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I'm wondering... if the mechanism repeats itself with other themes then it can't be OCD, right? Mainly because once you figure out the mechanism, things go back to normal. Is this a sign or maybe I'm just fooling myself?

Today my mom broke down crying because of how much stress she feels having to take care of me, she said I can’t do anything in terms of being able to take care of myself and she’s right I can’t, she breaks down constantly because of me, I don’t know what to do, it’s been like this for years, part of me feels like the only way to save her is to kill myself, I don’t want to die, but it feels like the only way to set her free, I don’t think anyone but her would miss me anyways, I feel utterly hopeless. I’m not going to do anything to myself the voices are just SCREAMING that I need to. I can’t work, I can’t go to school, I’m trying desperately to get therapy, I don’t know what else to do, I wish I was a child again and I felt like I had a chance to be okay. I love my mom so much and she loves me and I’m killing her, I’m actually killing her, with how fuckinh worthless and pathetic I am, it’s too much, I miss being a kid.

when im doing everyday stuff like brushing my teeth.when im finished i have to throw the toothbrush in the cabinet but i cant look at it after i thrown it i have to run away and my brain tells me if its in the right place and if it isn’t i have to go back and throw it again and again till i get it right which makes me late to lots of things especially school. i also have these quite triggering voices in my head all the time which say stuff like ‘if yu don’t throw this glass yu dad is going to die tomorrow and when i try to ignore the voices bad stuff happens and people die the only thing i can think of doing is ending my life to stop hurting others. it’s like im a monster and idk what i should do.

https://youtu.be/dltL0mL_2wc?feature=shared It's tied into a lot of beliefs, religions and philosophies. Same thing different wording/ languages modes etc. If you watch it, don't get too caught up on any fancy words or terminologies, just translate it to whatever you're comfortable with. It's a small glimpse into what is waiting for you beyond ocd. It's hard to get to this stage once you've accidentally fell into the anxiety / fear trap of thoughts and misinterpretations of the body's signals. Whether the cause was accidental, incidental or intentional, they are inconsequential to the solution ultimately. It does take work to undo it, inner work and unconditional love for yourself. You can change your reality. Your story is not over yet, it is still being written.

Is it possible for OCD to start playing with your feelings? Because I'm so sure about it, but sometimes it feels like it doesn't even when I don't feel anything. And I'm feeling so empty. Like it's okay to feel when it's not. I don't want to feel this. But I feel so weak to deal with it. Is this normal? I'm feeling weird. Everything kind of hurts but at the same time it doesn't.

Have you ever felt the need to hide knives because you’re scared someone might hurt you while you’re sleeping? Or have your thoughts ever tried to convince you that you have feelings for your family members? Maybe you feel like you need to tell your parents to “drive safe” every time they go somewhere, believing that it will prevent them from crashing, or that something bad will happen if you don’t. These are things I’ve experienced, but they didn’t last long, and because of that, I’m unsure if I actually have OCD, as these thoughts don’t happen frequently. I’m 17, so maybe it’s still developing, but I’m not sure. At one point, I even thought I might be a psychopath and would become a serial killer (i was analyzing my past and feelings but it went away quickly) When I was a kid, I was also scared I had a tumor and constantly needed reassurance from my parents that everything is okay, but it wasn’t as intense. Recently, I’ve been scared that ghosts would come or that a demon would possess me, or that if i open my eyes i will se my dead uncle (i was 16😂) which kept me from sleeping. Are these signs of OCD? Should I consider getting treatment? About three months ago, I had my first big obsession about possibly having OCD itself (i was scared of going crazy, of feeling like this forever, of not being perfect, of not having control), and now I’ve been struggling with HOCD for three months. But I’m scared that I don’t even have OCD, and that these thoughts might be true. It’s funny because just a few months ago, I was terrified of having OCD, but now I feel like I want to have it. I think a traumatic experience with weed might have made my OCD worse, but I’m not sure. What do you think? I also found out that my mom is also hiding knifes and that she was also obsession over sickness…

