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What are some examples of mental compulsions and how can you identify them in yourself? I am struggling with what counts as a mental compulsion since it’s not as black and white as a physical one.

I really hate this trend of people going "my intrusive thoughts won" in reference of something that is not a intrusive thought...at all. This whole trend of people conflating intrusive thoughts with impulsive ones is exhausting because when these same people actually hear about the types of intrusive thoughts that people with OCD have they paint them as some sort of monster when the whole basis of OCD for most people is the anxiety of being the opposite of what your morals and beliefs are! This trend definitely adds more to the stigma, everyone is always pro mental health and want better for the mentally ill until the mentally ill actually show symptoms

Does anyone else feel like a switch in their head gets flipped and they become the worst version of themselves. Like I can love life one second and then the anxiety hits me like a truck and I’m completely winded. I’m exhausted on every level. I feel it in my stomach. I’m tired. I’ve had OCD my entire life and I’m not sure I’ll ever live peacefully. Trying to stay hopeful.

This is the first time I’m posting here but I really need to. Basically, I have known this boy for about 4/5 years now. We usually just talked on snap as we were too shy to meet irl. We were just friends. He did have feelings for me for a long time it I didn’t until recently. I did him really bad as 2 years back, when I got into a relationship. I blocked him out of no where. I know it’s really bad and a messed up thing to do but I was dumb. I hurt him a lot. A year or so later I realised my mistake and reached out to him again with an apology (me and my ex broke up by this time). I helped him get a job with me. So we started working together as well. During this time once again I didn’t have feelings for him. But sometimes he would flirt and stuff. I’m kind of a bitch. A few years ago, and even a few months ago I’ve said a few bad things about him behind his back to other people. Like bad things. Just to give you guys an understanding I’m 18 atm. Old enough to know what’s right and wrong but I still messed up quite a bit Recently, we have started working a lot more and meeting in real life unlike before. And I have caught feelings in the past few weeks. We both confessed. Aren’t official yet as I’m worried about my parents finding out (I’m not allowed to date). I feel really guilty tho. Whenever I talk to him, I remember the past and the things I’ve said about him and just want to confess. I’ve confessed a lot of things already and he’s told me that the past doesn’t matter. But I still feel the need to confess. I know for a fact that my feelings have changed a lot towards him. I feel like I took him for granted in the past and his attention for granted but I really really like him now. I’m started to love him. But these feelings of guilt keep coming in my way. Please help me.

Do the urges to perform compulsions ever go away? Even with ERP? I feel like I’ve been doing good resisting compulsions but the urges lingering in the back of my mind are making the healing journey very difficult. Anyone experiencing this now?

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.

Diagnosed with Pure O, Bi Polar, anxiety and Major depression. I've tried so much medication that I don't know what's left. I thought Capylta was helping and felt good, but after 3 months I crashed. Anyone have any suggestions?? Don't think my Psychiatrist even knows

Sometimes my ocd causes me to be overwhelmed that I’m physically tired, and don’t want to move to not trigger my symptoms…

i can’t move on. the guilt and shame over my actions but also struggling to remember and 100% know what happened because I was very drunk is crippling. i hate this feeling. i quit drinking because nothing is worth losing her. i feel I done something awful like semi cheat or cheat and i feel the urge to confess. i even told to my partner about the situation and she forgave me and let me with so much grace and yet i still feel like there is more to confess even tho if she’s moved on why haven’t i when im the one who was a horrible person. like i ruminate and kick analyze and essentially find/create another detail that i dont even know if its relevant or real. my partner is the love of my life and i never want to hurt her and we plan on getting married so why does my brain try and convince me i want other people when all i want is her and our life together. then if i get too drunk it’s like my subconscious comes out and tries to sabotage my life and go against all of my values and trys to get me to act on intrusive thoughts? i can’t even put it into works im so confused and feel so lonely and shameful and at rock bottom. everyone is always telling me how good of a person i am and how incredibly lucky they are to know me and i feel like a fraud and a horrible person because of my mistakes. how do i move on and recover. and then everything becomes and obsession and my comparisons worded and it’s a downward spiral. anyone else shave similar experiences or helpful tips and ways to move forward without guilt. i just want peace and love.

Did your anxiety over yourOCD ever get very intense for a period of time and later go down even though you still have the same intrusive thoughts and the same obsessions?

