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working to conquer OCD
Coming from someone in their 20somethings, I can say that transitioning into adulthood has been the most challenging thing on my mental health. I find more often than not, my brain is racing about 94 different thoughts, worries, responsibilities ext. and trying to find the meaning behind all of them.
How can I go back to my studying. I'm having a one month break from classes to self study what I've left behind. It's already in the 2nd week of the month and I haven't done any studies. My OCD had been so hard lately. I don't have interest in my future anymore ( even though my future isn't in a state that I should be staying like this right now). How do you guys manage to study with OCD happening. How should I put myself to study
One of my most severe ocd subgroups is dea()h (I can’t type it). If an image of someone who is de()d comes to mind I have to do compulsions to get rid of it. This of course all stems from the fear of dy()ng and I have this irrational fear that if I do anything at all, including breathing, with those images in my mind or actual images in front of me (like a picture or on tv) it would lead me to possibly have a higher chance of d()ing or earlier. I was wondering if anyone struggles with a similar issue, and if there was something you tell or convince yourself to help alleviate it. I had a really bad episode tonight where it was just constant image after image and I’m exhausted. Thank you!
I feel like my body and mind are just so tired of being stuck in these same mental loops of torment with OCD and don’t know how to do anything else. I feel exhausted from not being able to cure myself out of these thoughts and self-destructive habits and that I’m not going to make it out of them because I’ve been tied down to this illness for so long. I wish things could have been different growing up and I took care of myself better so I wouldn’t have gotten so negative and loved myself more so these thoughts wouldn’t be so potent. I’ve had OCD most of my life, and I just don’t get how other people can live their lives normally and not suffer so heavily. I get really mad knowing I’m stuck in this vicious cycle and other people can enjoy life so easily. And now the summer is coming and it’s when I get the most depressed and feel so helpless from sadness, and my OCD has only just gotten worse. I feel like I just don’t have the energy to take care of myself anymore, and hate how anxious I am about actually telling people what’s going on with me in fear of judgment and not accepting me, so I just go along with self-sabotaging habits. I’m also afraid that nobody is going to want to help me. This only makes things worse, and it’s really hard for me to be happy. I just don’t know how to cope anymore. It makes it so hard to function as a human since I’ve been struggling for so long. I feel so disconnected from God because of this illness, and it only makes me more upset with myself for lack of effort and feel depressed. Please if someone is struggling with something similar or has advice, reach out ❤️
First I would like to say is that tw and I also can’t afford a therapist and please give me advice I have no peace in my mind I just want to be a normal person again. Since 2022 I have been getting filthy unwanted sexual thoughts towards children I feel awful about it because it goes against my morals and characters as a human being. I feel like a horrible person and I feel like I have no rest in my mind, everyday it’s the same thoughts that torment me and I happens all hours of the day there’s not an hour that goes by the day that I don’t get these ugly horrible thoughts. I recently started getting “feelings” down there and I hate it. These thoughts came back again stronger this February. I also believe in Christ so if you have advice of how I can pray against this because I don’t really know what’s the root of these thoughts. As long as I have these thoughts I can never be free these thoughts have put me back into a state of depression and well as suicidal thoughts I just feel like I’m living hell on earth I am also 17 years old female, so please someone help me. I have tried praying against these thoughts but nothing, I have tried deliverance prayers worship etc but nothing. — I also tagged Christian ocd for advice !!
I feel as though dopamine really affects my ocd. Like if I’m a high like after having a coffee or getting out and doing some I enjoy and being social. My ocd is gone. However when I’m home or a bit lonely it comes on pretty strongly. I’m on lexapro and I do ERP so those flare ups aren’t as life threatening as they used to be. But feels like depression is a gateaway for my OCD to attack me.
so i’m not diagnosed with ocd (as i’ve said a lot of times) but everyone i’ve talked to on this app agrees that i most likely have it. and i strongly 100% agree with contamination ocd. however i’m scared about whether that’s true for my harm thoughts. so i recently discovered pure o because i don’t typically do physical compulsions as much as mental compulsions with my harm thoughts. and i ruminate, have intense anxiety, check my feelings, the whole 10. but one thing that i don’t know if it’s normal is when people say they’re “unwanted” or you really don’t WANT to do them, i literally feel like i do. and when the urges get strong, i don’t know what’s holding me back because while i’ve never ever acted on it, it genuinely feels like i want to. my brain has literally convinced me that i have anxiety because i can’t do it instead of because i’m scared i will do it. is this a normal thing?
Anyone else feel like they will never be understood in a relationship? Like I want to get to know other people but its like I feel like I am boring and my ocd just makes my life a living hell currently. No motivation to do nothing even though I have alot to do and literally having no purpose in life.Like I literally dont feel like I have ever enjoyed any of my life because it feels like I am not real or I am like a shadow in my own body? Its frustrating because my last relationship was horibbly toxic and the guy I was with was horrible and I broke things off after years of abuse and I have currently been having a hard time not to reach out to him after no contact for 3 months.I feel immense guilt like I was mean to him even though he cheated on me and a part of me says I deserve to go back to the abuse. And I feel like maybe I am punishing myself because my faith in God is not the strongest Ive stopped praying and I dont read the bible consistently becayse I get very overwhelmed because I want to make sure I am doing bible study correctly or ill be punished. (sorry for the spelling mistakes)
I think I might start panicking or something man…..it’s been a while since I actually started to become worried a lot over intrusive thoughts. I planned on doing homework for my summer classes today but I can’t seem to right now. I can’t concentrate. goooossshhhh I hate this
Hi, its so frustrating to experience how people try to comfort me when I choose to be open(after 28 years without saying anything), it feels good to share and explain what ocd is and how it works for me. Often I realize how difficult it is for others to grasp and how common it is that people say: oh! All people have thoughts like that, or they say, it's just a matter of thinking positive. I understand they try to comfort and encourage but its creating a desperate feeling inside me that I will never manage to reach a way of telling about ocd that will make people really listen and understand.
