Can anyone please relate to my symptom?
Long story short, I became very guilty and filled with anxiety due to an event from the past with a friend. I obsessed about it for weeks until it lead to me randomly repeating my friends name in my head without being able to control it. This lead to more anxiety and panic attacks. Eventually I got on Zoloft and Risperdal. Zoloft has helped greatly with my anxiety levels and Risperdal for the repetitive name saying. It eventually got to the point where I would repeat the name just about every few seconds causing a lot of distress. There is no meaning or message behind me saying the name, I just do it uncontrollably. 3 months later to this date, I still repeat the name in my head, and because of the help from the Risperdal, I have accepted that this thing will never end
Does anyone know what I have or can relate?
I've been diagnosed with OCD and General Anxiety Disorder by my psychiatrist, but still believe I may have something else. My newest OCD psychologist asked me if I ever have been diagnosed with Tourettes.
Last edited by tarcoal on 29 Aug 2014, 5:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I can't say I've ever had an event be so traumatic that the mention of a name causes me considerable distress, but does a phrase count?
In college I had a friend that I became obsessed with. I decided to pursue a relationship with this girl while knowing another friend was interested in her as well. I proceeded to ask her, very awkwardly, "If I was to ask you out, what would your response be?" Essentially she explained that her career aspirations were more important to her and she couldn't be in a relationship at that time. Well, the reply didn't really let me know much in the way of whether she was interested in me or not. Still being obsessed with her, I tried explaining that I would be willing to work around any obstacles that may be in the way of said relationship. Before I could really explain myself she said, "Jim, just... Don't." That moment ended not only any pretense of a relationship with this girl, but our friendship as well.
For months afterwards I'd repeat that phrase to myself. "Jim, just... Don't." Even now it's somewhat haunting. Part of it is the memories attached to it and the other is that I still can't puzzle out what it fully means...
Well, I wish I had a more positive answer for you, but I don't. This happened during a very low point in my life. I lost a friend, as I described, and alienated myself from the rest of my friends as a result. I was also met with academic hardship and failure for the first time all while my grandfather, someone I was probably closer to than my father, was in the hospital practically on his deathbed. Ironically it's times like these when I most yearn for human connection and likely why I wanted the relationship so badly in the first place.
I became deeply depressed, suicidal, and turned to self-harm as a means of coping. I was ultimately hospitalized where the psychiatrist put me on Zoloft and Risperidone. My mood slowly improved, but I've put on close to 100 lbs over ten years since starting Risperidone and am now diabetic. Dorm life proved to be too much and I had to move back in with my parents.
I finished my bachelor's degree about five years later, started graduate school about two years ago and have since dropped out there too due to a recurrent episode of major depression that sent me again to the psych ward. I'm now off Risperidone and have been prescribed Seroquel/Quetiapine, but I sleep upwards if 14 hours a day if I take one of those.
The phrase I mentioned still comes to mind occasionally or when something reminds me of it. Time has been the only real help in that regard.
I'm sorry for the depressing read, but I had to be honest with my experiences. I can only hope things proceed much better for you.
KingdomOfRats
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Joined: 31 Oct 2005
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are not the only one who experiences it so dont feel so alone,
have known quite a few autistics who experience mental echolalia; am one of them but have always had it even before understanding language and dont have OCD.
it coud also be the OCD and anxiety causing the repetition.
both OCD and autism are very repetition based; though for different reasons.
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