u/dr_otto_ort-meyer

I was prescribed Venlafaxine (75mg) for generalised anxiety (including Agoraphobia) and depression. My current GP doesn't know about my OCD, not because I've specifically hidden it but more that I've usually got it under control so never felt the need for specific help with it. I started taking the medication on Monday and on that first day it was awful, I had all sorts of side effects but I was expecting that, especially since I was in a mental health crisis before taking it and so had been very, very high stress for weeks.

A couple of months ago my OCD suddenly reared up really badly. The "general" OCD (checking, worries about germs/contamination, worries about my health, etc) has gotten a little worse but not so much that I can't get it back in line myself. But I also suffer from ROCD and at the moment its been nearly crippling. I haven't had specifically an ROCD "flare up" in years so its not something I'm used to dealing with like the rest of my OCD, which is constant.

I looked to the ROCD sub for advice and found out about ERP and have been trying to implement it alongside the CBT that I'm trying to do. I've also been doing mindfulness (breathing exercises and body scans).

Days 2 and 3 on the Venlafaxine were great. My mood was better than it has been in months, I had motivation and energy, I felt hopeful, I felt like I'd finally found something that works (I've tried other medications and therapies but have been treatment resistant so far). Most importantly for my current mental state, my OCD was so quiet. I had barely any intrusive thoughts and I actually felt in control again. I was able to just enjoy being with my partner and not worry incessantly about the relationship and constantly analyse my thoughts. It was just normal. And I was so happy.

Yesterday (day 4) it all came back really badly. The intrusive thoughts, the gnawing, overwhelming anxiety, the clenched, heavy pit in my stomach. This morning (Day 5) I woke up with my heart racing like I'd just ran a marathon, I felt like I could barely breathe. My brain was *screaming* at me. It's the worst my ROCD has ever been. It exhausted me so much I now feel super tired and in a total daze, I'm just wandering around the house in a trance. I feel totally disconnected and just really strange and uncomfortable.

I'm trying to stay calm and continue to implement the ERP basics: accept the anxiety, don't try to interact with the thoughts, don't try to reason with or analyse the feelings, accept it and ride it out. But the OCD is so strong and I feel so weak. Obviously its really scared me and kind of thrown me off.

Is this normal? I know that SNRIs and SSRIs can make you more anxious when you start them and I shouldn't have allowed myself to get into a false sense of security on those first couple of days. But this is horrible. Will it level out? Do I need a higher dose, or a medication alongside it? Has anyone else experienced this? I had high hopes for the medication because I did a lot of research and saw that a lot of people with OCD found it helpful for them when SSRIs didn't, but now I'm a bit scared.

The title says it all really. I'm just so tired. I started experiencing ROCD for the first time in years a couple of months ago because my relationship was in a bit of a rough patch and my overall mental health was really bad. I also suffer from general anxiety, Agoraphobia and depression and recently I've been in a bit of a mental health crisis and really struggling.

I came to this sub straight away to get advice on how to tackle this and found some really helpful posts and comments, I found out about ERP and that we should say "maybe, maybe not" to ourselves and accept the anxiety. And sometimes it works and I feel like it's a small victory and I actually feel something for my partner again through all the fear and doubt. And then I feel so ridiculously happy and in love and like I'm back again, like I've been away but now I'm home.

And sometimes it doesn't work and the anxiety just sits there in my chest and stomach and I spiral and can't stop thinking about it.

I just want to go back to normal. I *know* I love my partner and its so jarring that I can look back to before this started- only 3 or 4 months ago- and remember feeling absolutely fine. I remember feeling very much in love, and if you'd told me I'd be having these doubts now I never would've believed you. I just want it to stop. And I know that there's no easy way through, I know I have to just keep working on it, but it feels so hopeless sometimes.

I woke up yesterday and I felt fine, I turned to my partner and we had a long cuddle in bed and chatted and joked around. And then the anxiety crept in in the evening and this morning he tried to cuddle me and before I even opened my eyes the anxiety hit me like a train and I feel awful.

