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I’m posting this to vent and maybe find some friends who can relate. I haven’t been officially diagnosed with OCD yet because I’m scared of telling my parents but I just can’t take it anymore. My OCD started developing around my junior year of high school I think as an extension of my anxiety and now i’m a freshman in college. It started off as just simply knocking on wood every time I would get an intrusive thought or just needing to hold my “special rock” while taking tests or else I would fail. It’s now so debilitating. I have intrusive thoughts practically 24/7 and can only escape them in my sleep, unless I have dreams about them, which leads to me constantly sleeping. I have a full 30 minute routine I have to complete before I can go to bed at night. I have to knock on everything in 4’s. I recently decided that 3 is an evil number. Odd numbers mean no and even numbers mean yes. 9 is an exemption tho and every time I serve myself some ice in a cup, it has to be 9 once cubes just for example. But I have way more compulsions and I just keep developing new ones. I think horrible things constantly. I’ve dealt with depression in the past so the thought that bad things are going to happen to me if I don’t engage in my compulsions doesn’t affect me as much as thinking about it happening to other people, which is so much worse. I want these thoughts and these compulsions to go away so badly. I miss life before it. I want to be free from this. I just don’t know what to do. I know I shouldn’t entertain my thoughts by doing my rituals but I feel so much better when I do. Except it only lasts for awhile and then I’m back to doing the same thing. I’m so exhausted. I know these thoughts aren’t me but they just don’t seem to go away unless I am super distracted or preoccupied with something. I just want to think normally.

I keep getting intrusive feelings before the thoughts kick in... I don’t want to be gay or bisexual in denial... I say I want a girlfriend out loud but it’s making me feel like I’m lying to myself because I’m not feeling anything when looking at women on tv...

Anyone housebound ? It’s so hard to leave my house

anyone on here worry they have histrionic personality disorder and have made this all up? ive had thoughts before that like this isnt real and that i want to have pocd or sexual orientation ocd and all these other themes as ocd to obsolve me of guilt from my bad thoughts or to help me stay in the closet and i cant accept what i am but ive never known this type of thing existed and now im like fuck what if im histrionic but i mean ive worried about being bpd before ive worried about being a narcissist before so im like maybe this is just a new thing my ocd is latching onto i mean i havent told anyone but my mom and sister and one friend about my ocd so the idea that im doing this for attention doesnt feel right because if anyone found out about my themes that would not be good and it seems the whole motivation with histrionic is attention but like i honestly dont go around telling everyone i know oh shit well i did tell my landlord because i kind of had a breakdown in front of her or had a weekend of panic attacks and breakdowns and then tried to meet with her a few days later after not seeing people for a while and everything came blubbering out of me she is someone im semi close with but also ive never cried in front of her but i still never said my themes i just said i have some ocd and anxiety problems and bla bla bla and yeah im just like now going through my life and thinking back to was that for attention? i just dont want to be histrionic like it sounds so embarassing to be this way and like a really hard life its weird how you dont want ocd but you also want these thoughts so badly to be ocd but you also cant get reassurance anyway i just purely wanted to vent i mean i really actually want reassurance but dont give it to me because yeah im not supposed to get that i also even feel bad for sharing this post like i didnt need to post this but im going to anyway

Did anyone else not have OCD before the pandemic? I had gone through phases of health anxiety, but never to an OCD extent. And then the pandemic hit and it was only a few months before I became completely consumed with severe OCD about various different things. Life’s weird... I’ve felt a little off, because I know that people are supposed to struggle with OCD their whole life, but that just wasn’t the case for me... it came on when I was 15, & I’m now 16!

