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I’m really, really spiraling, and I haven’t seen anyone talk about this. I think it might be something related to moral OCD. The topic of deportation is really getting to me, and I’m Latina myself. Anyway, I feel like people who are undocumented deserve to get caught and deported, and this is distressing me a lot. No matter how much I don’t want to agree with that, it feels like I do agree with it wholeheartedly. I think part of it is that if they weren’t undocumented, technically there wouldn’t be an issue, there wouldn’t be a problem, this wouldn’t be happening. I don’t know if this is stemming from anxiety or something else, but I feel like an awful person because I have people close to me who are undocumented, kind sweet loving people. I feel like I don’t know what to think. I see videos where people are mistreated, and it makes me so angry to see those power trips and the poor people who don’t deserve it. It just… I don’t know. I don’t know what to think. I don’t know. I don’t know if I’m in the middle of a panic attack right now because this feels really, really important. I don’t know if anyone else has struggled with this or with other moral themes, and I feel scared because this feels so real. I don’t feel scared, I feel worried. I know that the distressed contradicts the thought, but I’m telling you it does not feel like that matters right now, not one bit and maybe that’s because I’m stuck on a technicality maybe it’s because it’s stemming from anxiety, but I really need input right now :( I feel like a monster reading this back, plis help

does anyone else struggle with both ocd and bipolar?

I've read about a few people who have staring/looking ocd, I think I have it aswell. because I stare/look at people, or sometimes even look at their private areas. I'm not even thinking anything sexual while doing that, I just do it, I don't know why. also on social media: ever since that zoom function is on FB and Insta I zoom in on pictures sometimes. months ago I accidentally??? like without thinking zoomed in a little and looked at a little girls chest, for not even a second, or maybe a second. and I was like 'no ew why did I do that??' like I said before I didn't think anything sexual or anything like that, I just had to look and I feel so insanely bad and disgusting. I read about a few people that have sortof the same thing, with looking at peoples private ares, people of any age, or apparently even animals. how did you overcome the guilt of this? and is this looking really a compulsion? my mind keeps trying to tell me I'm awful but I would never ever hurt a child! :((

Please 18+ only tho please

I’m still a teenager so I live with my parents but thankfully I have my own bathroom. It’s my safe space because that’s where I spend most of my time cleaning myself and keeping up with my hygiene which is very important to me. Especially my shower because it’s also where I go when I have a panic/anxiety attack and it calms me down. Recently my dog had an accident all over the upstairs carpet (she’s okay, just had a brief stomach bug). My brother was the one who ended up cleaning the mess and he took all of the gross poop water and dumped it down my shower drain. He could have dumped it in the toilet or outside but just chose not to i guess? I was super disturbed upon hearing this and I know it’s super dramatic but I feel like I need to replace everything in my bathroom now. I already have a new shower curtain on the way but I’m fighting the urge to replace everything else (soap, bath mats, bottles, etc) I feel like everything in it is dirty and no amount of cleaning can fix it. Please give me tips on how to deal with this.

I don’t know if I can’t tolerate this anymore. I always have a sinking pit in my stomach, a constant sense of dread that I’m gay. I present almost EVERY symptom of SO OCD, but my ocd keeps crawling back to the idea that I enjoy and find pleasure in graphic and gay thoughts. This makes me doubt my OCD, so I’m not getting treatment bc I’m scared my therapist will just say I’m suppressing feelings. Sometimes when I have a thought, for example, kissing a girl, I feel like a voice in my head is telling me I like it, and that I want to do it in real life. What’s strange is I feel like this SO OCD is like a chocolate covered strawberry. Let me explain, I feel like my true desires (being with a man) is the strawberry, the core. I feel like these thoughts are not my true self, but the chocolate coating on the outside of the strawberry. I imagine coming out and instead of exciting feelings that I get to date women, I feel dread and a pit in my stomach, like it’s not me thinking this. I’m losing my mind.

