Dear Unloveable:

My OCD does not exist anymore. I used to have strong OCD for decades, strongest during my teenage years: Obsessions and Compulsions. The anxiety that fueled my OCD (it fuels anyone’s OCD) is much lower now. When you experience less anxiety, there is less fuel available for a variety of disorders.

I still suffer from elevated anxiety at times, which still fuels another disorder: Tourette Syndrome (also,  most severe during my teenage years, but severe enough  all through my 20s and 30s). Currently, it expresses itself in a few facial and shoulder tics- tics that are fueled by anxiety but also produce anxiety, every tic comes with added anxiety in the movement itself, plus more anxiety about being seen tic-ing.

I had my first quality psychotherapy (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with a heavy touch of Mindfulness) in 2011 and ever since, I’ve been dedicated- and increasingly more dedicated in recent years- to what I call my Healing Process. I stopped taking any and all prescribed medications, such as Zoloft, in 2013 and didn’t take any since. As time goes on I am healing more and more: I aim at it every day and I make it happen, bit by bit. Healing, really, is a very powerful force in nature: everything that gets hurt- if it does not die- it starts healing right away; therefore, it is possible for me too, and for you, to tap into this natural force, using our ability to cognitively understand things, to form goals and plans, and live intentional lives- to heal from anxiety and the many disorders that it fuels.

Regarding Zoloft, you suggested that it might not work for you. There are other drugs in the family of Zoloft, the SSRI family, that may fit you better. Psychiatrists approach this in an experimental, hit and miss fashion (try this, does it work? If it doesn’t work, try that, etc.).

anita