- Date posted
- 20h
Relationship struggles have me legit feeling crazy
I'm really struggling right now and wondering if anyone with OCD has experienced something similar, especially when it comes to relationship uncertainty. My boyfriend and I have been going through a difficult time over the past few weeks. He's been struggling with his own personal issues and has emotionally pulled away from our relationship. When I've tried to ask him whether he still wants to be with me, his response has been "I don't know." And those three words have completely consumed me. I wake up every morning in a state of panic, and I experience intense anxiety and panic attacks throughout the day. My mind constantly replays his words, our conversations, and things that happened weeks ago, trying to figure out whether he still loves me, whether he's going to break up with me, or whether there's something I missed along the way. The hardest part is that I'm not asking him to fix everything overnight. If he simply told me, "Yes, I still want this relationship, but I'm going through a difficult time and can't be the partner I was before right now," I genuinely feel like I could accept that and give him the space he needs. But it's the uncertainty of not knowing whether he even wants to be with me anymore that's sending me into a spiral. I have OCD and am currently working on ERP, but I'm having an incredibly difficult time applying it to this situation because the fear feels so real. This isn't just an irrational hypothetical scenario. There is actual uncertainty in my relationship, and I feel like my OCD has latched onto it and won't let go. I find myself constantly mentally reviewing conversations, analyzing his behavior, looking for signs, and trying to predict the outcome. It's exhausting, and I feel like I'm losing control of my thoughts. I know ERP involves learning to tolerate uncertainty, but how do you do that when the uncertainty involves something happening in your real life that could genuinely hurt you? Has anyone experienced OCD attaching itself to a real relationship issue like this? How did you distinguish between addressing legitimate relationship needs and engaging in compulsions? And how did you practice ERP when you were genuinely terrified of the outcome? I'm really struggling and would appreciate hearing from anyone who's navigated something similar.