I'm adding a trigger warning for those with Health OCD and Existential OCD, just to be safe! The past week, I've been experiencing a lot of déjà vu. I'll post something and immediately feel a strong sense of familiarity, like I've done it before. It's been happening so often, I'm questioning if I am actually repeating things and not noticing, but then there's obvious moments, like phoning my dad for help fixing my pc that can't be replicated. Then, just before writing this post, I'd been thinking about going on a walk, and I got déjà vu having that thought. After, I felt this strange impending doom? Like, if I go on the walk, I'm going to get kidnapped, or something bad is going to happen to me. I'm not sure what this is. I'm not super freaked out, just curious and keeping track of how often it's happening... I'm still going to go on that walk, though, because I feel like if I don't, it'll feed into this fear I have.

i’m so scared if i have ovarian cancer because i started having pain and stuff and i can’t sleep i’m so scared what if i have it i drank a lot of water and i used the bathroom a lot but randomly i started having lower back pain, pelvic pain, and inner thigh pain im so scared idk what to do i started to have an anxiety attack

Today I've let myself go down a huge rabbit hole regarding this phrase and it's stressing me out. Sometimes, yes, it is that deep. But other times, it really isn't. I keep finding myself torn between these two ideals. I've been seeing all these videos regarding the rise of anti-intellectualism and the anti-woke mob, all that. These videos make me extremely worried about cancel culture and moral guilt, and they had me rethinking every morally wrong, gross, questionable thing or thought I ever had. I saw many comments saying that yes everything is that deep and it feels like my mind is on constant security and asking myself "what would the internet think about the things I've thought of or may have done?" On one hand, I feel like if I say "it's not that deep", I feel like a hypocrite or a bad person or an idiot. But on the other hand if I say "it is that deep", my OCD begins to spiral and analyze everything about myself. It's not healthy to overanalyze everything but it's also not healthy to ignore bad things. It's very stressful Does anyone relate to this?

So I havent started NOCD therapy yet, I see my therapist on Monday. Backstory- I was on paxil and I started having lots of break through anxiety/panic last year. So in December my dr and I decided that I should try a different SSRI. On dec 27th I started a crosstaper off paxil on to lexapro. Little over one week I did 15mgpaxil and 5mg lexapro. Then I did a little over 1 week on 10mg and 10mg of both. Then went to 5mg paxil and 10mg lexapro. Then 2.5 paxil for a couple days then on Jan 21st I start just 10mg lexapro. From there I did about 18 days on 10mg then moved to 12.5mg lexapro. Then this past Saturday I went up to 15mg. During this I have been taking ativan for my anxiety and panic attacks. I had ativan or xanax to take as needed before but during the starting of lexapro I have been taking ativan almost everyday to cut the anxiety. Then I googled if I was addicted/dependant on my ativan and got scared from what I read. Then I started reading about ativan withdrawals and that scared me. So last night and this morning I've been spiraling on if I'm going to have a seizure from the ativan and I started panicking this morning when all I wanted to do was lay down and sleep in since I didn't have to go anywhere today. Since I started panicking I took my ativan and now I feel like a loser. I just want the lexapro to start working so I can feel some what normal again. I have good days and bad days and yesterday and today were bad days... When does this get better... I hate worrying about my health and if something is wrong or if something will cause me to get sick. Im scared to die and my emdr therapist says that means that I love being alive and respect life but then why do I waste it worrying and living in fear

TW: people being okay without me. Only read if you are doing really well! I got triggered earlier and now I'm kinda just thinking about how people don't need me. If I wasn't around, my friends and family would continue life like normal.

Tw Tw Tw Tw Tw So obviously that person earlier has blocked me which whatever fine I think it’s the same person from months ago still seeking reassurance but I keep thinking I’m as bad as the person who caused them harm because I probably seemed callous and I’m basically saying oh well that … that stuff happened that person … I wasn’t trying to be rude but assuming it’s the same person they have been posting the same post under different accounts for months and we have all given advice and some people reassurance but it wasn’t good enough … so now I feel bad and I feel just as responsible as the person who hurt them … but at the same time it’s like they don’t want to get help in a sense… they blocked me after they said they couldn’t receive help but I mean there’s free hotlines out there … I mean I don’t know I just feel like trash and reassurance for myself won’t do crap but now I’m stuck in what if I pushed them over the edge

Does anyone else fear that when they beat their theme, just the thought of discussing it again will somehow cause a relapse? I fear that once I conquer my existential theme I’ll end up talking about it and then all the fear will come back.

