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i’m scared if i’m dying or if i have a tumor my side head hurts on my left and it feels like something is crawling on my head and my eye kinda hurts idk what to do help.

I keep obsessing over diabetes im so scared of getting it because im overweight and what if I dont lose weight quick enough and end up getting it? I'm soo anxious. I also googled the symptoms and it said tingly feet and hand are a symptom and mine are tingly. I'm so scared. It doesn't help that the healthcare where I live is awful and my doctor refuses to help me when I need her it's making my anxiety so much worse

I recently found out that I have OCD and it was honestly an enormous relief. I spent nearly ten years having been diagnosed with generalized anxiety and depression, receiving incorrect treatments and trying to apply coping mechanisms that were actually making things worse for me. You may think that this would make me angry to think I could have been on the path to recovery sooner and wasn’t, but I’m honestly just thankful to finally know. When I read NOCD’s list of subtypes, my jaw was on the FLOOR because it felt like half of the article was written about me. The only time in the last decade I felt I found something effective was an audiobook I found on my own about intrusive thoughts which used a technique very similar to ERP. Go figure. Anyway, I had a couple of questions that may be cathartic or help others be reflective. First, who else was misdiagnosed? How long? What was your treatment experience like and what was your reaction when you learned the truth? Share as much or as little as would be helpful to you. Second, were there ancient signs you suddenly started remembering that now make way more sense? For me, it was sensorimotor and existential OCD. In high school, I had an extended phase where I couldn’t stop paying attention to how much I blinked and also had a phase where I could not stop questioning reality and your classic existential questions. I also had a period in college when my eye floaters drove me absolutely nuts every day. Anyway, hope you’ve come across this feeling well and I’d be happy to hear from you.

Just need to vent. Starting off by saying I just started my journey on NOCD and I’m feeling super hopeful. I went to dinner tonight in the middle of Manhattan with my aunt uncle and cousin and just was a wreck the whole time trying to keep it together. I had a bad migraine today due to work being so overstimulating and stressful. But of course the OCD took it to another level of convincing myself that I was going to embarrass myself at dinner and pass out or lose balance bc of the headache. This then caused me to spiral and have several mini panic attacks, which I think I had fairly well but I know I was fidgety and uneasy. I’m just so over this. I used to be the life of the party. Able to make conversation with anyone. Funny and outgoing. Now I’m stuck in the prison that is my mind and I can barely get through a simple dinner sometimes. It’s moments like these that I feel helpless and quite honestly, like a loser. Any positive words would be appreciated right now. Thanks for listening to me vent ❤️

The day before last night easy off was sprayed on the surface on a stove and inside the oven. I put food i was eating in the next room so that it doesn't get contaminated. I was told the smell also entered the room but I wrapped up the crackers I ate as much as I could. Looking back on it, I don't see how it could've gotten in crackers, because they were closed pretty tightly by twisting the paper inside. Last night I ate a few of those crackers because someone else did and they seemed to be fine. I ate them and the first thing I noticed was being sleepy but that was from not really sleeping a whole lot of hours and I only took a 3 hour or so nap. Today I'm noticing this sensation in my throat and I don't know if it's OCD or not. I also noticed that I've been having very light burps. I keep researching this again and again and I keep getting results that say the food could have been contaminated (although it didn't taste or smell any different) and that I need to call poison control center immediately. Is this OCD or should I actually call this number? I've had this happen before thinking I ingested paint chip and that I was going to die if I didn't wake up from sleep that following night. It's the same for these but I don't know if it's real or not. The person that are the crackers were fine but I keep getting these sensations and feelings that something is wrong

I was given invega injections and it’s been hell

What do you guys do to quiet your mind? I literally can never just enjoy a moment because my mind is constantly blasting. I used to drink wine very often, but I haven’t in a long time. I find myself tempted to go get some wine often not because of it numbing my sadness or anything, but purely because it seems to be the ONLY thing to quiet my mind enough to where I can truly just relax and not think too much. I would like to stay sober forever if I can. What do you guys do to truly relax when your brain never wants to?

How are you guys that are triggered by social media balancing with having it ? I feel like I always delete and redownload because I either need to reach out to someone through DMs, or wanna go on it and scroll but it’s so triggering now that we have reels and constant access to other peoples thoughts. Videos about relationships, violence, poor health, body image and politics always put me in a spiral and causes me to have to delete the app, and sometimes it takes a day to get over it, but other times I’ll be stuck in a loop for weeks because of how ONE video makes me feel. I want to be on social media because I like to be in the know with what my friends are up to, but I can’t stand how addicting and stressful the videos and reels are. Also it’s just insane to me how I will scroll and watch a lot of videos of memes or cats and it’s entertaining and good, then out of nowhere I get a fear mongering story or graphic video of someone dying. What a world we live in now.

