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I really need some advice. My rocd is so bad that even spending time with my boyfriend is triggering my anxiety. Is that normal? Is that even rocd or do I just not want to spend time with him? He is great and if I didn’t have negative thoughts when I’m with him I would enjoy it. The first half hr I spend with him I have no anxiety and feel relaxed, but then this horrible anxiety comes over me like I have to be alone and be away from him. I don’t know what this means. Am I torturing myself unnecessarily by being in a relationship with him, because my rocd is not even letting me enjoy time with him? My brain is telling me he is the cause of all my anxiety, but breaking up with him would be awful! We can’t go on holiday either. A relationship shouldn’t be like this should it? I should be excited to see him and have fun, but I just have crippling anxiety when I’m with him because my ocd has associated my boyfriend as the problem. Maybe I’m making rocd an excuse because the thought of being alone is terrifying. I’m scared I’m holding onto something that is really affecting my mental health, but he’s so great and amazing when he’s with me, there’s no reason for these extreme feelings. How do I make this better? Any advice greatly appreciated!!!

It's so hard to improve my self esteem. My thoughts are always focused on the things I don't do right. The things that makes me ashamed of myself my addictions. The things I don't do right. Not believing I should be in a relationship, etc. This is really hard. I often just keep myself in this circle of being hard on myself or just not giving myself the same grace as other people because of bad actions in the past.

im gonna start an ocd support group in the fall (like actually in person) and is it bad that im kinda veiwing it as my dating pool? like a bunch of people that get it and might also have false and real memories ocd like? sounds nice. literally never dated before because i never have time in between these blow out episodes to form a connection or make a date but like i feel like it would be easier with someone who also has ocd because theyd get it.

I need some advice folks. Because I’m conflicted as hell and lost in this. Me and my dad went through something stupidly mean. He’s a complete narcissist, and is rly competent in insensitivity. He’s been emotionally draining ever since I was born and gaslights me frequently. He has severe issues, (especially anger issues), and he’s refuses to fix himself. He always seems to snap and go off at me at the smallest things and it’s caused me great despair in my mental health, and gives me loads of anxiety. Now take in hand what happened with us last week. As of now, I’m unemployed and have been looking for work. And it’s been hard bc the job market sucks. With my depression, I tend to have an awful sleep schedule. I either sleep too much in the morning and stay up all night. And I’m really insecure about this fact because I know that my help is needed around the house. My moms patient with me about it thankfully. My dad says nothing, but I know he’s irked about it.. it’s very hard for me to get out of bed and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t like that at all. So I recently got a new game I love (which is weird because I hardly play games on a consul lately —— Gaslighting Scenario #1: Dad (sees me playing): I guess that playing a game will make you wake up early, huh? *laughs* Me: Umm? That’s really mean to say Dad: Raises voice: How is that mean? I’m not lying am I right? Me: Maybe stop raising you voice and I’ll tell you Dad : NO I WONT because you say crazy stuff like that. Me: All I’m saying is you sounded nit picky. Dad: That’s how YOU see it Not everyone has your brain Dad: Next time I won’t say anything. I’ll keep quiet —- I was heartbroken. I couldn’t even play my game after. I left the room and cried my eyes out to my my snitting and crying. I was completely triggered and disrespected. For him to dismiss me and call my crazy and act like I was in the wrong for being offended: completely vile. I didn’t talk to him for days and when I did finally talk, he didn’t have much to say. I wrote my parents a letter explaining myself about my mental health status lately, I also mentioned how my dad’s joke was insensitive in the letter. Gaslighting Scenario #2: Dad: hey I read your letter Idk what help writing that letter does for you but I’m glad you got it off you’re chest Me: is that all you have to say….? — And it was useless words of no value after that. And he still seemed irked with Me. I’m really pissed that after all that, he didn’t even attempt to say sorry. He read my email letter, and I explicitly mentioned how his joke offended me, but once again he brushes it off like it’s nothing. Just a few days ago he sneaked a hug from me even though I didn’t want to fucking touch him. this man is honestly been nothing but a plague on my happiness and an interference of my peace. I’m still hurt and wanting to be distant with him I feel like if I move on, I’m smoothing over how he hurt me with such an insensitive joke. After all that, should I really move on from this debacle? Or should I stay true to how he hurt me?

Hey everyone. Long post, but just want some advice. I’ve had suicidal ocd, with some relationship & existential on the side lol, for about a year and a half. My suicidal ocd is pretty severe. I did a small amount of erp for a month or two, but then took a break. Last week I started an IOP program. I also take 10 mg of Prozac, and have for about 5 weeks. The first week of IOP was great. This week I have went downhill and feel like my ‘old ocd self’ again meaning heavily ruminating and seeking reassurance. My exposure today was standing near train tracks. It made me sad, and scared. I didn’t want to do it. I keep ruminating. I am absolutely terrified I will not get better. I’m scared I will get depressed and think life is not worth it. Thoughts constantly run through my head. I want to be here so bad, but I’m scared I am going to give up. I constantly worry I won’t be “happy” long term and I won’t recover. Can anyone give me some hope? I am scared I’m a lost caus. Any recovery stories? I’ve never had depression and I’m feeling a bit worried about myself from feeling tired and sad. I don’t know many people with suicidal ocd- I just want to know I can recover. Thanks for reading!