Sometimes, from afar, I see someone and think they’re a man I might be attracted to, but then when I get closer or watch more, I realize they’re actually a woman. This happened with a content creator whose videos I watched for a while. At first, I thought she was a guy and felt a slight attraction, but I was confused about her gender. I never figured out she was a woman until years after I stopped watching her. Because I wasn’t sure if she was a man or a woman, I decided not to act on the attraction I felt. Each time, the confusion made me hold back and step away. Something just felt off. Eventually, I stopped watching her for some reason but I don’t know if I figured out at that time if that was a man or a woman. Also, I have no memory of fantasizing about that person at that time. I hope I did not and I hope the reason why I can’t remember is because it never happened. I mean I know initially the confusion made me stop and say no and not get deeper into that mild attraction. But I dont remember what happened afterwards… like I think I tried to figure out whether that is a man ir a woman but I think just liked her as a person, but not romantically/sexually. Like I have no memory of fantasizing about that. Because I dont exactly remember what happened afterwards, I am scared I was still crushing on that person😭I remember watching a few of her videos and thinking she is such a sweet person and this is lowkey funny. But I don’t think I was crushing afterwards that confusion arouse, nor I was fantasizing about her. But my mind gives me this tiny memory and I am afraid it is true when now when I am writing this I realize it may not be. Idk how to trust myself. But once I aw her a few months ago, this all came back and I got so scared I was into her. I’ve realized my “attraction” was actually to the perception of a guy, and the anxiety started when I discovered she was a woman. That confusion led to “what if” thoughts, but my inner knowing is clear: I am not attracted to women. And honestly, when I was thinking about this today, I kind of know I was not into her, even tho I do not remember much. Memory is so blurry. I hate it. I hate the what ifs. I am scared this means something. Does it mean anything? Does it mean I was attracted to her? Did anyone go through something similar?

I’m a math tutor and I’ve been appreciating how much doing some math helps me reset. Do you have any subjects that short circuit The Thoughts?

As we are slowly digested over [years and years]

I’m new to NOCD and was only recently diagnosed with OCD. I’ve been diagnosed with anxiety for many years now, but learning about how OCD works has really helped me understand how my anxiety operates, because much of it turns out is OCD. Who knew. That being said, I do experience good ol’ plain anxiety too. As I’m beginning an ERP therapy, I want to make sure I’m getting as much out of it as possible, but I have trouble differentiating between regular anxiety and OCD anxiety. If anyone has any tips/observations, let me know! Does OCD affect how your “regular” anxiety operates? Can they even be separated? I feel like even my non-compulsive, non-repetitive anxieties become obsessive in nature, and drives me to “do something” to “fix it” and completely steals my focus until I’ve done something to make myself feel better. Since the anxieties aren’t always the same, I don’t always do the exact same thing to address them, but I do feel obligated to do something, and am incapable of thinking/talking my way through some anxieties. Is that something that people with general anxiety do too, or is that a topic best understood as OCD? I’m probably just describing a Venn diagram of anxiety disorders, but I’m still trying to wrap my head around this diagnosis and understand why my brain copes with anxiety the way it does and how I can work on improving my coping skills.

Hello all, I have always found social media and news/current events to be stressful. They often make me feel a lot of existential dread and cause me to catastrophize a lot. However, I am Gen Z. I am 25 and turning 26 soon. My generation grew up with social media and it has become the only means of communication for many of us. I also live in the suburbs where almost everyone within a 5 mile radius of me is either middle aged, elderly, or under 18. I also use news regularly in my line of work at a start up. My mom keeps telling me that I should avoid news and social media altogether. For her, this is easy since all of her friends are similar in age to her and she never needed to use social media. For people like me who are socially isolated and in their mid 20’s, avoiding news and social media is impossible. Social media is a social lifeline for us in Gen Z whether we like it or not. If I avoided all social media and news, I would essentially be cutting myself off from that social lifeline, which would make me even more isolated than I already am. So how can I stay up to date on social media and news without constantly being in a state of existential dread? How can I build resilience to news and social media?

One of my dearest friends has passed away after battling cancer for the last year. In navigating my feelings of grief and love I’m also seeing a major spike in all my OCD symptoms. I’m tapping things more, I’m stuck in loops leaving work or home, I’m even noticing newer physical body responses like locking my jaw or holding my breath until thoughts pass. Am I grieving right? Am I grieving enough? Do I remember our time together right? I’m not surprised that this trauma has reignited some of my symptoms. I am in CBT therapy and talking with a therapist to organize my thoughts but as a new app user I thought I would take a moment to be vulnerable and see how my OCD community navigates when real life sh*t makes the hard days harder.

im looking into finding an ERP therapist (not through this app I'm afraid- it doesn't take my insurance) but im worried that it might only help with external stuff. one of my friends who also has OCD said that that was their experience too.

I don’t really go on dates much but I just did this weekend and I’m stressed cuz I know it’s just a date but then idk if satan sent it cuz I don’t really like him but like I almost want to just cuz and I can’t force myself to like someone but then I also have avoidant attachment so it’s just confusing and then I’m so scared of relationships it makes me feel like it’s immoral also because religious ocd or if I’m not supposed to have one anyone else feel this way

It feels like I’m almost accepting being gay. Like I’ve been trying to test if I have suppressed feelings by imagining scenarios and that are ga like coming out and stuff. It just brings me more anxiety because I don’t want to be gay. It feels like I want to be gay so I just feel like I’m accepting it so am I actually gay? I’m over thinking this so much smh.

