OCD Action

mrmatty
Member

My OCD has gotton progressively worse since my childhood. I have come to accept it as a part of my life after much therapy and no results!! Im a tapper of the highest order in multiples of 4 and 8 or 16 if im feelin lucky!! I suffer with intrusive thoughts but none of that stops me from leading a perfectly normal life.

I have however started to jerk my head in an odd fashion. I am pretty sure over the past months i have developed a bit of a head tic! been ignoring it but it wont go away!! I can deal with OCD in its many forms but am struggling to get my head round this!!!! any advice???

just came back from a meeting today and really struggled no just with the impulse to shout tw+t but with my tic!

some help would be really apprecieated

Sat May 1 2010 5:15:49 #
Rena32
Member

Hi mrmatty, what type of head tic do you have, is it just shaking or an actual jerking? What other symptoms do you have?

Sat May 1 2010 6:24:58 #
Truddles
Member

Hi mrmatty,

Welcome to the forum.

I'm not a professional, but as I understand it tics can develop as a response to anxiety and so can develop in OCD. Perhaps you aren't coping with your OCD as well as you think that you are.

You really do need to go back to your doctor and explain to him that over the past few months you seem to have developed these tics. You also need to summarise and emphasise your OCD symptoms and ask to be referred for an assessment. CBT at the moment is the treatment of choice for OCD, though as you probably know already medication helps some people. Just because therapy doesn't seem to have been of much help in the past doesn't mean that it wont work now.

Talking to others with OCD also helps. I know that I have learned more from the forum than from the professionals, it also makes it easier to understand and implement the therapy. I have also developed a greater understanding of my OCD by talking to others on the forum.

Please don't leave it and allow it to interfere with your life.

Look forward to hearing more from you on the forum.

Trudy

Sat May 1 2010 11:35:22 #
Survivor10
Member

Hello

I have been dealing with OCD head tics myself for many years, generally doing them in multiples of two and getting worse and more frequent when under stress. It started one day at work and have had them ever since. The core fear for me seems to be one of those wierd OCD reverse psychology fears, specifically - 'If I do this, people will think I am wierd, therefore I must be wierd'. A self-concious self-fulfilling prophecy.

I later had it pointed out to me in another job in a mocking manner by a colleague,which only reinforced the embarrassment and anxiety.

I found it extremely difficult to stop and it caused me more agitation (obviously food for OCD) until I learned to control my breathing better (which was very shallow, due to my feeling generally tense), which allowed me to relax more and gain better muscle and body control. I know I still do it but nobody has said anything for years and I have lived a normal life so I guess while it may seem like a prominent movement to me, it is generally less obvious to people around me.

While not a cure, hope this shared experiences helps

Thu Aug 4 2011 19:04:53 #