Drowsy Driving Prevention Week on November, 2024: Can high amounts of stress cause OCD? (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)?

Drowsy Driving Prevention Week 2024. Florida Department of Transportation Drowsy Driving Prevention Week

Hi, the body can react to stress in different ways, some people: OCD, depression, etc.

When my OCD was bad I would always be late to uni.

"OBSESSIONS are unwelcome and distressing ideas, thoughts, images or impulses that repeatedly enter your mind. They may seem to occur against your will. They may be repugnant to you, you may recognize them as senseless, and they may not fit your personality."

"COMPULSIONS, on the other hand, are behaviors or acts that you feel driven to perform although you may recognize them as senseless or excessive. At times, you may try to resist doing them but this may prove difficult. You may experience anxiety that does not diminish until the behavior is completed."

Your compulsions seem exactly like OCD,

Tapping things. -> had it personally

Stepping extra steps when I'm walking. -> had it personally

Looking at things twice instead of once. -> sounds like a compulsion

Saying random things out loud. -> had it personally

So for help there is,

It is well known that using psychotropic medication along with the later discussed CBT technique “Exposure and Response Prevention” is the best treatment. However it is not required but it helps reduce the anxiety thus motivating you.

I started on a Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) specifically Escitalopram (trade names Lexapro, Cipralex and Esertia) and built up to the maximum recommended dosage 20mg, however it is worth noting that in Australia, psychiatrists may push this to 40mg. Make sure your psychiatrists knows this but follow his/her advice.

SSRIs keep the serotonin available to nerve cells; a lack of serotonin is thought to be a possible cause for OCD

Escitalopram or any SSRI will not fix you overnight, 4-6 weeks is for depression; it is more around the 10-12 weeks mark, it took me around 3 months to finally feel a difference, don’t give up on the SSRI straight away, they work very slowly.

Any current medication will not fix you perfectly, some notice up to 70%, some 50%, most about 20%-50% improvement.

Stronger Medications, they helped me

Augmenting (using with) a SSRI with a low dose of antipsychotic such as Haloperidol (trade names Aloperidin, Bioperidolo, Brotopon, Dozic, Duraperidol, Einalon S, Eukystol, Haldol, Halosten, Keselan, Linton, Peluces, Serenace, Serenase and Sigaperidol)

These work much stronger and must be taken with care. If you suffer or have suffered from Epilepsy much greater care is needed as it can reduce the seizure-threshold. Although using an antipsychotic may sound too much for you, they are quite beneficial. To quote my psychiatrist you use a “baby’s dose”.

I can barely tolerate Haloperidol and will get extremely drowsy (I slept 7pm to 7am and again 11am to 3pm, all up 16 hours) and had a case of acute Akathisia. Akathisia for me felt like constant restlessness and it started in my legs. I stopped taking 1mg and went down the 0.5mg and it went away.

At the small dosage you will be given, there are none (well for legal reasons I need to say a very minute chance) and long term side effects only occur after a long time using them (years). Your psychiatrists won’t put you on them for that long.

Then there is “Exposure and Response Prevention” which with a good psychologist, will get you to stop doing these compulsions. :)

Send me an email at steven [at] ocdfoundation.net

Can not sleeping kill you?

If you are not getting enough sleep you may feel drowsy during the day. You may become irritable, anxious, have extreme mood swings and difficulty concentrating. That National Sleep Foundation reports that lack of sleep leads to problems completing a task, concentrating or making decisions as well as unsafe actions. Lack of sleep can cause people to dose off while driving, which cam lead to accidents. The Sleep Foundation claims that more than 1,500 people die every year in fatigue-related crashes. If sleep deprivation goes untreated you may develop more serious problems. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chronic sleep deprivation can negatively impact overall quality of life. The CDC states that insomnia may contribute to chronic illnesses such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity. Without the right amount of sleep your body is not as efficient at carrying out daily tasks that keep you healthy. Additional signs that you are not getting adequate sleep include apathy, slowed speech and impaired memory. Not sleeping can make you very sick and it can change your moods. You can get depression, sleep apnea and cataplexy (sudden loss of muscle control). You may also develop narcolepsy, a condition that causes sudden sleep attacks. If you are sleep deprived you may also be at risk for psychiatric conditions and substance abuse. Your immune system can become compromised, and you are more likely to get a cold or the flu. In addition, your heart rate and blood pressure may rise, increasing your risk of heart disease.

So, in all honesty, your answer is yes. If it doesn't kill you, you'll develop a lot of problems.