Does anyone else's OCD get worse when you haven't slept well? I haven't been sleeping well since this weekend and my OCD and anxiety is just making me feel super down. Does anyone else have this problem?
Hi there! I am a licensed therapist at NOCD. I'm sorry to hear that you have not been sleeping well and it is making you feel super down. Yes, sleep deprivation can and will exacerbate OCD symptoms, depression, anxiety, and other life functions. It is important to create a consistent sleep, food intake, and daily schedule. I commend you for your insight and awareness, which a a great step in addressing how you are feeling. Are there other things you are noticing with your OCD and anxiety that might be impacted?
Because OCD can be triggered by stress, and lack of sleep can cause stress, that can absolutely happen. I know it happens to me when my sleep isn't on point.
It makes a lot of sense that your OCD and anxiety feel worse when you haven’t been sleeping well. Sleep plays a big role in emotional regulation, and when we’re exhausted, intrusive thoughts can feel even more overwhelming. You’re definitely not alone in this—many people with OCD notice an increase in symptoms when they’re sleep-deprived. While we can’t always control our sleep perfectly, focusing on good sleep habits—like keeping a consistent bedtime, reducing screen time before bed, and practicing relaxation techniques—might help. At the same time, it’s important to continue responding to your OCD thoughts in a way that aligns with your ERP work. Even if your anxiety feels heightened, remember that you can still choose how to respond to it.
Oh 100% yes. I have learned I need a good 8 to 9 hours of sleep per night to stay sane, or my mental health really starts to suffer and my OCD symptoms get worse!
Hey today I’m feeling very tired because of my OCD I’m just so tired of it. I feel I’m doing everything to get better. I disregard the thoughts, I’m trying to do things like I don’t have ocd but it doesn’t want to go away. I was doing fine for a long period of time and now I feel like I’m back a square one. It’s been almost 2 months now I’m battling with OCD and I’m just tired. Sure I have moments where it’s better than others, I also have days where I barely have OCD but I also have really bad days like today where I just don’t want to get out of bed. Last time I had a relapse it took my 4 weeks to get out of it I don’t understand why this time it takes me more. I’m starting believing that I will never feel better again. Anyway I’m gonna try to find the strength to get out of bed and to start my day. But I just wanted to share. It’s such a horrible illness.
I'm reaching out in hopes of finding others who might relate to my experiences or offer insights. I'm dealing with a complex interplay of OCD, depression, and existential anxiety, and I'm struggling to make sense of it all. Here's what I'm experiencing: I have OCD with various manifestations, along with episodes of depression. I find myself in a cyclical pattern where, after a few weeks, I start to remind myself about my depressive tendencies. This reminder seems to trigger a cycle that actually makes me feel more depressed or at least more aware of depressive symptoms. When this happens, I often experience feelings of nihilism and existential dread. I try to think about my family - my two young boys and my wife - to find motivation or a sense of purpose, but this strategy often backfires, making me feel even more anxious and depressed. I constantly check my feelings, wondering if they're depressive or anxious. At the same time, I fear that my feelings of anxiety and panic might spiral out of control. I think about my emotions and thoughts on a meta-level, which means I'm not just experiencing feelings, but I'm also constantly analyzing the fact that I'm experiencing them. There's an existential component to my struggles, a fear of depression and anxiety itself, and a sense that this might be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Perhaps most frustratingly, I often have feelings, thoughts, or sensory experiences that I can't explain or put into words. I feel like I've never heard of these before, which leaves me feeling deeply misunderstood. Does anyone else experience something similar? How do you cope with this complex web of symptoms and experiences? I'm particularly interested in hearing from those who've found ways to break the cycle of meta-cognition and self-fulfilling anxiety. Any insights, shared experiences, or strategies would be deeply appreciated. Thank you for your time and understanding.
Dose anyone else experience that your OCD calms down and goes to the back of your mind during- feels almost safe and unaware of it but as soon as it's over and youve calmed down all the intrusive thoughts come rushing back 10x worse? I've had really awful panic attacks because of it the past two nights and it's exhausting I haven't been with another person in over a year because of how bad it was after and not being able to explain it properly to partners "no I'm not crying because of you" "no you didn't do anything wrong" I feel insane- like I'll never be able to have a normal functioning sexual time alone or with others do to it the compulsions that come with it are exhausting it's like the need to cleanse myself of filth like I'm disgusting and horrible until there's no traces I did anything in the first place I'm just so tired dose anyone have any tips of how to work through this- or at least be able to enjoy myself without crying afterwords? I have no idea what subtype this would even entail? I'm going to go with contamination I guess ?
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