Does anyone else just randomly feel off it’s hard to describe
Hello everyone I’m new to the app and I’m hoping that some others can relate. I have this idea (even though I know it truly doesn’t “work”) that I can control if bad things happen to me. More so bad luck. I have sudden thoughts of having to perform rituals like locking my car three times, making sure my clothes in my drawer are put away neatly, or cracking all my knuckles to make sure I don’t have “bad luck” if I don’t do these rituals I feel like I’m inviting bad luck into my life. Does anyone else have something similar?
I was doing fine until I went out in public and now I’m spiraling and feeling sick. It makes me feel like I’m a sicko and like I want it and it gives me so much anxiety. I feel like I know that my core beliefs are I want to be a good person, I would never do that but OCD makes me question if I’m faking it and then I just feel sick all over again. This is seriously so exhausting. Any words would help. I just want to get to where actual children don’t trigger me anymore.
I didn't have intrusive thoughts these days but right now I want to eat an ice cream and my brain remind me a year (that year was so traumatizing for me) and now I think the ice cream is related to that year, ah even it's not because was an ice cream from today , but my brain Thinks that, and I really want to eat the ice cream but my brain don't let me cause I think is contaminated for that year, but I know it's not, because the ice cream was made today ahhh help 😭 I'm crazy? 😭😭😭😭
Hello I’m 16 I have always had girlfriends and liked girls about 5 months ago I was on a call with friends and they said I was gay and made me take a gay test I got gay and I was very worried and had lots of anxiety I had intrusive thoughts and images at first I have lost full attraction to girls fast foward to now not that much anxiety or intrusive thoughts my mind says oh that guy is hot and I get like nerves idk if that’s anxiety and I always stare at guys I don’t know if that means I’m bi or gay or if it’s ocd I was never like this before though never questioned my sexually never someone please explain
Does telling yourself the opposite of what you think over and over really work? I often see that in search results and videos, self compassion and kindness helps revert the thoughts. I saw a video of a man that spoke about his experience with low self esteem and he said that telling yourself good things for 2 weeks got him to improve his self esteem. Is that really true? Is that all it takes? I've tried to tell myself things about certain situations that have happened and it helped in the moment but I went right back to thinking how I usually do.
Today’s thoughts brought to you by OCD, I mean me… yeah totally all my non doubtful thoughts. (Just a vent post to write down what OCD wants me to fear/thinks, please no reassurance needed) I don’t have OCD. I’m making it up. I read things that described what OCD was like an lied to my therapist and tricked her into thinking I have OCD. All the things I think may been OCD driven in the past weren’t. After all why didn’t I react to all of them? How come when I’ve had thoughts to harm myself or others I didn’t avoid the things I was going to harm them with after? How come I’m not reacting to my same sex thoughts with distress now like I did in February? It’s all because I don’t have OCD. I just worry about my thoughts a little more than the average person. Worrying about my sexual orientation for 15 minutes here and there, for multiple hours a day, for 4 months running doesn’t mean I have SO OCD. It just means I’m confused and discovering my true sexuality. After all I’m not googling or asking for reassurance. You’re only thinking about doing those but you don’t. Besides if you’re looking for reassurance that your aren’t a different orientation than you think, doesn’t that mean you actually are? You’re just finding out your true sexuality now like some of those stories you’ve read as part of your exposures. It’s just a mix of repression and late discovery and the only reason you’re so worked up about it is because you have to leave your wife who you don’t love the way you should. Even if she left you and you moved onto another woman, it’s only a matter of time before she realizes you’re actually gay because of the thoughts running around in your mind. Just come clean with yourself. You’re making OCD up and using it as an excuse to be in denial. You don’t have it as severe as many of the other people whose stories you’ve read or have the exact same experiences. You’re misinterpreting memories as being possibly OCD driven just to fit your narrative because there were a lot more “normal” times in your past than possible OCD ones. Besides how can someone say they aren’t their thoughts? You have your thoughts for a reason and you have to know what it is. What gives you the right to say which thoughts are yours and which aren’t. Even then how many are yours? How much time do you spend thinking about them? There’s too many variables to consider.
I have seen by mistake photos related to cannibalism and since then I am having harm thoughts with this subject.. it’s very hard for me, I try to tell myself I don’t do these thoughts but when I say that they become more persistent and I feel like I don’t want the thoughts to go away.. even after two years things are very hard for me, I teach and it’s hard doing so with these thoughts I feel like there is no ease.. lately I began therapy here and now I am doing exposures by watching medical videos but still no relief. Any one knows what to do? It’s hard for me to live everyday.
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OCD doesn't have to
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