I guess I'm just venting, I have no one to talk to about this, I cant afford therapy and I'm waiting to start NHS therapy hopefully soon. It just really sucks.

I was only taking SSRIs (Sertraline for 6 weeks, then Citalopram) for 5 months before I had enough. I got really bad stomach issues with them and was apparently really irritable and hard to deal with. They gave me brain fog and hellish, weird dreams that left me feeling exhausted all the time. They also didn't help with my anxiety at all, I was just as anxious on them, if not more because of how nauseous they made me.

So I stopped them around October last year. I was recommended to split my pills in half for 2 weeks and then stop all together by the pharmacist, so I went from 20mg, to 10mg, to 0.

I had a couple weeks of feeling awful physically and then thought that I was pretty much back to normal. And then in December I got super, super anxious and panicky. I would start to panic for no reason at all, and could barely function. That slowly got a bit better over time.

A couple of months ago I started feeling really odd and uneasy. There was no specific reason, I just felt _wrong_. My life felt wrong, I didnt feel like myself, I felt entirely disconnected from my partner. I felt anxiety constantly, like a big ball of barbed wire in my stomach, but I could never figure out what I was anxious about because everything in my life has actually been a lot better recently. I did some research and found out about dissociation, depersonalisation and derealisation (I have no idea if any of those are spelt right) and I assume that's what I've been dealing with. I've never felt these things before in my life, its all new and incredibly unpleasant for me. My OCD has also been worse than its been in years.

Today I broke down crying because my pancake stuck to the pan. This is not uncommon at the moment, I cry every single morning now. Its like I just can't handle any stress, sadness or adversity at all.

I do everything "right", I eat well, I have a good sleep pattern, I drink water and herbal tea (chamomile, lemon balm, etc). I take Lavender capsules and L-theanine, and Agnus Castus to try to help with my menstrual cycle. I dont have caffeine, I work out, I go for walks every day, I do productive things that make me happy (sewing, drawing, reading). I've done loads of research into CBT and other therapies and try to follow those kinds of things. But I feel awful all the time.

My partner actually brought up the antidepressants, I basically forgot about them, but he thinks I might be having some kind of long term affects from them. Could he be right? Is this normal? And is it something I can do anything about, or should talk to my doctor about?

My period is starting soon, but I haven't started bleeding yet. I'm already feeling weak, lightheaded, woozy/disoriented, and flu-y. My chest feels tight and I feel breathless, and my brain seems to have turned to mush- I'm tripping over my words, can't concentrate, can't think, I'm so clumsy I drop everything I pick up and am constantly bashing into things. This happens every single month now, since about a year ago, despite the heaviness and length of my period not changing. My cramps haven't changed either.

I also get super, super anxious. I already suffer from anxiety, panic attacks and Agoraphobia but on my period the anxiety is nearly crippling. I can barely go out and when I do I'm freaking out the whole time.

During my last period I had a blood test which apparently came back 100% normal. My diet is pretty balanced and I exercise regularly, I have a good routine and I get enough sleep. I try to drink enough water. A couple weeks ago I started taking Agnus Castus capsules to see if it might help me but so far I feel as bad as I always do. I've also been drinking raspberry leaf tea for the past 3 days including today.

I've started to genuinely fear my periods because I basically can't do anything or go out for almost a whole week. I feel so faint and woozy that I'm pretty much panicking the whole time because I feel like I'm going to pass out. I'm not sure what to do, I have to wait another month to be able to speak to a doctor about it.

Is this normal? Do other people just deal with it? I'm not sure how much more I can deal with this and since I don't want children I'm considering having a fertility surgery just to stop having to have periods.

My period is starting soon, but I haven't started bleeding yet. I'm already feeling weak, lightheaded, woozy/disoriented, and flu-y. My chest feels tight and I feel breathless, and my brain seems to have turned to mush- I'm tripping over my words, can't concentrate, can't think, I'm so clumsy I drop everything I pick up and am constantly bashing into things. This happens every single month now, since about a year ago, despite the heaviness and length of my period not changing. My cramps haven't changed either.

