Unlucky dip; OCD,Anxiety or Phobia

[liam]

Hello everyone,
This is my first post on this forum so im not sure if this is the right place to put this message (sorry if it isn’t). Im just unsure about a about a few things right now so before i took any further action i wanted to see what other people have to say about my anxiety or whatever it is.

I recently got told i possible have OCD by a GP but its not really a diagnose because it wasn’t done by a real shrink. Basically what happens is i freak out when im in public places and have this overwhelming fear im going to urinate in my pants. Its never happened to me before but for some reason its nearly ALWAYS on my mind when im in public places. I start sweating really badly and get tightness in my chest. I have different levels of this anxiety, from walking down the street with it being on my mind and constantly putting my hand down my pants to check which sometimes i don’t believe no matter how many times i do, to hiding in a toilet cubical checking worried to come out.

I can see why the GP though it could have been OCD because i check but now im not sure because ive started to realise that i don’t get this feeling anywhere near as much when im around people i know. My mind tells me how illogical this is and how obvious it would be if i ever did but it doesn’t help. Even if people knew i had wet myself it wouldn’t be so bad, im travelling and would never see them ever again but nothing seems to help. When this first started happening i was stoned and i smoked a few times after this having the same result and my actions not long after this probably didn’t help by wearing incontinent pads which i knew EVEN if it happened no one would know, but it only made me freak out more and check in the toilets more.

Im considering ending my travels to go home and sort this shit out because i can hardly enjoy other countries while being in fear on a tour bus etc. i would go to a shrink if i had the money to spare, basically i just want this bullshit to go away. Before all this anxiety i use to be a confident person but when i started getting this 2 years ago (it went away after 4 months and came back again 6 months ago but it was never really gone, just not as bad) ive become insanity self-conscious and insecure.

Anyway, sorry about the rant, i just couldn’t stop typing once i started. Maybe i really do need to talk to someone about this. Would really appreciate any comments, cheers.

[Charmbracelet81]

Well, I am not a shrink, but have been seeing one for 9 months :D I have anxiety and the ocd. Like you with the urinating fear and always checking your pants, I have a fear of having a heart attack and I always pulse check and use a blood pressure machine everytime I am at the store. It is worse in public places, the anxiety that is.

[liam]

Well, I am not a shrink, but have been seeing one for 9 months :D I have anxiety and the ocd. Like you with the urinating fear and always checking your pants, I have a fear of having a heart attack and I always pulse check and use a blood pressure machine everytime I am at the store. It is worse in public places, the anxiety that is.

Thanks for the responce. Have you ever had a heart attack or some sort of event that triggered this? Im just sick of this anxiety being the focus of my life and having to plan my life around it. Reguarly having to get of buses / trains, and all im doing in re-enforcing it. I just wish there was a way to get it off my mind, at least some of the time.

Has anyone else got any advice in relation to this topic. Even if you think it may not help i would be greatful for it anyway.

[Charmbracelet81]

I have what's called "premature atrial contractions." So sometimes I get an extra heartbeat but I can feel it and it's very scary! This started 5 years ago. All tests have come back normal and benign and I haven't become obsessed with it until last year for some reason (but anxiety can strike at anytime). As far as dealing with this in therapy, my therapist has what's called "coping cards." I write my thought one one side of an index card and the fact on the other side. For example my obessive thought on one card says, "I will have a heart attack at any moment." And on the other side is the fact that says, " I have no heart disease." So I use those when I am in full panic thinking I will have a heart attack. IT shows you that it is simply a thought and that the fact is right there that I am fine. Where did your fear come from? Has your fear actually happend to you? If not, then the thought would be, "Oh my gosh I might urinate all over in this store." Then you realize that it's only a thought by saying, "I have never done this before and have no incontenance problems diagnosed.".....something along those lines. The thoughts are horrible, trust me, I know, but it does help to realize they are ONLY thoughts and to look at what is really happening.