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i can’t wrap my head around the idea of ‘accepting uncertainty’ because if something feels like it’s destroying my whole world and sense of self how on literal planet earth would i start with ‘accepting’ that it may be real or whatever? I don’t know if I need a deep explanation about it or something but i just wish i could wrap my head around it or is it just really as difficult and painful as it sounds because i really just don’t get how it works???

I’m wondering if anyone has tips for practicing self love. I feel like I’ve hit a wall because of my ocd, where I’m upset because I was born with a brain that doesn’t allow me to trust myself, and even though my traumas and trials weren’t my fault, it’s still entirely my responsibility to fix the damage that’s been done, a task made extremely difficult because of ocd. I have to trust myself to put in the work to be better, I’ve made so much progress too, but it’s not enough, and it’s not coming fast enough. For example, I have a skin picking problem. I keep making progress and then stress or other factored cause me to relapse. I stare at myself in the mirror and ask myself why I can’t just be normal, why I can’t just stop, leave it alone and let my skin heal. I hate myself for struggling with this, but the more I shit in myself the worse my condition becomes. I want to practice self love, I want to learn to trust myself, but I have no idea where to start. I don’t want to feed into the ocd by googling possible solutions and whatnot, I figured asking members of the community would be a safer choice. If you have any tips to share please do, thanks 💪

Does anyone else find comfort in their OCD? I know I have pretty severe issues that come with it, but it makes me feel better in a way. I want to get better, but I don’t want to lose the feeling of clarity I have from OCD. I am specifically thinking of checking (and even intrusive thoughts in a way). By completing my little compulsions and routines, I can breathe and relax a bit. If I “get better” am I going to be able to be as thorough and careful as I am now? How else will I be able to soothe myself if I can’t do these things? That is very distressing to me because I very much think that my OCD is connected to anxiety, and if I can fix my OCD, will my anxiety become worse or less manageable? Am I going to lose the ability to self soothe? At the same time, I want to get better because the compulsions and routines and thoughts can be extremely overwhelming and upsetting and I waste so much time and energy. I’m just worried that I won’t be a whole person if I can fix myself, but I also don’t feel like a whole person when I’m dealing with it all every minute of the day. Does anyone understand this? How do you go about fixing it without losing part of yourself?

Does being an affectionate person feed anyone else's ocd? I used to be super touch repulsed as a kid and young teen but after alot of therapy I became a really physically affectionate person. I love hugging and cuddling the people I care about, close friends, family, etc. But ever since my first ocd flare up sometimes it can feel like my ocd recontextualizes this to mean I'm some kind of pervert whose uses being an affectionate guy as an excuse to get too close to people. I feel like alot of the time we can shut down parts of ourselves to "apease" the ocdemon as a form of avoidance, but I don't want to be anyone but the friendly guy who loves his friends and isn't afraid to show it. So if you feel the same tell me ur story, maybe we can support eachother

Hey everyone, I’m really struggling with intrusive thoughts and sometimes images. How does everyone cope with this? Is there anything I can try, I’m trying to accept them but each time I do, I feel like terrible person. It’s getting the better of me lately n it’s like I have a massive weight on my chest n all I feel is guilt for having these thoughts. Any help would really be appreciated

Right as I’m starting to feel happy again I get hit with what feels like intrusive feelings… sometimes of sadness or anger which then triggers my intrusive harm thoughts. Not sure if this is a mood disorder or just ocd. They don’t feel like what my true feelings should feel like if that makes sense.. ugh the feelings are harder to deal with than the thoughts. Trying to lean into them but it’s hard.

Yesterday my in laws said I could hold my nephew and my head said what if you throw the baby I hate OCD :( I would never harm a baby

For the past fee days my ocd has fixated on my boyfriend losing one condom i cant get over it Then a few things he said im over thinking now I was drunk (for context) He then asked me to check if his brother replied on whatsapp and my intrusive thoughts got the better of me and i checked his archived messages i didn’t look properly because i felt bad so i just came out of it- but now i just feel like a horrible human. I dont want to be someone who doesnt trust their boyfriend i feel like ive abused his trust Anyone got any advice here

constant intrusive thoughts, constant groinal responses. couldn’t even watch a video on TikTok of a toddler throwing a fit bc she opened her legs and immediately my pocd acted up. it gives me groinal responses, bad thoughts, and feelings of anxiety, fear , and shame. I hate this. How do I get through life like this? I can’t even imagine being a teacher or a parent, because the next thought that comes is images of me hurting children. thoughts of “ur a p, ur destined to be a p, ur gonna eventually end up hurting a kid” “ur only freaking out because u know u will be shunned” I hate this. The thoughts go into so much detail and feel so real. No matter what I say or do, it argues back and convinces me im a p. Everytime I see children, anywhere, I can’t stand it because of this. I’m scared to have kids out of fear I will hurt them and do something bad to them for my own pleasure. I feel like one day im just gonna snap and hurt kids. I can’t take this at all. It feels so real. I don’t know what to do. I am crying as I am writing this. The groinal responses feel like actual arousal. I feel so angry, and sad, at the world and myself. I am scared and I think I am actually a p, and instead should get help for that instead of ocd. I don’t know what else to do

