lovers and many, many, MANY tricks and same-sex encounters. And I never once had been with a woman nor had I desire to be with one. I never even masturbated thinking of a woman. It had ALWAYS been men.

But then after the session with my astrologer, I began questioning myself. What if I really was? And that is when the intrusive thoughts began. Every time I would see women from that point on, it would pop into my head something sexual about her. It got to a point where I didn’t even want to be around women for a period of time. Fortunately, that first bout didn’t last very long, and I was able to move forward and continue to have sex with men and not even think about any women. I was also able to maintain my friendships with women with no problem of the thoughts.

However, many years later it crept up again. And it was worse than the first time. Just awful things that would pop into my head about women. I couldn’t even watch TV shows or movies when women would appear in a scene, because my mind raged out of control. What if I want to kiss her or have sex with her?? And on and on and on. It got to the point that I sought psychiatric help, not because I doubted my sexuality, but because I was actually annoyed over the thoughts. At this point, I had been doing research – yes online – about recurring and intrusive thoughts, and I knew that I was not alone.

And to be honest, over the past year and a half of isolation, the problem came back again! Thankfully, I am at a point where I am like NO! We are not doing this again.

I can’t see. I can’t see! I CAN’T SEE!!! I’ve Got My Eyes Closed! (old Three Stooges joke)

Then there are the fear of blindness thoughts. Years ago, again, stupid me had to conduct research online about my eye floaters, a common occurrence of people who are near-sighted, which I am one. But what I read on the subject caused me to go into yet another of my mental tailspins: If the eye floaters worsen or there are suddenly a lot of floaters in your eyes, it could mean retinal detachment and eventual blindness. And ever since then every now and then, I will think I am going to go blind. And awful thoughts will pop in my mind saying that I even WANT to experience blindness, which is not true! And these are the recurring thoughts that dominate my mind at this very moment of me writing this!! It is pure torture. And I am considering seeking professional help again.

What’s more in my study of manifesting the kind of life I want, I’ve read that if you focus on something a lot, it expands. So, these intrusive thoughts of blindness don’t help with that.

I know I am not going blind and that I have nothing to fear, but my mind tells me otherwise.

So, my friends, I have said all of the above to say again, I am officially at war with my own mind. I absolutely REFUSE to continue this way.

Please allow me to stop there, as this will need to be continued in a Part 2 next Friday.

In the meantime, remember you’ve got this journey, and stay and be mentally well always!!

And especially to my intrusive thought sufferers, hang in there. You are NOT your thoughts!!!

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mental health and well-being

Possession Obsession

DEREK’S DISCLAIMERI am not a medical professional, neither am I giving any medical or legal advice. If you are seeking help from a doctor or an attorney, please consult said professionals.  These are my personal thoughts and feelings on the subjects discussed, and my blog is my own personal experiences and journey with mental imbalance.  Thanking you in advance!

I am now an Amazon Affiliate! If you love and enjoy Amazon as much as I do, please check out today’s offer shown below!!!

Hello, my fellow mental wellness friends!!

Back with another topic: Obsessions.

I must admit that I am totally guilty of this. I have been obsessed with all sorts of things throughout my life. Note the following:

  • Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Mysteries.
  • The Bionic Woman.
  • Wonder Woman.
  • Music – more specifcally Culture Club, Eurythmics, and Hall & Oates – hence the title of this particular post, which is one of their songs – “Possession Obsession.”
  • Soap Operas.
  • Food.
  • Men.

So, what I am saying on top of all of my other neuroses, is I have an obsessive personality, apparently. The above list are fun obsessions, obsessions I most certainly do not mind and even truly love.

But what about when obsessions become troublesome and they are not fun? Or they get stuck in your mind to the point of being extremely bothersome?

We have all heard the term OCD – obsessive-compulsive disorder – many times before. And one could say that we are all a little OCD about certain things. But if it begins to interfere with your everyday life, then it becomes a problem.