With the adding list of horrible real POCD events, plus the fear of my worst POCD fears ever coming true growing more and more possible by the day, I cant find hope right now... I wont ever harm or delete myself, but honestly, living right now is the worst hell I can ever have. A never ending purgatory of not knowing if my worst pocd fears will ever be realized, or just having to be forever uncertain... I genuinely cant find a reason to hope... nor a reason to live...

Hey guys so I need some advice or help from fellow Christians. I always get so anxious and scared I’m doing something that doesn’t please God and this has severely impacted my day to day life and relationships. I can always feel his “stare” and feel like I have to act correctly, I can feel him “looking” at my thoughts and it has led me to not knowing what I am even thinking or how I feel because I always think I am faking. Also trying to not declare anything has led me to be paranoid of stuff I’m saying. Also I feel like I have to monitor EVERYTHING I do. And I “feel” if something is righteous or not for me to do it. I need help please.

I need a miracle bc i’m sick of this. I hope and pray this is SOOCD and that I actually have OCD. I was doing sm better a couple months ago. I felt hope after years of depression and numbness. As soon as I feel something other than negative emotions or nothing at all, OCD immediately tries to fuck it up. Why won’t this leave me alone? If those past memories/proof mean something I pray it means i’m at least just bi bc bi women don’t HAVE to be with women. I just keep on ruminating and analyzing, analyzing my past relationship (i had soocd before and during it so odd is latching onto everything ocd made me go through while being with him), replaying and analyzing memories of childhood exploration/ regular memories (like checking if i had attraction to male characters in movies i liked and worrying bc I can’t remember if i did or not), creating false ones?, checking, i’m constantly triggered by EVERYTHING, and I’m worried even more now bc I don’t have that many thoughts as before. Then I try to analyze if I had a lot of thoughts in the past when the theme started bc if I didn’t then maybe this isn’t even OCD. This all started bc I thought a masculine presenting woman in a kpop group was attractive 5 fucking years ago bc she looked like a male kpop idol. I rmbr I was so uncomfortable when I realized she was a woman. I even remember thinking “does this mean i’m bi? let me pretend to fangirl over her like I do with guys just to check.” It didn’t feel right but it was stuck in my mind and wouldn’t leave. Looking back, this theme was building up earlier but i wasn’t phased bc my attraction to men wasn’t gone. Sadly i’ve been numb for years now and i’m still dealing with this years later. Now that I’m having a flare up, every time i see a masc lesbian now I feel like i HAVE TO BE attracted and it can’t just be false attraction. Also i fucking hate how when I’m feeling terrible everything that triggers me just pops up on my screen. I feel so numb towards everything. I feel numb towards my boyfriend and my relationship (I was so excited for my relationship and my attraction for him felt so real, wanted, and genuine) but when he does something that hurts my feelings somehow i can feel that and nothing else? I hate this I hate this I HATE THIS.

I was talking with a friend and things got more personal than they usually do. I talked to her about my mental health not being good and I told her that I was suffering from OCD. I also told her about my concerns for medication and worrying about family finding out if it ever came to that. Then we switched the subject and talked about a lot of different things. At one point we talked about romance movies and I feel like there was emotional attachment even though I don't think there was, just feelings flying about. I have a crush on another woman but I honestly don't think we'll date because I'm just not ready for a relationship because I have so many things I need to work on in my life. This isn't the first time this has happened when talking to her and I don't intend on these feelings meaning anything but this time it feels like I did because I got an intrusive thought about it that stuck. I feel like this is emotional cheating and I'm not even dating anyone and I'm already straight up just fucking up how things are supposed to go and I feel idiotic. I know this isn't cheating because we were never dating but I just feel so stupid for this happening. On one hand I know it's OCD but on the other I just feel awful. I know it's a crush but I haven't gotten those feelings like that with my crush, only with her, even though I didn't think we'd initially date. I even get thoughts saying "What if I do like her?" When I don't think it's like that.

So I used to do this because it would be a compulsion cause I would try to prevent any arousal feeling down there if I ever had any types of intrusive thoughts, but now since it’s such a habit, I even do it sometimes when I am feeling arousal towards appropriate things, but that’s just cause it’s just out of habit and then earlier today I had an intrusive thought and I was already feeling aroused And then I kept thinking remembering in the moment like I think I wasn’t clenching and response to intrusive thoughts I was just doing it maybe because it was a compulsion like I was probably doing a compulsion but now I keep doubting myself and then now I keep thinking oh my gosh, but what if I did country in response to intrusive thoughts that I’m actually a pedo :(