Yesterday I had the thought “Do I like having the thoughts just so I can fight them off?” And then I found myself almost WANTING an attack just so my ocd could be proven real to me

hi ! i am so happy with my relationship and suddenly i have thoughts and fear of what if im cheating in the future? what if i really want to do that ? i know that my thoughts is against my value and belief but these thoughts is going crazy everyday and it makes me believe that i will do it and i want to do it 😭 but the fact is i know i never wish to do that and it never popped up in my mind before this , this just makes me feel so crazy and extremely anxious that i cant sleep, i will going to University this October and i fear what if i accidentally like someone else ? what if i do that on purpose? plus my feelings is keep telling me to do that and it kinda whisper to my heart and makes me want to do that, i know that i never wanted to cheat or like someone else but it makes me feel so real 😿 i keep thinking is that mean i am a terrible person or i really want to do that? i dont know why it’s kinda gives me the wrong feelings and informations to myself . Pls dont judge me when you read this and i hope someone could help me if this also what you feel or any tips to deal with this. Thank you

I have this memory of playing with my childhood friend like lifting him up in the air putting him back down just playing. And my brain is taking that memory and saying I had sex with him or I humped him or something like that. It makes me sick to my stomach to think I had sex or raped a little boy. I’m scared. Please give me some advice

Does anyone ever get or even force yourself to think an intrusive thought to test your response and then think that didn’t make me anxious enough therefore…. I like the thought or I could end up doing the thought

Do you ever process through ocd snd then months later the same issue comes back to haunt you and its like rumination all over again? Please advise. Do i just reuse the tools from the last time or do i try additional new tools

I just got diagnosed today and am feeling unsure about it, like I fed my therapist information to incline her to diagnose me. Everything I said was true, but somehow I feel like I’m misrepresenting myself. Life is not debilitating and I don’t ever have panic attacks or major breakdowns, so what if I’m just a little neurotic and do not have OCD? I felt like I was self-reporting and in my mind it would only be legit if I accidentally divulged my symptoms instead of reading off the list I made. I felt like I was trying to manipulate her into believing me.

Recently I posted on here about talking with a guy and exchanging information. After we briefly talked, I didn’t feel comfortable to keep talking to him so I blocked him. I just didn’t feel safe, not really knowing who this person was. Or at least I thought so. After the fact, I looked up his number and was able to track down his LinkedIn and Facebook page. He seemed legit. Well, I didn’t know that LinkedIn actually tracked your profile views and he must’ve realized I looked at his page. Late last night, he added me on snap. I didn’t add him back, and he hasn’t contacted me on any other social media. But now I’m worried and obsessing over this situation. Should I just let it go or address it?

Last week, I had a really bad OCD spiral, where I was convinced that I was in fact paranoid and going "crazy". I ended up going to the ER, and they confirmed that it was in fact my OCD and prescribed me meds. I met with a few psychiatrists and they also confirmed that I have OCD. I started therapy with NOCD on Tuesday, and had a great session, and felt great! And yesterday, I was doing pretty good, where I was able to go into the office, and have a normal work day. I still had those intrusive thoughts regarding paranoia but didn't cause me distress and kind of just pushed them away with ease. This morning, I started having some bad intrusive thoughts where I see myself trying to fight the negative thoughts in my head. These intrusive thoughts sometimes feels like its another person in my head. I've had these experiences before, and I tell myself that these are just my thoughts, and not anybody else's, and I am afraid that I am believing that there is some kinda entity in me trying to convince me that these intrusive thoughts are true. Coming from a very religious background, it makes it even harder for me to push these thoughts away because people in church will tell you that it is an evil spirit causing this distress. I know that this doesn't make sense from a rational perspective, but it makes me always question that it might be true. I find myself trying to tell this "entity" or spirit that it doesn't belong in my brain, which makes me feel like I might have a more severe mental illness.

Before i went to school i bought a juice for the day and it looked sealed well but when i opened the cap it came off really easily and i got anxious that it was already opened before i bought it even though it looked sealed.Today was gonna be the day i was going to ignore all my intrusive thoughts but im so scared to drink it because my brain is telling me someone opened it before, but im really thirsty and have to be in school for a long time 😪.What should i do?

Ok little weird question here but does anyone else wake up feeling pretty normal and then feel their ocd set in a bit later? I’ve had this for 6 months now and these past few days I’ve noticed that I wake up completely fine but by the time I’ve come downstairs and let my dog out or made breakfast I feel like the ocd has “set in.” I can’t describe it any other way except my head feels fuzzy particularly in the front part of my brain. It’s almost like the ocd wakes up. This might be really off from what you guys are experiencing but I just want to know. Thank you 💛