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August 10, 2005, 4:43 pm PDT
OCD is truly hell
My 18 yr old daughter has OCD so I know how awful it can be. My 2 daughters and I all have anxiety related disorders, but my 18 yr old has OCD, social anxiety and panic disorder. She is a perfectionist and the disorders can literally make her think she is going crazy...and the ocd takes hold of that thought and makes her more anxious...and so on. She was unable to graduate high school because of her disorders. She is on medication but it only helps to a point. She was part of a study at the University of Pennsylvania, but that was only helpful to a point as well. Her disorders disable her, though most people don't believe that. Anyone that doesn't know her would think she is perfectly fine, as she can hide her discomfort from anyone for a short period of time. Her father doesn't have a clue! He is in that group that believes that anxiety is not such a big deal. Unfortunately so is the school. They fought us every step of the way and my daughter left without graduating and now is trying to get her GED. She is very bright, that has never been the problem, it's being able to get to the testing or sit in the room full of people...or convince herself that she is as capable as she is... I'm sure alot of people understand how the OCD mind works. It is so hard to find anyone that can help with treatment or even medications. Insurance doesn't cooperate, and in South Jersey there aren't alot of doctors that seem to specialize in anxiety disorders. If they do? You have to have money to see them. I don't have that luxury! It has made it very difficult. I would love for my daughter to talk to some other young people who know how she feels. She wouldn't be able to handle "a group" at this time, but maybe email??? Anyone have any ideas they'd like to share? I'm always open to some fresh ideas.
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