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the NOCD Community

Does being on my period or having upcoming menstrual symptoms worsen my OCD symptoms? Is it because of the added pain, or the added chemicals in my body? Anyone else experience this?

I have a big fear of dying and death. Is there anyone out there that isn’t afraid of this? If so, can you please give me your perspective on it?

Does anyone else feel like they are getting worse? I started here a couple months ago doing ERP, but I feel like my OCD is getting way worse and am hardly able to function properly most days without panic or anxiety attacks …. I try response therapy, but it hasn’t worked for me. I’m not sure what to do going forward. Any suggestions?

I’m not 100% sure that I have OCD, but I do have PTSD and some new intrusive thoughts were triggered a couple weeks ago. It feels like they have changed my whole perception of my life since then. Every experience that should be fun or relaxing is tainted with the horrible dread I feel when these thoughts creep in. I was really enjoying my life for a while before these new thoughts started and it feels like I have lost contact with that version of myself and my life. I’m afraid of these thoughts tainting things that I want to stay good and pure. I’m just feeling really lost about how to soothe myself and dig out of this

Had a new type of OCD though today which startled me and out of nowhere. “You can’t handle it.” You will eventually lose control no matter what you try and do.” Anyone else have this? And tips on how to fight back so it isn’t as strong next time?

I’m in the process of being evaluated by a psychiatrist for ADHD, but I feel like my distress has gotten worse. I don’t feel like my memory recall has kept up with work and school, friends, and family and in the beginning I thought it was due to being an inattentive adhd person. But more recently It been having thoughts of hurting myself and others as well as suicide. Even though I don’t want to die, I just want this to change. I feel helpless and so so tired. I’m constantly worried about being wrong in some fundamental way and I’m worried my friends and family will reject me even though we have good relationships to each other.

Hello. Did any medications help with sensorimotor OCD? I started Zoloft a week ago. Thanks!

Does anyone ever get scared that they are going to be stuck like this forever. Or that eventually you wont be able to fight against the thoughts and it just sends you into a spiral. Also sometimes it feels like an urge to act on these thoughts and its really scary and i dont know how to deal with this and im just really scared and i just wanna get better. Any tips?

Went through absolute hell last week sticking with ERP and not seeking assurance on a massive obsession of mine. Since those three days, my thoughts have been really clear of that issue. And now here it is again. I hate the cycle. It makes it hard not to anticipate that things will randomly get worse on a good day.

I have been in a serious relationship with my girlfriend for a little over a year now, and for the first six months I loved the way she looked and never questioned my attraction for her. She is currently over seas studying abroad and the distance has really flared up my ROCD. I catch myself noticing EVERY FLAW about her appearance and comparing them to others strengths. I still find myself attracted to her especially when I see a pretty picture of her, but the not so flattering photos of her seriously make me contemplate breaking up with her to find someone more “attractive”. It seriously tears me apart as I can’t help but know her flaws will always be there and will only become more prominent with age. She always tells me how handsome I am and I can’t say she’s beautiful anymore without hesitation and the ROCD talking in the back of my head. I love her so much and can’t imagine being with someone else, which is why it is so upsetting. I just want to love ALL OF HER including her flaws as she does for me. Can anyone relate? If so, have you been able to get over it?

Idk if this is OCD but I can't stop using qtips/ cleaning my ears. I get ear infections quite a bit so I clean my ears every day. This prevents and causes ear infections. I can't stand the feeling of wax in my ears so if there is any new wax I scratch. This causes infections. To prevent scratching I clean them which works for awhile until it causes an infection. It's never ending. I have no idea how to stop the cycle. My family says it's not OCD, it's just sensory issues because I'm autistic. I don't want to be saying I have OCD when I don't and make someone upset. I put trigger warning because I have no idea if this post will upset someone. I'm super new to this.