Do you ever just have some days where you’re just chilling and then whenever you think about your boyfriend you start questioning if you love him or not and because you’re not reacting to it strongly and are a bit calm it makes you think that the thought is true? This is how I’ve been feeling for the past two days and it always happens whenever he’s being super clingy and affectionate with me and I don’t understand why it happens when he does that. It could also be because my ex messages me a few days ago saying how he’s going insane and my current bf being worried cause he doesn’t understand why my ex texted me that. Sometimes I do miss my ex but I’m not gonna act on it at all. But because I have these thoughts it makes me question if I even love my current boyfriend or want to date. Can anyone relate?

I confess so many horrible intrusive thoughts to my partner about his height the way he looks other people etc for so many years and now I feel so numb I’m so tired of all these thoughts now they feel real I don’t even know what to say to my boyfriend when he asks if I want to be with someone else because my ocd has become so believable that I feel like I’m supposed to break up with him I feel so sad I’ve been with my boyfriend 5 years and I just don’t even know how to navigate this

does anyone sometimes feel like you think and overthink too much to the point that you actually star believing that it’s true and maybe you’re just in denial? my mind actually convinces me that i have a crush on someone and it really does feel real even though i still feel deep down that something’s wrong. like I know it’s ocd but it feels so real it’s exhausting

My mind keeps popping images of my boyfriend cheating on me and I know he’s incredibly loyal. Suddenly I’m feeling like I’m not good enough and it’s my fault and I have to do better and be better and I keep getting stuck in this loop of actually believing he is cheating on me. I NEVER go through his phone and I did and found nothing. But I keep replaying the times he could have been or am thinking that maybe I missed something in his phone and I don’t know why I’m looking for something that isn’t there or will hurt me. Logically, I know that if he were I deserve better. But even when I start to feel relief or better I start to believe this story in my head again. I’m really struggling with it.

I’m scared I’m lying to myself. All I have is depression and hardly any anxiety about it. I’m on Sertraline and only have been for 4 weeks. I don’t want to have to lose my wife. I feel like my mind has been hijacked.

I don’t know why my brain keeps targeting you but it is and it’s pissing me off, I hate how my head goes like oh did they bleed or enjoyed it or why didn’t they and I know full well why they didn’t and it just pisses me off because I don’t want these fucking thoughts anyone!- Or ask these questions. Oh did you cry?- Or the fact that more stuff pop into my head and me just imagining what happened is stuck in my mind and one of my thoughts- I don’t want to say sexualised- More like it popped up- About a baby!- I DONT LIKE THIS AT ALL!- I know it’s wrong!- I can’t even look at any other porn and my head keeps saying that I like my mom romantically and not platonically!- LIKE WHY ME?!— IT JUST PISSES ME OFF AND I DONT WANT TO TALK ABOUT THIS ANYMORE I JUST WANT TO SEE THE DOCTERS SO I CAN STOP SUFFERING WITH THESE THOUGHTS AND IMAGES, I FEEL LIKE I VICTEM BLAME THEM AS WELL, MY THOUGHTS ARE LIKE THAT WHEN I KNOW IT WASNT THEIR FUCKING FAULT!— AND IM SO SORRY.

Ive been in a relationship for 6 months w the literally love of my life and ive really been struggling not to fall into the insecurities my ocd hounds me about. I struggle to be secure when asking for reassurance about my intrusive thoughts, not because of her, but because of me. She’s made it clear multiple times that me asking for validation is no issue whatsoever (obviously in healthy moderation) and that she would tell me if i was crossing any sort of boundary, yet i am constantly worried that shes only saying it to appease me and that it does really bother her despite there being no evidence of that being true. I also have bad intrusive thoughts that she will fall out of love with me which i hate even typing lest it manifests. I hate thinking this and it upsets me often because it’s not something i want to dwell on. If i keep thinking about it i set us up for failure. If anyone has any coping tips pls lmk!!!

I know this app is for ocd help but I genuinely need some help in my relationship or just some guidance. Does anyone know how to break down built up resentment ? And how to stop anger towards your partner, I’ll take any answer

Hello I’m Ana Sanchez I’m a mother of 2olders young ladies and 6month baby boy I live with my bf the father of my baby boy he’s the stepdad of my daughters… I’m a stay mom at home he works and my oldest goes to high school and the little one goes to middle school.. At the moment I’m at a rough patch of my life.. I have been living with trauma and with anxiety and depression since I can remember growing up my parents were toxic and alcoholism problems with my dad and well I suffer from abandon and well I been single for so many years like 8years and now I’m in a relationship everything start well like every other relationship but now after I give birth I noticed I have become for not myself I been to toxic and super jealous I will I’m ruined my relationship but my bf he always tired to help me and being there for me but idk I still feel weird that I’m not doing a good job as a mother and as a wife I need help I don’t wanna listen and believe to my thoughts and they getting louder and strong I had started going to Christian Church and I have noticed a different but is just here and there I berly started like I said so I do feel I need help.. I have no one to talk and I do have family but I don’t wanna be bothering them with my problems they have enough of problems already.. and I wanna be free I wanna be better and happy with my family and I wanna learn how to forgive so I can be able to move on.. I’m asking for help before is to late…