Hello, I am currently taking 50mg of Zoloft daily and have been for the last 2 weeks. I will be upping to a much higher dose in the future but am wondering if anyone prescribed this has noticed improvements with ocd symptoms, im trying to have hope but I’ve heard bad story’s with Zoloft and have been obsessing over if it will harm me more than good.

Hey y’all, I’m gearing up for the OCD Super Bowl for me aka thanksgiving and Christmas lol. I have a TON of ocd thoughts surrounding food especially when that food is cooked by other people. Combine that with the fact that the holidays line up with cold and flu season and it makes the perfect recipe for an OCD disaster for me. I really wish my brain wasn’t like this because I want to enjoy the holidays and spending time with family but all I want to do is lay in my bed in the dark. What is your guys’ “OCD Super Bowl”?

I've been in ERP therapy with NOCD since September. I have had almost a month and a half of the best months that I have had over the past year. I also take Sertraline and have for a very long time (since my GAD) diagnosis. Once I received my OCD diagnosis, I did some research and learned that I was not on the correct dose used to manage OCD. It has been 11 days since my dose was increased. For the past 5 days my anxiety has increased, I've been rally tired and I have a sour stomach. I was feeling so discouraged especially since I had been feeling so much better. I have since learned that when initially starting or increasing the dosage of Sertraline, increased anxiety is a common side affect along with gastrointestinal upset and that these symptoms will gradually decrease as your body adjusts. I wanted to share this for anyone who may be feeling the same way with new or an increase of meds. I still feel discouraged because of the return of the anxiety, even if temporary. I just continue to work on my exposures daily and am looking forward to some relief soon. We can do this 💪🏽

I’ve had OCD since childhood, and it’s shifted through a lot of different themes over the years. My earliest signs were contamination fears, fear of choking, appearance fears, and a general sense that something “bad” would happen if I didn’t do certain things the right way. Over time it evolved into health OCD, especially around skin, medications, and fears of weight gain or that something will harm me or make my symptoms worse. One of my biggest struggles is needing actions to feel “right.” If I click a button wrong, move the wrong way, or something doesn’t register properly, I feel a rush of anxiety and have to redo it over and over until it feels correct. Phones, apps, even games become stressful because one tiny “off” sensation can trigger a whole loop. I repeat words, song lyrics, little phrases, or facial movements until they feel right too, especially while showering, brushing my hair, doing makeup, or winding down at night. Before bed I have to repeat certain thoughts or phrases or I feel too anxious to lie down. I also over-focus on breathing, sweating, and small bodily sensations when I’m trying to do something, which makes the task feel harder. Socially, I freeze up because I feel like everything I say has to be perfectly phrased. I rehearse sentences in my head before speaking, which makes conversations feel exhausting. Sensory overwhelm is a huge part of my OCD. Sudden sounds, textures, or physical sensations instantly throw me off, make me tense up, or make me feel like whatever I was doing is “ruined.” Stepping on small objects, touching my hair wrong, or trying to get ready can push me into irritability or compulsions. When the sensory overload and OCD hit at the same time, it becomes almost impossible to do basic tasks like getting ready, focusing, or even moving around without feeling “wrong.” Stress, overstimulation, and OCD compulsions sometimes build up to emotional overload. I’ve had episodes where the “wrongness” sensation pushes me into panic, intense irritation, or crying spells — especially if I bump into something, step on something, or get interrupted during a compulsive moment. I’ve been working on it and these episodes are less frequent, but they still happen. I also deal with obsessive fears about contamination of food or products, and paranoia-like doubts that people might be upset with me or that something bad will happen if I don’t say or do certain things “right.” This leads to reassurance-seeking and compulsive apologizing. Right now, for example, I’m anxious because I keep slightly dropping my phone or holding it “wrong,” and it makes me feel like I have to redo things or avoid using it altogether. Overall, my OCD affects daily functioning — routines, focus, hygiene, eating, social interactions, and anything that requires fine motor movements or sensory tolerance. It’s exhausting, but I’m trying to get a clearer picture of it and connect with others who relate. (I might be autistic as well :))

