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the NOCD Community

Anyone here suffer from contamination OCD? I hardly see any posts about it and, after searching, I read that others have said the same thing even years back.

Hello everyone - for the first time in a long time, I decided to reopen this app. I remember this time last year I was desperately scrolling through the comments section, hoping to find a positive story. I had a debilitating breakdown last year that left me unable to work, leaving London and living with mum. Everything that made perfect sense to me suddenly stopped making sense, including my loving relationship with my boyfriend. I spent weeks having panic attacks, and then months in a deep depression until finally, I started to experience happiness again. It terrified me that my brain could work like that, but it did and I’m slowly beginning to accept this fact. Now, a year on and after ERP therapy, I can safely say that I’m in a much better place. In fact, my boyfriend and I are just fine and now living together happily. The whole experience has made me realise just how much he means to me. No feeling is final. OCD can make you think that your life is over, that you’ll always feel a certain way and that you’ll never get better - but you can. There’ll be good days and bad days, but you’ll find peace again. Dx

Is it actually possible to get to the point of no longer having a certain intrusive thought or subtype of OCD? Or is it ONLY possible to learn how to deal with it? Thanks

How can you know if you are really attracted to someone?

Next week I’ll be in a psychiatric day-care clinic and I am sooo nervous and also scared. I never thought I would be doing it but I think it’s the right next step. I am just scared of opening up, meeting new people and the change that is about to happen. Have you been to a psychiatric clinic and have some tips for me? Or maybe you can tell me what will happen there. I just need a little encouragement, it really frightens me..

Curious! I’ve suffered from OCD for years and we all know drinking makes it worse. I’ve dabbled with going somewhat sober and changing my lifestyle and I’ve definitely see differences, especially with my diet. Coming off a couple weekends of bring drinks and can feel the fear seeping back in…anyone else?

And that everything has become really serious? I used to be such a happy go lucky guy who just took everything in his stride and now my whole life is about this ocd and trying to work out where it come from and what i can do to sort it out

I don't think I've had these theme that I see people struggle with but it's common. Where is the line for you with looking up stuff? What makes it a compulsion as I want to learn how to help people with this. Any and all info welcome

I know this sounds really silly, but I cannot decide on what to eat for dinner and I've gone into a full anxiety attack. I don't know why but every time I cannot find what to eat or if I go way past my dinner time like now or my family finish eating before me I have an anxiety attack. I tried to go into the kitchen to cook but then I had just started having a panic attack and had to go back to my room. Why does this keep happening to me??

I’m trying to use the phrase anything is possible to get off of ocd. But I strongly believe what ocd is questioning didn’t happen. Do I still just agree that it’s possible but keep my belief that it didn’t happen?

Does anyone else make a list of things that they have been told during arguments, or offhandedly, that upset them or just pops up during rumination? The lists also usually include, for me anyway, things like "don't do x, don't do y, make sure not to say z, you always (something someone said)" and I look at them any time I have confrontation with the person or experience a stressor that includes the person. Sometimes just when I am obsessing about a conversation that I had, or might have. I just can't help it, I want to make sure I don't mess up. I want to do everything I can to not be what my brain decides is Bad.

I know this isn’t OCD but anyone on here dealt with depersonalization. Two days ago I was walking in the mall and looked at myself in the mirror and i felt like an immediate detachment from my body like my mind felt completely separate from my body. Every since then I have been so anxious because now I just keep thinking my mind is trapped in this body and I feel so weird being a human like I should be some other species. its like I look at myself and don’t even know who i am. Currently am going through antidepressants withdrawal symptoms having quitting them cold turkey and been on them for 3 years.

I am a grad student in an online STEM program, and my career depends on my analytical skills, which mask my OCD. It has become debilitating (7 hours revising an email reply) and negatively impacts my social life (response inhibitions and shame) and my academic performance (excessive amounts of time spent on every task, resulting in easily found errors like unfinished sentences; cognitive impairments). Like, I have 7 planners and can't start a to-do list because it triggers my OC. My university is insufficient in my situation. Figuring out how to accomodate as a virtual student with neurodiversity/debilitating mental illness has been ridiculously exhausting. Despite communicating with every professor, the student accessibility services, and my department director, I feel like I am fighting an uphill battle alone. Everyone places such value in diversity, inclusion, and equity, but fail to actually have resources that support mental health conditions. Almost everyone I have contacted have no experience with OCD or how it works. Yes extended time of my due dates would be great, if it actually alleviated my anxiety and paralysis instead of extending masked compulsions. Asking chatGPT and trying to afford Grammarly premium is so far the only useful shit I've resorted to. I can't even mention AI because of how stigmatized it is from lack of information/tech literacy about it being a tool and not e-Satan.

The intrusive thoughts are taking over and I don’t know what to do I’m exhausted I’m tired of living like this I just want to be ok and not have give in to compulsions. I’m not able to breathe for a second because an intrusive thought pops up all the time I can’t control it I just want it all to stop the ocd, the intrusive thoughts, the anxiety , i can’t be myself and be happy when I’m being destroyed by this anxiety. I really thought I was getting better but I keep going backwards and I just want to be happy and be myself and live life to the fullest but how am I supposed to go about my day when the intrusive thoughts pop up every day. I don’t know what to do anymore I’ve tried distracting myself I tried journaling I tried stress gone vitamins, I can’t even sleep this is frustrating!!! It’s getting worse and nothing’s working

Here I am again after almost a year of thinking I was doing better but recently slumping back. Does anyone else constantly think of an event or mistake you made in the past and can’t let it go? I told my husband forever ago and he just wants me to let it go. He doesn’t understand why I’m so upset. But to me it’s like it’s the worst thing imaginable and that I’ve ruined his trust in me and I keep feeling like I should bring it up and there’s things I’m not telling him even though I have literally told him everything. Please help.

I’m finding it very difficult to resist mental review – because your mind just wanders to it. Does anybody have any tips on how they do it?

Can be your intrusive thoughts just like normal thoughts (not commands and what if thoughts) for example like you are normaly thinking then a random (unwanted) thought just pops up like you would be thinking that but you actaully don’t want it (i hope that makes sence) please help

What are your experiences with meds? Would you recommend them? Are some of the OCD meds meds that are usually prescribed for depressed patients too? If so, do they have any side effects or negative effects overall? Like make you tired or make you stop feeling things like I've heard some people say Would you say meds need to be taken only if the situation is very bad and super out of control?

When I see other people living their life normally, being happy without OCD, I get jealous. I wonder what would take for us to be like this? because I was once like that, before ocd got me. I feel like crying. this is fr a nightmare.

Yesterday, I made a post saying that I don't know how to cope with being alive. Right now, I'm really struggling and I'm even more depressed. I think what caused me this distressed was the nickelodeon docu-series and hearing these stories what these young actors went through re-opened a wound of my own childhood trauma and I'm spiraling. This week has been horrible and I know when ppl say that when you're suicidal the problem you're a dealing with is temporary but this doesn't feel temporary. I called my counselor a few days ago to schedule an appointment but he's off this week but he promised that he may squeeze a session tomorrow. At least I have that. I just don't know what to do.