IAPT, low level CBT. Effectifve, evidence based, easy etc etc. Ask your GP or self refer in some areas.

SSRI drugs like Citalopram, escitalopram, Fluoxetine and so on can help, but are not without side effects...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_serotonin_reuptake_inhibitor

Best used to buy you time to get your shit together rather than as a long term solution, although some people stay on them for a long period.

Not a specialist, am a nurse, have personal experience of short term use.

GP's a v.good start. You sure its OCD... ADHD can be very similar

Never went down drugs route but cbt ftw!

Definitely speak to your GP. My Dad did a few years back and it really helped him out. He went the meds route-he's just had to start taking them again and I think that he will possibly be on them for life now. No shame in it though.

As above, citalopram etc however the side effects to start with can be truly horrendous. If you are anxious to start with you will be out of your skin for the first 3-4 weeks until the drug starts to kick in and I would suggest being on your own during this period would not be good.

As above, citalopram etc however the side effects to start with can be truly horrendous. If you are anxious to start with you will be out of your skin for the first 3-4 weeks until the drug starts to kick in and I would suggest being on your own during this period would not be good.

Not necessarily, I was prescribed them for anxiety and they worked very well, very quickly. Only side affects was 'ants on the brain', a sort of weird tingly sensation under the scalp which went after a while. Best drug I ever took....

What effect did the drug have, perhaps a before and after frame of mind or thoughts?

Do you do much yoga ?
Helps loads for me

It just capped my emotions so everything was kept in check. My sleeping went from a few hours back to 7-8 hours in a matter of 10 days (I had been down to one hour a night for a few weeks at it's worst).

I just have a naturally angst prone personality and Citalopram removes that and normalises me. I can still worry about stuff, but it's just a worry and doesn't become all engrossing.

I've been on it for 5 years now and will probably take it for life. More importantly I've never been happier. I look back at the last 40 odd years and wish I'd been on it decades ago, would have made life so much nicer.

EDIT: It does appear that not everyone responds the same to SSRIs (there are lots of variants as well), so one mans silver bullet can be another's nightmare. However, if OCD is affecting your life, you may as well try them....

I've tried yoga but it's not free with my gym membership! 😕

Sounds reasonable as I can worry about anything. A few examples

Messaging friends in Korea if they are okay, when I foretell know they are less worried than any news report would say.

I just won a car on ebay, I then had an argument with myself that the car will be broken when I go to pick it up and we will have a huge argument resulting i me kicking his arse. The seller has 400+ positive feedback hardly going to rip me off.

When chopping up a vegetable a suddenly worry I'm going to stab my own mother FFS.

After sleeping with someone I once had a complete meltdown convincing myself I had HIV.

I struggle to form long term relationships the longest being 2 months (I'm 29) 😳 I become very emotionally attached and occasionally obnoxious when it inevitably ends.

I actually care about the opinion of people on my facebook i have met travelling, I've known these people for a often under a week. 🙄

I remember and often regret the most pointless of things I have said often years after.

I fantasise about getting other jobs even jobs I know I would hate, the job is often one of power such as a footballer, lottery winner or lawyer, this is fairly recent so will hopefully subside.

Most of the above are characterised by arguments in my head, which I am just sick of. I realise I sound like a complete nutcase, but there is no point bottling it up

my missus had some drugs for anxiety a while back, generally good but a nasty list of side effects and some serious warnings about long term use and coming off them.

On the plus side she was way more confident on a bike

Tails. Certainly recommend the GP visit for a start. Suspect they will recommend SSRIs. I've been on them for about 12 years now. No side effects at all, just a more 'balanced' view of life, and far fewer periods of being down.

Above all don't be scared to ask for help and support. Even if things seem really grim, you CAN get better. 🙂

My wife has anxieties about her hair and hairloss and she has been on Paroxitene (sp?) for the last 4 years.

It seems to have settled her down, but she has struggled to come off them, which is more related to the underlying cause of the anxiety not being addressed rather than the medication itself.

Most of the above are characterised by arguments in my head, which I am just sick of. I realise I sound like a complete nutcase, but there is no point bottling it up

Yep, I used to endlessly imagine myself in situations that I'd hate and almost torment myself with these day dreams by getting more and more worked up by them. Looking back, even as a child, I kept imaging my parents dying and making myself cry.

On Citalopram, this has all stopped, or possibly reduced so much I no longer notice it....

Trust me on this one. Suffered anxiety most of my life.

Best thing I ever tried, pretty much a cure actually is taurine. It's a natural component of the diet, and makes up something like 0.1% of our bodyweight. It has been found to be low in those with depression and anxiety and research also shows it is useful for bipolar and seems to lessen the desire for alcohol (some doctors prescribe an analog of taurine to treat alcoholism).

I buy mine from ebay in 1kg bags. 1kg bags last ages because 3 or 4g a day is more than enough to scale my anxiety down.

Interestingly it is found in very high amounts in energy drinks, about 1g per 250ml can. I have always thought it interesting that energy drink manufacturers place it in their drinks in such large amounts. It probably takes a whole week to even get close to 1g of taurine from food.

I also found inositol useful but taurine I found to be better and cheaper.

Do with that what you will.