So idk if it’s normal somedays im feeling the holiday spirit and some days i don’t I’ll keep it short and simple. I’ve been doing very well and i have my days where im worried about my low bp. Plus im taking bp meds apparently to calm the palpitations. So it’s probably the main reason why i feel it down but i feel discouraged that the bp is not getting better. That’s why i cant break the cycle of not checking sometimes case i want to make sure its not too low. Sometimes I just dont care and dont check at all and just have those days of laying in my bed. I think we all have those days. But I see progress i see healing i see life coming back to me. Ever since I was diagnosed with OCD it’s hard for me to somewhat get into the holiday spirit but I want to feel that feeling again so I’m looking forward to healing and seeing the positive side of me again 💜

These past two weeks my intrusive thoughts about my fear of psychosis and going crazy have come back. There was times when I would start to be better than bam anxiety all over again and I’m just so scared cause it feels so real and scarier from the last time I had it. Yesterday I had a Friendsgiving and something triggered it so bad that I went down a rabbit hole of videos and I got the worst anxiety and couldn’t even eat dessert and that’s my favorite part of the whole night. I didn’t get much sleep and right now I feel like I actually may lose it and I’m not doing myself any good from lack of sleep. I just feel so alone and no matter how much I tell myself they’re just thoughts and letting myself sit with the uncomfortableness and fear and just can’t shake it off. I think I’ve better DP/DR and it’s not making the situation better but I’m past the point of anything giving me relief and am just so scared. I just feel so alone and I have no one to talk to who has ever gone through this like me. I just want to be okay and normal. I was doing good these past months and bam I’m hit with all these thoughts. Please tell me it gets better.

today i woke up feeling nauseous, last night i went to sleep feeling the same way. i’ve had times where i’ve ruminated to the point of just getting physically ill and throwing up. or having an instant panic attack over a trigger or something and the same thing happening. other times it just feels like a constant state of nausea in general, or the feeling of my stomach dropping and feeling sick all day. then i just get general anxiety over throwing up because i absolutely hate it & being nauseous in general, but it feels like i just have to get it all out. i’ve also taken antidepressants that have made me nauseous as well. does anything help with this or is it just another symptom? like is this something solved by erp or medication because it’s really hard to go through day to day life like this. i’ve tried taking pepto, tea and ginger ale but i just want a day to day solution for this i guess. i’m even losing weight because i haven’t been able to eat as much.

I’ve been through a really tough year, especially with OCD, and I want to be open about it in case it helps someone else feel less alone. If anything I share resonates, feel free to comment. My OCD first showed up as sexual-orientation OCD while I was studying abroad in Spain. My program had mostly girls, and my home university is also a very LGBTQ-friendly campus. Being in spaces where sexuality was talked about so openly made me feel pressured to “figure out” my orientation with certainty, which fueled the OCD spiral. At the same time, I was dealing with health OCD around concussions, so everything piled up. In August 2024, after a confusing conversation with a friend, I met a man I have a very deep emotional connection with — a connection that honestly has never gone away. I believed, and part of me still believes, that it was a “twin flame” connection. But the intensity of it triggered multiple OCD themes: sexual-orientation OCD, relationship OCD, existential and religious OCD, and magical thinking. I went down a lot of rabbit holes trying to make sense of it. Around the same time, I started noticing more dysfunction in my family, especially with my mom, and things eventually blew up. The fight we had escalated, and while I don’t want to go into detail, it did get to a point where I felt like my personal space and property were being invaded. I didn’t feel emotionally safe, so I wanted to leave. I ended up staying with my grandparents in Nashville, where I fell into isolation and depression. I put a lot of emotional weight on the man I have the connection with, which led him to set boundaries, and I spiraled even more. My grandparents eventually said I needed to return home, but my mom would only let me come back if I got off Prozac and signed papers giving her control over my medication, which I’m not comfortable with. So now I’m staying at a friend’s apartment on an air mattress while I try to get into a PHP program for OCD and figure out insurance and independence. There were also moments when intrusive thoughts felt like psychic “visions,” which scared me and led me to say things I now regret. My family doesn’t understand OCD and thinks I’m faking or self-diagnosing, which has been incredibly painful. I’m not in the best place mentally, emotionally, or financially, but I’m sharing this because I want this space to feel safe for others too. I also wish I had gotten help sooner. My biggest compulsion right now is using ChatGPT for reassurance before making decisions — which is even why I’m using it to shorten this post. But I’m trying to break that cycle and focus on real recovery. Thanks for reading if you made it here💓💓

Hi all, I’m an 18 yo girl, been diagnosed with OCD since I was 14. My OCD has mostly been intrusive thought heavy moreso than compulsions. Recently I’ve been obsessing over the fear of death and aging. I keep having intrusive thoughts that since my teen years are almost over, I basically just have nothing but downhill after that. This has been in my mind since my grandfather passed away in April. Most of my thoughts center around the fear of becoming unattractive as I get older, and in general a fear of everything that comes with age like decline in health etc. If anyone has advice on how to cope with these thoughts or deter them I would greatly appreciate it. :)

