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From the second I wake up to the second I fall asleep, my mind is spinning with the same thoughts over and over and over again without stopping. It feels like my brain is all over the place and I can’t control it anymore!!

Gossiping for reassurance /validation As I’ve gotten older I have really been reflecting and realizing like damn I did some stupid and shittt stuff. My sister told me something that really fucked me up so I went and told a bunch of my friends what happened without even considering what that would do to her reputation. I feel horrible for it now but whenever someone does something that makes me feel negatively I need to be reassured that my feelings are valid, or that someone at least can understand what I’m going through. It’s bad because once I start I can’t stop. Is this a problem for anyone else? I never realized how bad of a problem this was until I really stepped back and recognized that this could ruin peoples lives. I just need validation and reassurance that the way I feel is okay and understandable. I know this is stupid I worry I’m a narcissist because I didn’t even consider how this could hurt people. I would never want to destroy anyone’s life except for maybe one person lol but never my sister or my friends, even if I have gossiped to other people about the things they have said that hurt me/things that negatively affected me? Now I’m worried subconsciously maybe I did? But I know I would never do that I just like complaining a bit and once I start I cannot stop. I was talking to my friend the other day about how my roomate/best friend has a lack of empathy and I was giving her the reasons why I thought that cuz she asked me if I had any roomate drama. After I said everthjfn she said “wow you’re making me not like her” I was like “oh my god I don’t want to do that.” And I don’t but I also want her to understand where I’m coming from and I want her to agree with the things I am saying but I don’t want her to think that my friend is a horrible person because I don’t think that she is a horrible person I just think she lacks empathy.

In our latest post, we explore thoughtful and engaging responses for those moments when OCD is used flippantly or harmfully. Here are some ways to respond to those inevitabilities! Facing misconceptions with grace and humor can be a powerful way to educate others about OCD. BUT IT'S NOT ALL ON YOU! When you can, refer to other resources (that's why we have our page) and use these faux pas as a chance to remind yourself of the community you have. We aim for a day where people who have OCD are met with the empathy this disorder deserves!

when im on no contact w my ex i feel broken apart and miss him so much but i liked the feeling of trying to move on and seeing if i could finally be w someone else but i literally couldnt do it and realized i couldnt move on from him and now i feel guilty for even having the feeling of wanting to be w anyone else so we got back tg but when im w him i have a million intrusive thoughts abt finding other guys attractive and other crushes etc and i cant tell if theyre just thoughts or if theyre genuine feelings because they feel super real and ive always had a problem for months now of finding other guys attractive / wanting attention from other guys even tho i never wanted to feel that way and thats why we had broken up but now im stressed bcs i only want to like and love him and only find him attractive but sometimes ppl say things like hes the most attractive guy which i used to believe and then after all these thoughts i disagree in my head even tho i dont want to cuz i know hes attractive and i want to feel that hes the most attractive in my eyes but its hard with a million things and feelings running around in my head

Yesterday I tried to commit suicide because I started remembering things from my childhood that I did to another child and ask I kept thinking I remembered other instances of doing other things to them and I am really disgusted with myself and I don’t deserve to live. I’m scared to tell any even my therapist because of what she might think of me. I’ve also have intrusive thoughts about children, I know that I don’t find them attractive but my brain tells me that I do and I get all of these weird thoughts in my head all at once and I don’t know what to do, I don’t know if I actually did this to them or if I’m making it up because of my trauma and anxiety. I tried asking them if they remembered me doing anything uncomfortable when we were children and they said no and were getting annoyed and dismissive.

No matter what I do I can’t stop ruminating thoughts. I feel so frustrated. My mind is so loud and the thoughts are just on a loop. I feel paranoid and can’t stop obsessing. Anyone have any helpful suggestions? 😣

Hi there my fellow OCDers, This question has been on my mind for some time. I read a good few posts on this forum and often wonder why quite s few of us haven't tried therapy specifically using ERP yet . I know there must be many reasons, financial, too many commitments, previous bad experience with therapy, etc. I may be wrong and would love to hear other views on this, but in my case and I suspect quite a few others.....the reason was fear, that the therapy would prove my fears to be true. In our minds we debate what we fear in the hope of proving those fears to be untrue.....which as we all know, never works. But the anxiety of starting therapy, for me at least, was that the therapy would somehow prove my fears to be true. So staying away from therapy, at least keeps us hoping we're somehow safe , even if we're totally unhappy. The truth is, therapy doesn't do this.... that's not it's role......it won't prove we are bad or evil people, it's purpose is to help us out of the dead end that OCD has brought us to, and to help us find peace in our minds and some happiness in our lives again. So I would say to anyone out there, who believes they are guilty of something they really fear...... therapy won't expose you as a bad person....it will truly help you, once you commit to it..... Again would love to hear other views on this, love to you all 🙂

I feel like over a week ago I had about 4 really GOOD days in a row which I’ve never had before! I was able to concentrate a lot more I still had the thoughts but it was usually just the same one that popped up every now and again, no new ones and I really felt like this was the start of getting better. Well fast forward to now im on day 3 of really bad days!!! My awful intrusive thoughts are on loop again I can’t seem to concentrate, im constantly ruminating!!! I feel like I’m constantly creating new thoughts in my head that are awful!! I’ve started mindfulness again which I feel just have been what helped me have the good days because that’s the only thing I’ve stopped really. Anyone who else gone through this??????