Hello, I have recently been dealing with lots of handwashing and having trouble using the bathroom or showering due to feeling dirty or contaminated after touching things. It’s made me quit my job, isolate, not eat, and not wanting to use the bathroom. Has anyone gone through this? If so has anything helped? Hope everyone is doing well <3

Can anyone else with ROCD tell me their experience with it and their partner? How you’ve navigated it and how it’s affected you? I just need ti know I’m not alone with my thoughts that throw themselves into me when I’m with my girlfriend. Thoughts of hating her, of hitting her, breaking up with her, being angry for no reason, and more recently a forced numbness that scares me. I think the numb could be separate and could be stress and burnout from taking care of her the past few weeks emotionally without breaks pretty much and I’ve been drained and I’m scared my love for her won’t come back but I’m sure that’s not true. I’m sure it will. I hope it will but before when I had these thoughts they scared me a lot more now in more numb to them. I get scared that if I’m not obsessing over her then I don’t love her, or if I don’t want to be with her 24/7 then I shouldn’t be with her at all. Could anyone share their experiences?

does anyone feel like ever since they started with intrusive thoughts / compulsions that you feel as if your brain has turned to mush and your intellect has vanished. it’s really hard for me to string sentences together & i feel as if everyone who speaks about ocd has this way of putting it that i never will be able to. i’m still untreated & in the dark to be honest. when it comes about speaking about what ive been through as well i can’t remember everything only the really bad episodes, it’s like my brain is hiding it away from me waiting for a day for me to remember and traumatise me all over again. i’m also petrified of saying the wrong things to people and potentially worsening their ocd or seeming to be uneducated about it and like i have no idea what i’m talking about. i’m still learning but i’m frustrated that i feel as if i still don’t know anything. does that make sense?

What do you usually press when you’re selecting how much time to warm up your food in the microwave? Increments of 30 mins like 1:00, 1:30, 2:00 etc? Just realized I do Just Right compulsions with the numbers… thinking about pressing 2:00 is making me uncomfortable

My 9 yo daughter began her OCD symptoms when she turned 8. Her dad has it so we recognized it. She sees a therapist who told her to make her OCD into a being. She named her OCD a silly name to help her separate herself from her anxieties and subsequent compulsions. It’s hard to know what she’s supposed to do with this “creature” as verbalizing it is difficult for her. Should she try to push this being away when he pops up, or is she supposed to work with the being to coexist? I just want to be as helpful to her as possible.

I read yesterday on Google that ‘someone that is good for you might not be for you’ and ‘just because someone is good for you doesn’t mean you will be attracted to them’ and I’ve started to spiral after a good recovery time, obviously due to my thoughts I find it difficult to feel attracted to my bf at all times but now my brains convincing me I don’t have to be with him just because he is good for me

Almost a year ago I was diagnosed with Leukemia. I have been in remission since August. But now I am afraid of everything health wise and convinced something is wrong with my heart. I went to a cardiologist and he had me wear a heart monitor for 2 weeks. I just took it off today and won’t get results for another week at least. I still have to do chemo once a month for another four months. But I’m obsessively checking my pulse, I’m constantly worried and I’m convinced that there’s something wrong with my heart and that I will die before anyone can help me. I’m terrified all the time. It’s debilitating. I’m seeing two therapists and I’m medicated and nothing seems to help. I feel crazy and that no one is taking me seriously because they think it’s all just health related anxiety. I don’t know what to do anymore. I just want to live my life and be happy that my cancer is in remission but I can’t because of this never ending fear. I’m hoping to find some help here, or at least find someone that can relate.

I don’t know if I have OCD, but I’m in the verge of asking my mom to maybe go and get me checked. I will get a thought or several thoughts in my head and then think about them for HOURS and not be able to do anything else until I am satisfied. It is usually an agenda and I will go over it again and again in my head until it drives me crazy and I break down. I get thoughts in my head while out in public usually, ones that I am so ashamed of and make me feel disgusting. I also get unnecessarily angry and violent when certain sounds happen. Especially coughing. I don’t know if it is the repetitive part of it but when I say angry and violent I mean it. I think this might be misophonia, but I heard the two are related. Anyone with OCD, does any of this seem familiar? I’m hopeless at this point

This is my first time posting here. At the beginning of this year, I started obsessing over an event that happened two years ago, which then led me to obsess over events from seven years ago. I'm certain those events happened, but now I'm unsure if my thoughts are intrusive or if I truly did something unforgivable. After reading someone's real event, I had a disturbing memory of doing something the exact same thing. It's the first time I've ever had this memory, and the problem is, I can't remember if it actually occurred. Every time I think about it, the details change, leaving me with no concrete answer. I've searched through all my pictures, messages, and memories, trying to pinpoint if and when it happened. Ultimately, I know I can't change the past, and even if it did happen, there's nothing I can do about it now, but it haunts me every day. If I did do this, I feel undeserving of anything good in this world. It's affecting my relationships and work, and I fear that if I accept it as false, it might resurface later, potentially ruining my life. I've always condemned this act, but maybe I myself did it as a teenager and either forgot or chose to forget.