I’ve had OCD since I was nine, diagnosed along with several other things because of co-morbidity. I always associated my OCD with order and symmetry, and any other “problematic” thoughts were categorized in my brain as part of my anxiety. I am recently learning that all of the internal/mental issues I’ve been facing: intrusive thoughts, doubts, reviewing every action, word, or thought I’ve ever had, health fears, morality, the constant compulsive apologies for absolutely nothing, etc. are also related to my OCD and not just my anxiety. My reaction to that was to laugh and for once be glad that I have no original thoughts, because it proves I’m not alone or absolutely losing it. Reading through the articles on this platform has given me so much peace that I am not broken. OCD can feel so incredibly isolating because you are gaslit by your own brain constantly, and terrified that nobody will understand you, so why bother trying? I’m also deeply frustrated that nobody ever warned me about this. I’ve been seeing neurologists since I was a child, and not once did anyone ever think to mention I might experience all this one day. I’ve spent years forming my mind into something I can navigate if I just stay on my game all the time. I’m mentally exhausted from walking through the maze everyday, avoiding the traps and triggers, and trying to get out unscathed. I have learned how to talk myself down and argue my way out of my own panic attacks and use any form of logic I can to stay grounded and not topple my brain and my ideas of who I am. I function through all my fears and worries, to the point where, when I bring myself to disclose even a small part of what happens in my brain to others, they ask me how I’m able to get up in the morning. It’s completely draining and I’ve built it up to this level because I believed this is what I had to do to survive, since none of this could possibly be normal. It was never mentioned by my doctors and never addressed by my therapists, so it has to be something I need to cope through alone, right? I never considered that it was something I needed more help for, something that could be helped. I recently started therapy again, and I was so done with all of this that I just charged forward and disclosed everything that happens in my brain immediately, and it was such a great weight lifted off me when she accepted me as I am and told me that there is nothing “wrong” with me. She gave me scary, thought-provoking homework and a long list of things to try and work on, but no judgement, so we’ll take it. I am sure there are other people like me, who have spent years coping in this tiring methodical way because they didn’t know anything different, and I guess I just wanted to share in case it helps anyone. Reading through everyone’s posts has helped me immensely.

I was prescribed prozac almost a month ago and haven’t taken it bc i’ve been scared. I don’t know the best way to describe it but taking medication gives me a contaminated/tainted feeling. It makes me feel like my body will never be the same and I always worry about if it will give me diseases in the future or bad side effects. But now i’ve decided to “rip the bandaid off” and take it in the morning. I was daydreaming in the shower about finally being happy, having success with ERP, enjoying my relationship, getting all my feelings back (ESP my attraction and libido), reconnecting with friends, mending my relationships with my siblings, and living the life I’ve always wanted. Of course immediately after I started to think of the worst outcomes and things going bad for me, but I’m just going to take the chance. I’m not feeling very optimistic bc usually things never go how I hope 😀. I also understand that it takes a while to find the right dose/meds or to feel the effects. But I really really REALLY hope this works out for me. If not i’ll be back here to complain ab it.

For about a month or so I’ve been dealing with some on and off health-related symptoms. Of course, I went down the Dr. Google rabbit hole and completely freaked myself out — I’ve now managed to convince myself at different points that I’ve had colon cancer, ovarian cancer, and Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Over the past few weeks, I’ve gotten both an endoscopy and a colonoscopy, which came back pretty clean besides a few minor things. Lately though, my mind seems to have attached to the idea of Hodgkin’s lymphoma. I don’t have any swollen lymph nodes, but I was experiencing some night sweats, and now I feel like I have itchy skin — though part of me wonders if that’s just because I read it’s a symptom. My anxiety has been through the roof and it’s honestly all I can think about. I’ve also had some neck and back pain that comes and goes — it was pretty consistent for a couple of weeks, but I’ve noticed that when my anxiety isn’t as bad, the pain eases up too. My question is, has anyone else ever experienced physical symptoms that seemed tied to anxiety or worry? I’ve already had an abdominal ultrasound of all my main organs and clean blood work, and I’m going for an MRI later this week. I think that will give me some peace of mind, but right now I just feel stuck in my head. Also, if anyone has any advice or tips on how to heal from the fear of cancer, I would really appreciate it. This is pretty new for me — I’ve always had some mild health anxiety or OCD tendencies, but this constant, debilitating fear that something serious is wrong has really taken over and put a damper on my life.