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How do I stop engaging with the thoughts or stop ruminating when I can barely think of anything else without it turning into something it’s not?

Does anyone else struggle with always searching for something to be wrong, especially in good times? When things are good or I get good news I am looking for the next terrible possibility.

I'm paranoid that I have several things neurologically wrong with me, and my psychiatric NP made me feel so insulted and infantilized this week at our appointment that it triggered an extreme OCD episode that I've been stuck in all week. I'm dumping him, obviously, and I'm trying to get in with a psychiatrist ASAP. My father and I are being more serious than ever about getting me help. It's been an extremely tough week. I feel absolutely insane and psychotic for believing everything my OCD is telling me, but I can't turn it off, and I feel like everything I do to try and help myself is just a mental compulsion. I don't know what to think anymore, and I don't know when this episode will end. I miss feeling like myself. I feel like a completely different person and it's both horrifying and embarrassing.

i keep getting thoughts of molesting/ doing sexual things to people (that i’m close to) and children, every-time this happens I extremely disturbed and have panic attacks bc i’m a horrible person. i’m honestly just contemplating just k*lling myself because i feel like a disgusting p3do who doesn’t deserve anything in life. i’m already diagnosed with anxiety and depression but i’m not sure if this is OCD or not. i hate my self so much- this thoughts won’t stop happening and i never want to do anything like that ever. :/. i’m not sure what to do, i’ve talked to my therapist but none of her methods worked on how to stop these thoughts.

I had these horrible nightmares that covered the most disturbing of my ocd subtypes and intrusive thoughts. They were so vivid and all disturbing and I just woke up. Thoughts of what if it’s something you want or other what ifs. And I’m so uncomfortable which is an understatement. I don’t even want up get up because I’m so uncomfortable. This is awful

This is a question for more experienced people, and maybe sounds like a no-brainer, but I find that my compulsions happen so fast that I have no time to even think about not doing them. Especially since my intrusive thoughts appear quickly and more so as ideas than actual words, I find myself already in a compulsion (like reassurance, distraction, memory compulsion) before I can do anything else. I’m not sure how to stop them because they seem like such a habit. Any tips for how I can manage this?

Is it normal to have moments where it feels so real? Like where it feels like you’re fantasizing and you’re enjoying it and you like all of this? But I know there’s nothing there. There’s no desire to be this person. I don’t want or like this. I feel like I’m voluntarily doing this and bringing it on. There’s people saying they want to throw up on here because of this and I feel like I’m not as worried. But I worry every day. I saw someone say people who actually are that person can be distressed but not disgusted and I’m worried that that’s me. But it is disgusting. It’s both disgusting and distressing but I’m worried that I’m not reacting how someone who’s really disgusted would. But at the same time I know it’s not real, it’s not me at all so I feel like I don’t react as much. I literally have no attraction to children. There’s no part of me that wants that I feel absolutely nothing for them in an inappropriate way. My only feelings are that I want them to be happy and enjoy childhood and never ever be hurt by evil people who are actually that. I can’t imagine harming ANYONE. But it’s really confusing how I know this and tell myself this but then I’ll have images pop up and thoughts that feel like I’m into it and thoughts that sound like I’m making sick jokes. It’s so hard to keep up with and I know I care I think I’m just so tired of it. I hope it’s just pocd. I hope I can get a therapist this year. I’m afraid to do anything with my life.

ERP has been crazy helpful recently, and I'm making a lot of progress. But now that I've mostly dealt with my main theme, I feel like my OCD is trying to pick at every little thing day to day. Does anyone have any advice for dealing with this?

Hey everyone so after having intrusive thoughts for about a year now my theme is changing to images. Does anyone else have super vivid intrusive images that are almost like experiencing a movie just in your head? Like I’ll be sitting in my bosses office and start thinking about snakes and then my mind is creating this whole movie. It’s not happening in reality it’s all in my head but it’s still scary af. Any tips on how to deal with the intrusive images?

Hi, so I’ve been dealing with OCD for the past four years intrusive thoughts and all. At first it started with being scared of panic attacks then the thoughts went to being scared I’d harm myself and now they’re associated around harming other people especially my family which is very very scary. It feels like I’m deeply rooted a bad person. I can’t even tell anyone my thoughts. It also makes me confused on if I want these thoughts. I’m not even sure if I have any compulsions bc I try to just ignore the thoughts and distract myself. Lately I’ve noticed my anxiety getting a lot worse Notjhing seems to calm it down anymore and I just want to stay alone in my bed and make it all go away. I’m scared I’m scared of myself and I’m scared these thoughts could happen one day and I’m scared I want them. Sometimes my thoughts can make me feel like that… does anyone have any good resources im doing ERP but it’s so expensive. I haven’t tried medication but I want to I’m just scared it will make me worse or make me gain weight. But I’m at the point where I’m desperate and something needs to change bc I can’t live like this. I feel like I’m fighting my thoughts all day. And one second I feel confident I’m ok and the next my whole body gets hot and I feel like it’s all possible and I want these thoughts. Someone please give me advice?

