Strange Story : OCD and Anxiety

Hello,

I have always had difficulties with my sleep. Sometime I felt like I could not let go of a particular thought and it would keep me up late into the night until i finally let it go and could get some rest. The more I tried to get it out, the longer I would be up. It would be something irrelevant, like going over an exam I had taken earlier in the day, over and over. I also have this problem that I don't sleep straight through the entire night. I usually get one solid chunk or sleep, followed by tossing around, in and out of sleep. I was always very sensitive to any noises I heard during this period of time, if i started to hear birds chirp, there would be no chance of me going back to sleep, because my mind would concentrate on the noise. I would concentrate on any minor sound....

I recently moved into a college dorm room, and I live directly above a work facility (terrible location for a dorm). There is this high pitched beeping noise that starts exactly around the time my sleep breaks ~4am. It is an intermittent, really loud echoing beep, every 10 minutes, that lasts for about a minute. For a while it would just wake me up and I would be tired throughout the day. After about a week, I started to get sleep anxiety before bed, I already worried about this sound waking me up, I anticipated it, and even if i hadn't started yet, i could no longer fall asleep. I don't really know where the sound is even coming from, I would look around, but it is echoing and hard to pin point.

Over the last 10 days, I have been hearing this noise even when I go home and sleep in my own bed. I went home for 5 nights, and only on the 4th and 5th night did the noise seem to dissipate a little. But then I had to go back to school, and everything started up again. Now i feel my like my mind is constantly searching for this sound, it is unable to just function normally, kind of like i have been hypnotized. I have experienced great anxiety over this, and panic attacks at night, thinking about if I am going crazy. I created even more anxiety by using google, and thinking I might have tinnitus for the rest of my life. Since then, I don't really hear beeping anymore when i go to bed, so I dont think i have tinnitus, lol. But now I feel like this thought of "do i hear this beeping sound?" is stuck in my mind, causing me to be hypersensitive with sounds and constantly check my ears to see if i hear a beeping noise.

My concentration in school has been affected. Thankfully, I am probably going to change rooms and get away from this sound soon - within a week. Hoping A change in environment will help me forget. However, I am almost always alone, causing me to keep this though in my head, and i have also have dealt with depression for a long time (since my UC diagnosis). Sometimes I am depressed enough, to where I have bad thoughts.

I don't really have the money to receive cognitive behavior therapy or anything like that, but would I benefit from any medication, like an SSRI or something? Anything I can do to help me stop obsessing and turn off this super sense of hearing.

Thank you,
Albert

Thank you for taking the time to read my post and for your comment. I will make an appointment to a psychiatrist I think . I had been using ear plugs, but they were kind of ineffective, making the noise just a little more faint. I actually think this is worse, because it made me uncertain at times if I am hearing the noise or not. I spoke with a doctor and am getting my ears checked, she also recommended a change in room would be best, but she cant really help me "not concentrate". She also agreed a fainter noise would be worse, and told me since I already anticipate a noise, even better ear wear might not really help me at this point.

I am sleeping pretty well now, and definitely feel a little better. My problem now is that when I am alone, and it is very quiet (a lot of the time), Im having these obsessive thoughts continue, is the sound there? . Ugh, everything was normal just a few weeks ago.

Until then, I will just take it one day at a time I guess. I am getting anxious because I cant just get rid of these thoughts and focus on positive things. Although, I have continued to workout/study/go to class...my mind just feels tired.

Has anyone had any experience with medication benefiting their Obsessive thoughts/anxiety?? I know these meds sometimes take a little while to kick in...

I am 26 years old

Post Edited (albear99) : 11/7/2019 4:54:11 PM (GMT-7)

Thank you, I explained the reason why earbuds are not effective. However, I will try listening to the video. 42 minutes though, i don't know if I can listen for that long

Have you ever tried meditation? It helps you clear your mind and think of nothing. I use it to get to sleep every night. Mindfulness helps you. You can recognize the noise and take it for what it is. It will bother you less.

I am glad things are getting better.

Hugs, Karen...

Look up Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Look up Mark Freeman's YouTube videos on ACT for a great overview. He had severe OCD.