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anyone have advice on how to continue participating in your fave activities, hobbies, ect when you're having specific intrusive thoughts about those exact things that you typically enjoy? ocd has *really* been attacking my special interests, hobbies, work, ect. I usually just push through and let the thoughts happen while I'm doing them anyways, but it gets honestly exhausting.

I’ve had the same themes of ocd on and off for years. I have a new theme i’ve never had before now. Has that happened to anyone else?

How’s everyone doing? I’ve had 2 really great days followed by today where the intrusive thoughts and anxiety have come back a little. Sigh. It’s such a non-linear journey. Curious how everyone else has been?

I am not educated that well with the different types of OCD. But being here opened me up to it all. I am struggling with intrusive thoughts and i can’t stop thinking of those thoughts until i physically feel ill or nauseous. I struggle with getting over things that has hurt me especially when I see the people who have hurt me the flashbacks always come. I am not sure if this is a form of OCD. I just can’t stop thinking of the certain thing and I feel as if I am self sabotaging myself when I have good things in-front of me because my intrusive overthinking thoughts will not stop.

Anyone else scared to stop compulsions incase the thoughts come true? This is why I’m reluctant to do ERP 🙈!

Does anyone else have those nights where you come home from a long day at work, or being around people all day with a social battery and energy that is depleted? You are exhausted but when you try and sleep just cant seem to do so? Like your brain filled with thoughts, worries, OCD negativity etc. just keeps playing over and over in your head like a broken record on repeat? You toss and turn or sometimes just cry yourself to sleep in exhaustion and sadness and frustration? Anyone have any advice to help with this or calm the brain to help for a better sleep? Could use some sleep and rest.. Thanks 🫶

I am having surgery on Friday and I am worried while I am loopy from anaesthetic that I will expose myself or start saying my intrusive thoughts out loud. I am so scared of this and scared I’ll say stuff and not remember then everyone will know. Help

How am I suppose to get better when OCD makes me doubt if I want to get better 😭. It feels like I just want to live in my OCD thoughts. It’s so scary!

How were you able to finally take the risk that you could be a horrible human being or could have done horrible things? How were you able to do it? That’s where I am struggling. I totally get the concept of a thought is a thought and it’s not dangerous. But if what I fear is true, it would be horrendous and I’m so scared to let go. I’m so scared to take the chance that I could be a monster. So if you have any advice for how you were able to let go and take the risk, I would love to hear it. Each time I try, I just get more scared and revert back.

Truthfully i am just so exhausted from being obsessed with how I affect others in my life. I am constantly questioning if I make their lives better or worse and why. I'm an extrovert and if it seems like I'm positively affecting people when I socialize, I feel on top of the world. But when I can't improve someone's mood when I talk to them I feel depressed and drained. I have this belief that I am intrinsically awful and harmful to be around and I have to be extra helpful and cheerful to make up for it. I think about the problems that everyone in my life struggles with and convince myself that I am the cause of it or making them worse. I isolate, believing I am harmful to others and I am sparing them. When they feel neglected, I panic because I caused them harm when I was trying to save them. I don't want to live like this anymore. In some ways it was easier when I was alone. I just can't stop obsessing about my loved ones in this way. I almost begin to crave abandonment because at least the thoughts would stop coming. Does that make me a bad person? I don't really actually want to be abandoned by my loved ones, but at least I know how to handle abandonment. I don't know how to handle normal loving relationships.

my mind keeps saying i was cheating and i just need help. a while ago me and my partner went on a break because i was unsure of my feelings. i saw this guy at lunch that was alone and i thought was cute and i thought i had feelings. me and my friends invited him over and we all became friends. i realized later i didn’t have feelings for him and i did truly have feelings for my partner. i never flirted with this guy, the only thing i ever said was i didn’t have anyone to go to hoco with meaning i wanted to go with everyone in that group- including him. that part makes me feel so gross and like i did something wrong. i can’t tell if what is true because my mind can’t remember- it mix’s up the story to think i wanted to go hang out with him at hoco with everyone. did i wanna be with him? i don’t think so because i obvi realized i didn’t have feelings but idk what’s true from the past. what if i did?? me and my partner are together again obvi and i cannot be around him without these thoughts of wanting to “confess”. i’m still friends with that dude and i no longer think he is that cute tbh and i figured out i didn’t have feelings for him. help??

Does anyone else have mental rituals to check whether your friends still have u on social media and if they don’t then they hate you? I have to check multiple times a day that they still follow me , even people I haven’t spoke to in years . Today one unadded me from a private story even though I haven’t spoke in over 2 years but now it’s triggered me and made me feel like they hate me and I’ve done something wrong. Could anyone offer advice on how to feel in a situation like this. Like should I be panicked and concerned? Thanks

A big worry for me is that the thoughts are 24-7, no matter what I’m doing. Sometimes the thoughts are more in the background and sometimes really noisy, but they are always there. I worry that because the thoughts are constant it means they aren’t OCD as i read a lot about thoughts coming and going. They also keep evolving, it’s like when I get more used to one lot of thoughts, new ones come to create more anxiety and that feeds another thought and another thought. Anyone relate? I’m exhausted and broken.

but does anyone else’s intrusive thoughts and false memories get worse during the night or like as soon as the sun sets? it’s gotten to a point now where i dread the sun setting because ik it’s gonna be worse. i don’t know if this has anything to do with ocd??

so my teacher was talking about some sad stuff and my mind kinda said to me did you want to laugh? and now im scared that im a bad person and i think i wanted to laugh

I wish I didn’t have this disorder it lost the will to live I don’t want to do it anymore my life is too hard to fix

So like all of you guys, I get intrusive thoughts. I’ve gotten them to a point where they aren’t super debilitating but they still occur. The thing is, I don’t ever want to tell a partner about these thoughts as I don’t even want them myself. However, A part of me feels wrong for not telling them. I fear they may judge me or not want to be with me if they knew as they are sexual and inappropriate although they aren’t pedephellic. I’m not sure how to deal with this situation.

anyone else obsess over like every thought they have especially bad thoughts? i can think something and it’ll be the only thing i’ll think of. talked about something once? i need to keep talking about it. LIKEEE idk how to explain it, it’s jus like every thought i have i become so obsessive of it especially if it upsets me. let me know what helps

OCD is so much more than what we see in the media. It goes beyond visible compulsions, and it can sometimes feel like OCD is hijacking your entire life. Here are some common struggles those with OCD often experience but might not talk about. Which of these has impacted you? What else would you add?

constantly dismissing my compulsive intrusive thoughts has caused me to experience really bad short term memory loss. i can't keep up a conversation without my brain asking what just happened every minute like i'll be talking to someone and suddenly i'll forget the context of what theyre saying and i feel silly asking for clarification. along with that, hearing the same horrible intrusive thoughts everyday has caused me to subconsciously believe them and i can't have that i won't so ya pls help