Hello, does anyone here want to talk about their day and how they use coping strategies to get through their day I’m curious to hear how you guys fight your compulsions and intrusive thoughts I like to get another perspective because that helps me

To people who think that "we know that reassurance seeking isn’t the way but being able to feel like your not crazy for two minutes is so relieving" - grow up and stop condoning it. It is so sad how sneaky your OCD is being - please talk to a therapist and/or read this article.: https://www.treatmyocd.com/blog/reassurance-seeking-ocd-anxiety-how-to-stop-cycle?utm_adgroup=&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=NOCD_PM_US&gclid=CjwKCAjw9cCyBhBzEiwAJTUWNRPQdMC3Qr_jIeP7TZs5Te3utQbOtiihwe2ppRvLh7qkG-6RCGF9vhoCX6wQAvD_BwE "To Anna, Taylor’s reassurance felt urgent. In the moment, it seemed like the only thing that would calm her down. Taylor, meanwhile, was strengthening Anna’s dependence on her response. “The hard thing about reassurance is that for most people, [reassurance] would help, but it feeds into the OCD,” David says. “You have an intrusive thought, you ask someone for reassurance, and you might feel better for some time, but then the OCD keeps cycling through. It comes back.”

Does anyone else find themselves identifying with their intrusive thoughts? Like you believe that it’s really you and not some mental illness ? It feels like it really is me cause it shouldn’t feel so NORMALIZED in my own mind. How do I reverse this?

DO YOU HAVE INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS ABOUT CERTAIN PEOPLE? Like, a specifical person that annoys you more than the others that show in your intrusive thoughts. Because of that, it feels as if I actually were attracted to that person, I can't take this.

I realized recently that there is nothing I fear more than uncertainty. All my obsessions are that fear dressed up in different clothes. Accepting uncertainty desensitizes the brain to the fright of this, and therefore, the obsessions begin to dwindle because the brain is no longer fighting shadows to survive. It’s safe. You’re safe.

It genuinely feels like this disorder is taking away my whole life. I cant go outside and hangout with the people I love or even be around strangers because my thoughts will include them and I’ll just get really uncomfortable and anxious. It has made me distance myself from so many ppl in my life and made me have thoughts and feelings that I don’t want and that I hate making me feel like a monster and a disgusting person. Sometimes I’m genuinely so close to taking my life. It feels like there’s no hope for me at all and that I’ll be like this forever fighting my own brain till I’m old and on my death bed. I’m supposed to be enjoying my summer but I just can’t. I cant go outside, I can’t go on social media, hell I can’t do anything because there will be a child around that will trigger me into a spiral. I can’t stay all summer locked up in my room and constantly making excuses to not go out. It’s been feeling so real too like I’m really the type of person that I don’t want to be and it’s so scary.

Firstly, congrats to all of you! It’s very inspiring to see so many of these badges and I hope to join you one day. I have 2 questions: 1. How long did it take for therapy to noticeably improve your symptoms? I know everyone is different, I’m just trying to get an estimate. 2. Do any of you have “Pure O?” I’m just terrified that my pure o will be too hard to treat.

Hello, today I feel that I will not be able to overcome my OCD, there are so many intrusive thoughts that are coming into my mind, and I don't know how to manage or leave them there without making compulsions. Can you recommend me what I can do? I have sessions with a therapist every week, but after 10 sessions the thoughts are still strong and I don't know how to manage them. Thank you!

I'm struggling really badly with terrible thoughts and urges. I feel I'm going crazy. Im a kind person and I can't cope with it.

Since the age of 11/12 i've struggled with OCD. It started when I was at secondary school. My compulsion was to constantly check my homework was packed for the next day, this would happen all too frequently. I never really knew what was happening and just accepted this is who I am without really speaking to my parents about it. OCD has continued and various sub types have appeared and disappeared over time, still at this point I just thought "this is me and everyone has their quirks" I'm now into my mid 30's and in particular the last 3/4 years have been incredibly difficult. I was definitely in a state of depression alongside with chronically bad OCD and anxiety. I'm thankfully past that stage without much external help or medication. Since the start of this year I've been doing mindfulness exercises and learning more about OCD. I live in the UK and have not seen a doctor about this and therefore never been diagnosed. The general advice seems to be to use telephone talking services? I'd be interested to know more from people living in the UK about what there experience has been with our public or private services?

I had an intrusive thought. It was sticky. It made my head buzz and my chest feel tight. I thought will this be all day? I haven’t felt so scared of a thought in a while. It was intense, and I was not sure what to do, other then check in with my body and not to give in to the fear or uncertainty! The time was 9:43 when I was terrified I may act on my thought and by 9:57 the thought went from…I will….i could….i may….it’s totally possible…..anyyyyyyyy minuteee noowwwww…to wow the moments passed!!? Give yourself 10 mins 😜