Does anyone ever struggle with the similarities between SO-OCD and denial/ coming out stories. I’ve been reading a lot of stories as exposures. They make it way more confusing for me. Especially when groinal and arousal come into play. The exposures make me think this is all real and it’s not OCD at all? The anxiety eventually subsided but I’m still left with the sinking feeling that there are Parallels between me and people who are gay or bi and then that terrifies me. When I read those posts and think omg is this me? Then I’m anxious again

i keep getting thoughts like “i like this person” and then i accept it as true without even trying to accept it as true. then maybe two minutes later i realize what has happened... these thoughts are indicative of real feelings. someone doing the live-stream tonight even said that if u get anxious that’s how u know it’s ocd

Hi there! I really struggle with sexual orientation OCD and ROCD and am also bisexual. I’m placing a trigger warning because this could be triggering for some people I am brand new, just had my first real session today. We went over figuring out exposures and what not, and it’s been a really hard day because my OCD is super spiked right now. Over the last few years, I realized that I do have same-sex attraction, which has made my OCD so much worse. I constantly obsess about my motivations, and if I’m only with my husband because I’ve been taught that as a woman, I’m supposed to be attracted to men. However, I saw a bisexual TikTok creator say that she experiences the same thoughts. She goes back-and-forth between “ am I attracted to men because I’ve been told and taught to seek the approval and desire of men, or am I attracted to women because they’ve been over sexualized and I have been conditioned to see them as sexual objects?” This has really helped neutralize the compulsion of seeking motivation. Technology in that culture influences me, and that I’ll probably never know why I’m attracted to men or women at any given time if there are any bisexual folks out there that suffer with sexual orientation and OCD. I’m here with you, and this is really scary stuff. I’m really scared to do exposures, and I don’t know if I can do it. If anyone is able to offer some encouragement that would be super helpful. Sending you all love. Manni ❤️

i’m scared again that i’m attracted to my own body. when i watch porn, i tend to watch things with quite sexualised women (tmi maybe) and i guess i *sort of* have similar bodies to them in terms of boobs and stuff. i don’t mean that in a vain way... i don’t even like my body. but just factually, i have big boobs. and big boobs turn me on. so does my own body turn me on?? as much as i question my sexuality obsessively, enough research and reassurance has taught me that being turned on by big boobs doesn’t necessarily make me bi or gay. big boobs are a sexual stimuli! so the fear of being turned on by my own body comes down to the fear of being a narcissist / egomaniac. like it’d be so self-absorbed to be turned on by my own body. but i keep trying to rationalise it and remind myself that if i have the body parts that are considered sexual, then i am a sort of sexual stimuli. for myself even? argh i’m not even sure how to explain it but yeah. i’ve never like looked in the mirror and gotten turned on or thought of myself like that. it’s just i could imagine it i guess. but maybe not.

I have been researching medication for OCD, and am getting lots of different perspectives. I would love to know if any of you have been helped by any kind of anti-depressant medication. Many videos I watch indicate that meds only relive 15% of OCD obsessions etc. Just looking for your personal experiences, and not medical advice/instruction. Thanks so much everybody

I have literally been doing compulsions all day. I am beyond sad, I have cried countless times. I literally feel gay and that I have to go off and be happy with a women to get over this. I’m so sad and want to die. I refuse to think that my life is going to be this constant sadness.

Really struggling today... I have always identified as liking men. But yesterday, I not only successfully masturbated to a female, but it was a female I truly dislike. It makes me feel like I’m lying to myself and I dislike her because I want to be with her so badly but I’m ashamed? I don’t understand if that isn’t true why I orgasmed while fantasizing about her, and orgasmed quicker than what is normal for me. On another note, I stopped taking Effexor a couple weeks ago and my HOCD has started to come back. That ALSO makes me feel like I have these deep down desires that I can no longer just brush off because I’m not taking meds. HOW ELSE COULD I ORGASM TO THE THOUGHT OF A WOMAN IF I DONT LIKE WOMEN?

I’m so scared of being a lesbian that it’s truthfully paralyzing. I was doing an exposure where a women said that she had crushes on her friends and always took care of them. This reminded me of my best friend in high school. I never thought I had a crush on her but looking back we were very very close. To the point that when she went through a break up I consoled her and cuddled with her like a boyfriend. This thought has sent me spiraling. I feel like I know I’m a lesbian now. And that makes me so incredibly depressed that I loose all motivation to continue on in my life. I feel like I have to leave my boyfriend whom I love more than anything and go be happy with a woman. I’m scared that I will be happy, and therefore I would’ve been right all along. It’s so difficult to ignore what feels so much like the truth. I like I’m starting to accept it and that gives even more overwhelming anxiety. I never want to stop loving my boyfriend.

