Health anxiety and OCD postpartum - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Message Board

lsmith1 · 02-11-2005, 10:11 AM

I am 3 months postpartum and I am obsessed with my health. I go to the ER once a week and nothing is ever wrong they always send me home stating stress and anxiety. I had this before I had my child too, but had it under control until I gave birth. First I was anxious about the baby and then I became obseesed with every ache, pain, or feeling. I have thought I had cancer, anyeresm, blood clot, tumor, MS, heart failure ect... I can't get off the internet I obsess over my symptoms and look them up always bringing up horrible things. I just recently went to the doctor who was checking my heart and they actually think that I might have postpartum cardiomyopathy! I was like oh my gosh I am not going crazy. But now I am obsessing about that. I am on zoloft, xanax and trileptal. Why can't I stop obsessing over my heath? I know it is making it worse, if there is something wrong with my heart then me being anxious and depressed and obessive is going to make it worse. Help!

dgold · 02-12-2005, 05:33 AM

ok, you need to just accept these thoughts and be ready for them Anticipate them and just prepare for the worse. Dont fight them off.
Tell yourself this is OCD and these thoughts are not real they are false messeges.

If you can when the OCD is very weak and not acting up. You need to desensitive your brain to these thoughts. Try to visualize yourself have horrible health problems. Start slow and gradually make it stronger and stronger and more and more intense.
Even a few minutes will work but then gradually increase to an hour if you can. Imagine even if you can death . DO NOT REASSURE yourself by going to the doctor or asking a friend if your OK. That just plays into the OCD hands and makes it much stronger and worse.
Please call an OCD specialist by contacting the national OCD foundation for help. Find somebody trainned in ERP . Exposure and response prevention. Dont do this visualizing unless your ready. scroll up to read my last comment on this matter. somebody had a similar problem.