Sorry long post. Anyone feel like now they’re just in extreme denial. Like when I was little I noticed guys more than girls in movies and was more drawn to them. I remember changing my mindset to switch that. 98%of my life has been straight until recently. I felt drawn to some guys but never thought of it sexually. Always had girl crushes dreams and porn. Now I watch porn and I feel like straight takes longer and then I go and watch gay porn and feel nothing until I tell myself it’s two attractive dudes and love is love and imagine physical sensations and then it hits like suddenly. Like I have to convince myself it’s alright. Then when I try again I can do all that but feel nothing and then straight porn works. Idk if it’s just getting a fix or the first time works with anything or what but it’s confusing. On top of that I’ve felt girl relationships including my wife maybe miss something and a guy maybe matches that feeling that but then I feel like I’d be missing something without a girl or my wife. Idk I’ve had some rough times in life with male figures in my life but idk. I feel like I have to convince myself more and more that I’m straight even more than the first time I dealt with this. Can someone relate? Please

Feeling very on edge lately due to the us government being very quickly dissolved and an oligarchy beginning. It’s making me feel like anything I type or journal about will be tracked back to me somehow and the fascist regime will find and capture me. I know I am just one person and there are many people who share my fears and disdain for the fascism happening but anytime I leave the house I think the cars behind me are tracking me or my phone searches are being watched. I’ve started to only use encrypted search sites like Duck Duck go instead of Go*gle because they are now under tru*ps’s control just like everything else. It’s hard to tune these fears out since every time I look at the tv there are more and more injustices and irreparable damage being caused to our people ::((

It's one of those days where I can't get out of my head, the anxiety feels so debilitating, all I can do is cry, the intrusive thoughts won't stop and I can't keep myself from my compulsions, I feel so alone, my fear of hallucinating sounds went to fear of hallucinating people or things, to the worst of all fear of becoming delusional, my mind is plagued with "delusions" that I've read online through all the compulsive research I've done, earlier I saw a shadow next to a light pole and my mind immediately went "what if little people are watching you" my grandmother had delusions like that growing up so that's where it comes from I think, no I don't actually believe that little people are watching me but what if I do believe it, what if I am psychotic, what if I start believing people are out to get me, im so terrified I can't shake the fear of this I can't accept it I don't know how, im terrified that my ocd will forever plague my mind and I will never feel better I'll always be fighting this monster and I will never feel peace again, I don't want to be alone in a mental hospital, I don't want to go to the doctor and them tell me I'm crazy or psychotic, I don't want to become a burden to my family, i dont want to scare my family please I just want to feel better 😭😓 I don't want reassurance about the intrusive thoughts I just want someone to tell me it'll get better and I won't feel stuck forever