I've been doing really well. But today my OCD has brought up a portion of my past where I had a sexual dream of me and my friend (my friend is a girl). Now my head is telling well you had that dream and thought maybe you liked her. I didn't like her and I knew that. But now all my head is telling me well you must like girls because this happened and I know my sexual orientation. Any advice would be great.

My parents think I’m a burden they I’m over reacting I have nothing I don’t want t to live anymore do u think suiside is the best option I don’t know why god is punishing me I can’t take it I don’t want to live anymore in this tourtire life

It'll be several months before I see a psychiatrist but lately i've been having what feels like mood swings that involve a lot of intense crying and dark, racing thoughts/disconnection from myself, but I keep snapping out of it for moments and suddenly everything feels okay. I was having this problem a couple weeks ago and it stopped after about a week and now it's starting to happen again. I'm just curious as to how you bipolar + OCD folks tend to feel or react to both disorders or how they might impact each other. I promise I won't read into it that much lol. I've been suspicious about being bipolar for over a year now. I've just never had these swings this consistently. (And no, I don't think it has to do with my period just yet. Last time this happened it didn't have anything to do with that either.)

This seems to be quite a prominent theme for me. I have this one Italian friend and he very strongly oreferes white women in what he's attracted to. Then I had this Filipino friend who said he finds all races attractive, but white women more so on average. I had this other Filipino friend joke that his type was "basic white women", when I talked about how hot I thought Filipino girls were. However ive had other friends mention how they like girls of all races, and my Arab ex bf mentioned how he usually finds indian and Arab girls to be pretty. I'm just kind of uncomfortable with racial preferences and it makes me wonder whether people find me hot

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hey guys. me & my gf recently found out that she might have bipolar disorder. we can to this conclusion bc she does have on & off states of happy & sad , i know thats very difficult for her. but honestly i am fearful that with my ocd, can we even handle eachother? a while ago, my anxiety used to flare up during her episodes (they don’t anymore, now that ik that she doesn’t mean to be upset with me most of the time) All im saying is that this is a tricky situation.. what if my ocd is flaring while shes in the middle of an episode? how can we comfort eachother? what if she doesn’t know she to comfort me anymore? idk.. i have this gut feeling that im hopeful for the future, but i just cant shake this doubt. & now im scared to have kids omg

Can intrusive thoughts be so intense? It seriously feels like someone else is in my brain. My thoughts consist of “What if I just..” “It would be so easy…” and they are horrible so so so horrible. I hate these thoughts so much but why do they feel this way. I would never ever do any of these things but sometimes I can’t help but think what if I do? What if I give in. It’s so terrifying. Does anyone else experience intrusive thoughts that genuinely feel like it’s you for a second and then you feel immense regret?

i feel like i’ve been losing feelings for my girlfriend even though i love her very much deep down the only sign that this might be ocd is that i gain feelings in the morning, lose them during the day and gain them back in the evening what does this mean

ROCD is such a curse. I just want to be able to be held by him and feel love again without doubt. I want to be able to look at him and not be overcome with anxiety. I want to be able to be kind to him, to not constantly focus on his flaws and be distant and critical. I love him and it hurts that I feel this way. it's just been so hard today. Hopefully tomorrow is better.

I'm having issues with hit and run ocd recently. It's very hard for me to even drive anywhere anymore. Everywhere I go I feel like ive hit someone's vehicle without me noticing, even though there isn't any damage to my car I can't stop thinking that I've side swiped someone or hit someone's car while backing out or something and didn't feel it. Has anyone else dealt with this? If so, was there a way you could make the thoughts go away? It's all I can focus on and it's giving me a sort of task paralysis where I'm so focused on the thoughts I can't get anything I need to do in my daily life done.

I've lately been having anxiety flare ups, where I feel my temperature raise followed by extreme all or nothing thinking where I dwell on the thoughts of dying or getting sick. In these moments it feels like a haze is cast over me and everything feels like doom. I have no desire to harm myself and when I get this anxious I have thoughts themed around me no longer being here as well as my family or friends never expecting me to do that. It hurts me because I spend a lot of time stewing over the thoughts only for the anxiety to eventually come down and I have some clarity. But these thoughts can be very convincing that something is wrong because of my strong reaction to them.

Do you ever get hung up on the fact that at one point in time, you did not have detectable symptoms of ocd? I literally did not have contamination ocd until Covid. I used to lay on the ground with the dog, go out and come back home and lay on the couch in the same clothes, put my phone and keys on ground etc. Now I can’t even walk in my socks in house because it’s going to contaminate the couch when I put my feet up. Now I can’t sit on my couch unless I change my clothes, and now if I even have to touch my phone when my hand is “dirty,” I have to wash my hands, wipe my phone, and wash my hands again. This really sucks. I wish I can go back to a time where I wasn’t like this.