Hey, just looking for some none-OCD advice, as at the moment I don’t really have anyone to talk to. I’m gonna try and keep it short, so I don’t bore you! So, I’m from England, and I’m 16. At 16 in the UK, you go from high school to 6th form, where you spend two years doing something called your ‘A levels’, and then you go to university at 18, like all countries. I’ve been in college for 8 months now, but I’d say 65-70% of my time has been spent online - so I’ve only had a relatively small amount of time to make true friends. I had solid friends throughout high school, and I say I tilt quite a lot towards being an extravert. Ever since coming to 6th form, a lot of the people who I was friends with, went to a different school, and some of the people who were acquaintances I barely see now, because the school is so large. Basically, since coming to college I only have 2 true friends, and one of those has basically separated herself from me (she’s a bit of a bitch, but that’s another story - we’ve basically been best friends since we were 4 but she routinely ditches me) I’ve found that no one ever messages me anymore. I’ve got plans to go to the city with me and 3 other girls next Sunday - but I organised it. They were all excited, but I’ve only been invited out once by one of my other friends. I just feel like no one likes me, and that I’m repulsive to people - I know it’s irrational, but the fear that I’m just unlikeable terrifies me, as I want nothing more than a big group of friends and that’s not what I have at the minute. I’m desperate for someone to be like “hey, Ellie do you wanna come and sit with us”, but they don’t. And I’m usually just sat with one of my close friends, who I love. She’s popular, and people like her more than me but she’s self-admittedly introverted and I’m not. Ugh, this is long now. But does anyone have any advice? I’ve made a lot of acquaintances, but they all have their own friendship groups from high school - but I don’t because a lot of my friends went to a different school. I’m miserable because of this at the moment, and I feel worthless.

Woke up this morning in a panic after having a dream involving gay people

Is anyone’s OCD about becoming schizophrenic? It really freaks me out, I used to not care about ambient city noise at all but every time I hear people talking or noises outside or something I have to record it just to make sure it’s real and not in my head. It’s really stressful, I miss not caring about sounds or people talking. Not seeking reassurance or anything, just wanted to know if people experience this as well. It’d be nice to know that I’m not alone 🥺

OKAY THIS IS FREAKING ME OUT AM I A PEDO. I like Sadie sink and defiently found her attractive in season 3 of stranger things when she was 17. So that’s perfectly fair . But idk if I was attracted to her in season 2 or if it was my anxiety talking . She was 14.5 and I was 16.5 ish or 16 and 6 -7 months and she was 14 and 5 months . So at max I was 2 years and 2 months older than what she was then. I look at her pics from then now and she’s beautiful but looks like a child . I think of her how id think of My kid sisters friends . I wouldn’t ever date a 14 year old !. Like I remember feeling something panicking and searching up her age and it showed 18 so I was like oh okay whatever who cares if I liked her ! But omg did I actually ? Now she’s 14 and SHE LOOKED 14!!!! I don’t have a crush on her now . Was that just a POCD bout ? I can’t remember if I checked her out since if she was 18 then it’s fine . Idk . UGH .

ROCD is the worst. whenever my boyfriend and i try to make plans even just like a week out, my thoughts say “well what if you’re not even together then” and it’s so awful cause i know we will be but my thoughts just scare me so bad.

I think I’ve been misdiagnosed. I went to go and get an assessment done with a therapist because I’ve been stuffering from sexual intrusive thoughts and anxiety for about 10 months now. He gave me a few questionnaires to answer and then he said he doesn’t think I have ocd but he thinks I may have clinical depression. I’ve told him that I have these thoughts all day everyday and they make me anxious and miserable but he still doesn’t think I have ocd. Maybe it’s because I don’t have any physical compulsions and I don’t want to argue or doubt a professional but I really think this is more than just depression. I’m not sure what to do now and it’s scaring me because a if a professional says I don’t have ocd then maybe this really isn’t ocd and I am acually the monster the thoughts make me feel I am.

Anyone with HOCD that can give advice on what phrases you tell yourself when you’re having the thoughts?