Obsessions word cloud

OCD is when a person obsesses on something or cannot get their mind off of certain things and has the “compulsion” to do something over and over again, normally to combat the obsession. These thoughts (and compulsions) are often uncontrollable. The person suffering from the disorder cannot help it. When we think of OCD we think of people who are worried about germs and, therefore, feel a need to constantly wash their hands. Or the person who must check all locks and lights REPEATEDLY in their home before leaving.

So, breaking it down even further, the obsession is the thought part of OCD and the compulsion is the active doing part to try and neutralize or counteract that obsession. In other words, the person who has the thought that germs are everywhere will try and counteract or neutralize that thought by washing their hands repeatedly.

And when all of this gets out of hand, it can become downright horrible for the person who is going through it.

And just for the record, people with this condition do not want to have these thoughts and may even realize that these thoughts and even resulting behaviors or compulsions are ridiculous and don’t make any sense.

Different types of OCD

  • The need to repeatedly check things, as mentioned above, such as light switches, the oven, door locks, etc.
  • Fear of contamination. Again, this is the one a lot of us have heard of, where people feel the need to wash their hands repeatedly after touching doorknobs, handles, shaking hands with others, anything others in public would touch or handle, etc. Think the television character/show Monk.
  • Everything must be in order. Having to have things in alignment or ordered in a certain way. For me it was my CDs. Ha! Funny now because I don’t listen to CDs anymore. My music is all on my phone! LOL
  • Intrusive thoughts. Ahhhh my personal fave!! Thoughts that you just cannot get out of your mind. And no, they are not pleasant. As a matter of fact, they can be downright disturbing. Thoughts that are sexually explicit about someone you would never have sex with. (I mean, I would rather think of Christopher Meloni naked, but when thoughts of some old woman pops into your head instead – see? That’s what I’m talking about!) Or thoughts of hurting someone that you would never hurt. The types of troublesome recurring and intrusive thoughts are endless!

Derek’s Story

My OCD is mainly uncontrollable, bad thoughts. I don’t really have a compulsion to do anything to counteract what goes on in my mind, except sometimes I will think or even say NO! Or ENOUGH! or STOP! – as a way to neutralize my racing and/or intrusive thoughts. So, you can have the obsessions without the compulsions.

Believe me, if you suffer from this, you would know exactly what I am speaking of.

I have begun to realize that I have always had obsessive thoughts my entire life, even as a child. I remember obsessing on death and even thinking that I would not make it to the next grade in school when I was a little boy.

That later turned into obsessing over my height and thinking I was too short. So, I started stuffing socks in the soles of my shoes starting around 7th grade to make myself appear taller.

Later on it was an obsession with nuclear war, dying of AIDS, and a fear of losing my memory and even a fear of going blind. I felt as if my mind was out of control, like my mind had a mind of its own. And when I look back on all of this, it makes total sense to me that OCD was at the root of my problems.

But where does it come from? I don’t think anyone really knows. Perhaps it is stress. Or anxiety. I honestly believe mine stems from fear, fear of something bad happening. Or just generalized anxiety, which is ANOTHER topic to delve into. I was actually diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder a couple of years back, which also explains a lot about me. Generalized anxiety disorder or GAD is exactly how it sounds – you have a generalized or overall anxiety about pretty much everything. It is the feeling that something bad is going to happen.

And that is where the thoughts and the obsessions can begin, which can lead into the compulsions.

Sadly, there is no cure for OCD. BUT it can be managed through therapy and yes, medication. I am on paroxetine or Paxil. It does help somewhat, but I do a LOT of meditation and a great deal of just ignoring those thoughts that are troublesome. Believe me, it takes a great deal of mental strength to do it, but it can be done.

There is a great deal more about OCD that I cannot even begin to cover in this post. By all means check out the source material below for further information.

Well, that is it for today, my fellow ment binders. Hahahaha! As always, please be well and stay safe and mentally well!

Sources:

AFFILIATE DISCLAIMER:  There are products on this page.  By clicking on the links, you will be redirected to that page at no cost to you.  However, I will receive compensation if you purchase something (which I hope you do 😊).