This is my first time in ocd specific therapy, even though I’ve been struggling with it since I was a kid and I just feel like there’s no hope and I won’t be able to tolerate the distress of ERP. My OCD is so wide ranging and convoluted I can’t imagine being able to untangle it and actually make progress. It’s making me miserable and has me trapped in my thoughts but I don’t even know how to verbalize some parts of what I’m experiencing. I’m just checking, reviewing and over analyzing everything in my life constantly. My brain feels like it’s on fire and it takes me days to recover from OCD induced breakdowns. I don’t know if I have it in me to work through this :(

I’ve been homebound for the past two weeks because my anxiety and OCD have been so bad. I feel like there’s no way out of this. I’m still waiting on my therapist to respond back and my medicine doctor to respond back as well. I feel hopeless and I just want to know that there’s a way out of this and I’ll be better.

Ive seen this being recommended and been recommended for this app before a couple of times. But im really anxious about it because what if they sell my data? or someone hacks me data and finds me irl? then they know my issues? yk stupid stuff like that- has anyone else used it? is it good? how does it work? Can you trust it? Wskkamwem

It feels like I make progress with some obsessions and others gets significantly worse at the same time, so I’m never at peace. I’m spending all this time, money, and energy just for OCD to find another way to keep me on edge.

Is accepting the thoughts but trying no to get scared by them even if they are scary and cause me anxiety a compulsion? Like I m accepting them but I m trying no to be scared of them so I don’t get the anxiety but I still get the anxiety

I'm sure I'm not alone here but has anyone else reached the stage where they no longer tell new people about there ocd or even try to explain to anyone what it is and what it feels like. In the past 4 years since I have really struggled with this the majority of people that I have told and tried to explain it to have either laughed at it or just said 'yeah you want to stop doing that' As if people with OCD choose to ruminate and do compulsions Don't get me wrong there have been a few people that have listened and tried to understand but the majority of people have either laughed or said something like yeah don't worry about it we are all a bit weird. Now I don't hold any bad feelings towards anyone I have told but I think I have decided that from now on I will only speak about it with people who I think can actually help

Does anyone else feel numb from very heinous and disturbing thoughts/images? I’m talking to my friends and guys I like and I keep remembering that specific thought and I don’t know what to do with it.

Okay so, I feel like I’m going to become a monster, I feel like I want to do my intrusive thoughts. But in my heart I know it’s wrong. I cry and cry because I’m scared I will listen to my thoughts. I have been praying every single day. I want to be a good person. I tell myself do good, and do not do evil. My intrusive thoughts are about hurting people, especially my siblings. It’s makes me cry. But I’m scared I will act on them. I want to be locked up so I don’t do anything. I’m 21 years old now, I still live with my parents. And I want to tell them so they know, and so I can get help, I just don’t know how to tell them, and I don’t want to scare them. I don’t want them to think I’m a monster. I don’t think I can do this anymore. Every time I see something horrible, my brain thinks I should do it. Please give me advise, what do I do

Eventually? Can anyone relate to this I mean it in the nicest way possible because I think this community is fantastic and very helpful but I have also realised that a big part of my OCD is reassurance and craving certainty as I'm sure it is with most if not all OCD sufferers and the irony in that is whilst a lot of the questions and answers we all give can be very helpful and educational at the same time some of it could be deemed as OCD itself as in reassurance seeking and reassurance giving Therefore I ask myself this. When am I going to be content within myself that I have asked all of the questions and got all of the help and knowledge thay i feel i need to strt moving forward with my life and i no longer feel the need to ask anymore questions regarding ocd because whilst it has been helpful it came also serve to keep you stuck.

I’m going through the worst ocd flare up , I can’t stop crying and feel like I’m the worst person in the world and that no one understands how it makes me feel and how I feel so alone and that I’m a horrible person. Why do I feel like everything I’ve done makes me the worst unlovable person. Why is it when I pray I’m still so sad and nothing get fixed so I can be happy. I just want to be happy and at peace and stop having these intense overpowering thoughts. I know they say it’s best to sit with the thought until it passes instead of trying to direct my self but it just won’t go away and I’m trying hard to let it pass but something will always remind me of it and bring me right back to square one. I’m just so miserable that this is my life and thought process every single day😪