I also get super, super anxious. I already suffer from anxiety, panic attacks and Agoraphobia but on my period the anxiety is nearly crippling. I can barely go out and when I do I'm freaking out the whole time.

During my last period I had a blood test which apparently came back 100% normal. My diet is pretty balanced and I exercise regularly, I have a good routine and I get enough sleep. I try to drink enough water. A couple weeks ago I started taking Agnus Castus capsules to see if it might help me but so far I feel as bad as I always do. I've also been drinking raspberry leaf tea for the past 3 days including today.

I've started to genuinely fear my periods because I basically can't do anything or go out for almost a whole week. I feel so faint and woozy that I'm pretty much panicking the whole time because I feel like I'm going to pass out. I'm not sure what to do, I have to wait another month to be able to speak to a doctor about it.

Is this normal? Do other people just deal with it? I'm not sure how much more I can deal with this and since I don't want children I'm considering having a fertility surgery just to stop having to have periods.

My period is starting soon, but I haven't started bleeding yet. I'm already feeling weak, lightheaded, woozy/disoriented, and flu-y. My chest feels tight and I feel breathless, and my brain seems to have turned to mush- I'm tripping over my words, can't concentrate, can't think, I'm so clumsy I drop everything I pick up and am constantly bashing into things. This happens every single month now, since about a year ago, despite the heaviness and length of my period not changing. My cramps haven't changed either.

I also get super, super anxious. I already suffer from anxiety, panic attacks and Agoraphobia but on my period the anxiety is nearly crippling. I can barely go out and when I do I'm freaking out the whole time.

During my last period I had a blood test which apparently came back 100% normal. My diet is pretty balanced and I exercise regularly, I have a good routine and I get enough sleep. I try to drink enough water. A couple weeks ago I started taking Agnus Castus capsules to see if it might help me but so far I feel as bad as I always do. I've also been drinking raspberry leaf tea for the past 3 days including today.

I've started to genuinely fear my periods because I basically can't do anything or go out for almost a whole week. I feel so faint and woozy that I'm pretty much panicking the whole time because I feel like I'm going to pass out. I'm not sure what to do, I have to wait another month to be able to speak to a doctor about it.

Is this normal? Do other people just deal with it? I'm not sure how much more I can deal with this and since I don't want children I'm considering having a fertility surgery just to stop having to have periods.

I suffer from pretty bad anxiety and Agoraphobia, as well as OCD and depression (get your bingo cards out). I had a mental breakdown a year ago due to prolonged stress which caused the Agoraphobia and also for me to develop panic attacks, which I'd never had before. I havent actually had that many full blown panic attacks, usually I can stop them as they're starting with breathing exercises and grounding and stuff.

I've done a 6 week CBT course as well as reading a couple self help books based on CBT principles, and I'm trying to do everything people recommend to make my mental health better. I work out regularly, I have a pretty solid routine, I eat healthily, I drink water, I stopped having caffeine (almost, I have 1 cup of tea a day), and I go out for walks or sit in the garden as much as I can. I also take Lavender, l-theanine and chaste berry supplements (I get bad PMS, not diagnosed but I suspect its actually PMDD). I try to keep a good balance of being productive and relaxing.

But for the last month I've just felt anxious constantly. There's no specific trigger that I can identify, and I have tried. I try to be aware of my anxiety and analyse what could make it worse or better. I just have this constant, low level background anxiety and this tight ball in my stomach/chest all the time, and my whole body is tense like a coiled spring. And it started fairly suddenly, I wasn't like this a couple months ago. Nothing has changed in my life besides starting to eat meat again after being vegetarian for a long time, which I feel much better for.

I have no idea how to manage it or get it to slowly lessen. I'm drinking lemon balm and chamomile teas like I'm trying to break the world record, and any time it gets too much I do 5 minutes of box breathing which helps a little. But at this point it's plain annoying, and very emotionally tiring.

Why could this have happened? Is this normal or a potential sign of an issue? How can I deal with anxiety that I don't even know the source of?

(I've requested ADHD and autism testing from my GP in case I have one of those that could be making my mental health harder to deal with, beyond that I'm out of ideas)