<s>[INST] hi im a 22 year old woman from nc and evr sense I was a young girl ive battled OCD. ive never been diagnosed bc I never really knew anything was wrong with me or tht me doing repedetive rituals was a mental crisis of any kind. however over the years its gotten worse to the point tht ive done my research and fo9und tht I think I have this mental illness. I lost both my parents at a young age and have always found myself counting things repeating things until they feel right always worrying abt death or loosing someone else I love and its very time consuming. im a smart goal oriented lady and I feel this is always setting me back and causes me extreme anxiety bc I don'treally know how to deal with it or what will make it go away. any advice will help. thnks [/INST] Greetings !Well you see OCD is a stubborn yet treatable condition with good outcome expected if early diagnosis and treatment are provided to the patient. In your case you ignored the importance of seeing a professional like a psychiatrist or a clinical psychologist and that is the reason why your symptoms of OCD have become so severe.I am suggesting below a strategy which you can discuss with your doctor and start on it and this shall help in managing OCD effectively.1) Drug therapy -- A combination of an anti depressant drug like escitalopram or sertraline and 1 anti anxiety agent like  clonazepam or lorazepam shall be started which will form a forbidable drug regime to counter OCD.2) Psychotherapy/counseling -- You can seek counseling a.k.a therapy from a clinical psychologist and learn coping skills to manage and subdue your obsessions and compulsion. ERP ( Exposure Response Prevention) therapy is best suited for OCD. It is included in CBT therapy.So combination of drug therapy and psychotherapy shall be used to fight against you OCD.I hope this helps.Wish you all the best.Regards </s>