You ever have a thought that stops you in your tracks? A thought so disturbing, so out of nowhere, that it makes you question everything about yourself? That’s how it started for me. A week after my grandfather passed away, I was lying in bed, thinking about him, when suddenly a thought hit me: What if I’m not a good person? What if I never get to see him again? My chest tightened, and my stomach dropped. More thoughts followed. What if I don’t go to heaven? What if he can see everything I’ve ever done? My entire body filled with fear, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t know it then, but I was having my first panic attack. Desperate for relief, I grabbed my phone and played random YouTube videos until I passed out from exhaustion. From that night on, I became terrified of being alone with my thoughts. I had no idea why this was happening to me, but I knew one thing—bedtime would never feel the same again. For a while, I found ways to avoid the thoughts, but then a new one hit me like a truck. I was scrolling through the news when I saw an article about a father who had hurt his kids. My first thought was, That’s horrible. But then, my brain twisted it into something that made my blood run cold: What if I could do something like that? My stomach dropped. Why did I just think that? What does that mean about me? Am I dangerous? I tried to push it away, but the fear only grew. Being alone with my daughter became unbearable. I still took care of her, but I no longer trusted myself. I made up excuses so I wouldn’t have to be alone with her, and when my husband went to work, I spent the day in silent panic. My usual phone calls to my parents, once full of joy, became desperate cries for reassurance, though I couldn’t bring myself to tell them why. Eventually, I told my husband I was struggling with anxiety. He didn’t fully understand but suggested I work out to clear my mind. I remember getting on the treadmill and breaking down in tears, unable to run, unable to escape my thoughts. That night, I called my godfather, terrified of what he would say. But instead of judging me, he told me I needed to tell my husband everything. With all the courage I had, I did just that. My husband was confused but supportive, and soon after, I flew home to Illinois to be with my family. For the first time in weeks, I slept. But the relief didn’t last long. When my mom mentioned going back to work, I panicked. That’s when I finally told her everything. Wanting to help, she told me to pray, so I did—over and over. But instead of bringing peace, prayer became another compulsion, something I had to do to "fix" my thoughts. I was still drowning, desperate for answers, so I did what anyone would do—I Googled. Why am I having these thoughts? The results were unsettling. I kept reading, more and more terrified, thinking I might be going crazy. But then, I saw something that gave me a sense of relief: This sounds like OCD. I stared at the screen. That couldn’t be right. My brother has OCD, and his is about germs—this wasn’t the same. But the more I read, the more it started to click. That’s when I found NOCD. I made an appointment for the next day, and when I met my therapist, she told me she couldn’t officially diagnose me yet because we hadn’t finished all the assessments, but she was confident that I had OCD. At first, I didn’t believe her. OCD isn’t just about handwashing or being neat—it’s about intrusive thoughts that feel so real they shake you to your core. Therapy was terrifying at first. I had to sit with my worst fears instead of running from them. But the more I faced them, the weaker they became. After 11 weeks, I finally felt like myself again. One day, my entire family had to go back to work, leaving me alone with my daughter for the first time in months. The thoughts came: What if you hurt her while no one’s here? But instead of panicking, I used the non-engagement responses I’d learned in therapy. I would respond to the thought with something like, Maybe I could. Maybe I couldn’t. And then I would move on with my day. That was the moment I knew I was getting better. Looking back, I realized I had been experiencing OCD my entire life. As a child, I constantly worried about my parents dying, about being left alone. I used to wonder, What happens when people leave? Do they still exist if I can’t see them?These fears weren’t new—they were just amplified by my postpartum OCD. I’m proud to say that I’ve been in remission for over a year now. While OCD sometimes resurfaces with different themes, it doesn’t control my life. It doesn’t stop me from living fully, from enjoying my time with my daughter, or from embracing the things I love. The road to recovery hasn’t been easy, but I’ve learned that it is possible to take back your life, even when OCD tries to tell you otherwise. ♥️

Last week I was so obsessed about feeling better I wanted to feel better and I was in a constant state of panic. This week I'm still anxious but not as much and I've been obsessing about losing control/losing my mind or having some other mental illness that isn't ocd. I've also been thinking "what if i don't want to feel better" "what if this is how I am supposed to feel" "what if this is how I'm supposed to feel and how I normally feel is me living in ignorance". I'm also worried that I'm manipulating everyone around me unto thinking that I have ocd when im really just a horrible person, or the opposite of having thoughts that are like "You think you're better than everyone else". I'm stressed out about these thoughts and feelings but I feel like I'm not anxious enough about them and that makes me think that I'm losing control. I feel numb but also anxious at the same time and I don't know how to explain the way I feel but it's scary. Even writing this makes me feel like I'm manipulating people into thinking I have ocd when I really don't and I'm just a horrible awful human. I just want to feel better and I know that but my brain is trying to convince me I don't

Hi guys! I’m new to the community and I’ve recently received my OCD diagnosis (tho I’ve known about it since childhood). I’ve been somewhat spiraling lately as I wait for my first ERP session (hooray!) I was just wondering if any of you guys have received ERP for existential OCD and if it was successful? My existential OCD compulsions are more so mental and have been affecting me in the sense of dream/memory flashbacks and giving me a sort of “uncanny” feeling about everything around me. Any advice is appreciated! Thank you❤️

This is my first post here, i'm personally struggling like ive never felt before. The human mind can be so powerful for the positive, and also for the negative. I let myself get walked on like a doormat by a woman I wanted to be with for years. I wanted to save her from the demons I knew surrounded her, but completely destroyed myself trying to do so. She finally gave me chance and it was an absolute nightmare. Ive been burned multiple times and have never once questioned my sexuality until she and I stopped "dating". I still have no desire to ever be with a man, but for some reason my mind has me judging everyone I look at and its exhausting. The future scares me, trying to decide what I want in life makes me stress, everything feels like its gone to hell. Im taking medicine for adhd which helps tremendously, but ive just never been in this place before. Full of trust issues, insecurities, self doubt, etc. i appreciate reading everyones posts and look forward to the day this is all behind me and im back to my "old" self.