I’m tired guys. I’m tired of thinking something is always wrong with my health, tired of letting random symptoms/ sensations take over my brain and make me think something is horribly wrong. Tired of thinking I need to go to the doctors to get X & Y looked at. I’m tired of always assuming worst case scenario. I’m tired of constantly thinking if something is unethical/ immoral if I don’t do something, tired of always thinking I’m offending a religious higher being, tired of thinking I’m a bad/ disgusting person for my thoughts. I’ve had OCD ruin so many things for me that should have been fun. It’s ruined intercourse/ intimacy because of religious thoughts, or I keep thinking about STDs/ infections. I’ve been having panic attacks lately, something I’ve never experienced, because of life changes and it’s all gotten in the way of my structured life and it’s been very uncomfortable. Lately I’ve been feeling like I’m in danger, or nothing is real. Right now I’m fearing the most that I’m losing my mind, who I am, and I’m just so scared of my mental health getting worse and going manic or developing a dangerous mental illness. My mental health has NEVER been this bad. This is all new and it’s so scary. I was just fine a few months ago, sure I was dealing with other OCD stuff, the intrusive thoughts, the fears, the repetitive actions just to make sure something is the way I want it/ brings me comfort. But ever since my structure was changed/ ruined, it’s all been downhill. I just finished an EMT program, and that messed with me. Saw/ experienced things I’ve never done before and man, it’s really messed with me. Working on getting a new job in healthcare but still don’t have insurance so getting a new OCD specialized therapist has been difficult. Can someone relate just so I don’t feel like I’m crazy?..

Hello everyone, after a long time. I want some advice about this topic and i want to get things off my chest. Since my partner dumped me, my OCD has been so quiet. My (r)OCD was extremely severe when i was with him, i was anxious, ruminating, doing compulsions 24/7. But now things has been changed. I know i need to be greatful but i don't know, something feels off. For a really long time, i don't ruminate and do compulsions like i used to do. I feel so tired and i avoid doing compulsions or ruminating because it stresses me out, so i runaway and avoid doing compulsions. Im in newly recovery and im taking meds, i don't know if they are working or not but, i feel like i don't have OCD anymore. I don't ruminate, i don't do compulsions like i used to do or when i have an intrusive thought, i try to notice and say "its OCD." And avoid compulsions. Like, i feel like i suddenly recovered. How is this even possible? And this has been like that for a long time. I still get intrusive thoughts and some still do make me feel bad, i still do some compulsions but not like i used to do. They go easily. I valued my partner so much that i was extremely scared to do any bad thing towards to him, i was stressing about everg single thing. But now he is gone, i have less things to stress. Like i said, i still have so-OCD or pure OCD and some other themes. But they are not that extreme. I read my OCD book today and it triggerred me, it was saying "Ocd counts as a disorder when it distorts you and retain you from daily life, if not, then its not a disorder. Its normal." That was like that before, but now it doesn't bother my daily life like it used to be. I know this is a good thing but not for me. What if i don't have OCD? Then what was the all things that happened to me? If i have OCD, i cant have that only on one topic, right? (Relationship) Lastly, OCD used to make me feel like i was in hell. Like, it made me feel so damn horrible that i couldn't eat for days, i was about to off mslf. But now, it feels like OCD is not even there. I don't know. I don't know whats going on. It feels weird to not to be anxious all the time, enjoying life and everything. Its weird. I am greatful, but also scared. What if i don't have OCD? What if i never had it and lied to everyone?

I think i always get some slight attachment for older women. I just always admired them, mostly authorities or i just simply admired them as a older women as a mothers or idk. When i was in high school i had this favorite teacher. She taught me for 7 years. I always felt that we might be somehow connected or that she will help me somehow in the future. When I was in my last year of high school she noticed me that i struggle with mental health, she was always there for me, she even hugged me and reassured me and ive always felt safe in her presence. I was always happy to see her and i think i might make some excuses to just see her and talk with her. So i think i got attached to her. The truth was, that we actually were somehow connected and she also brought be closer to God and she inspired me to become a teacher in the future. Everytime when we had to meet after school i was a bit nervous and sometimes i even wanted to look pretty because i knew that she will give me a compliment. I even said that I love her as my second mother. Sometimes i even thought of her as my mother. When she wasnt responding to my email or a message i strated to panic that i might did something wrong. When i started study my teaching major I even practiced with her at school and i didnt want to disappoint her so i tried to be perfect. Anyway, i have never had sexual or romantic scenerios with her. The only scenarios i had in my mind with her were those that I imagined her as my mother or how she huggs me and comforting me when something bad happens. I used to cry many times when i was thinking about her and I was thanking God that He send me a person like her. I’ve never had butterflies in my stomach around her. I’ve never been aroused in her presence. I’ve never had sexual fantasies with her. But i do get thoughts and doubts that “What if u flirted with her? What if u were secretly into her? What if u have crush on her? What if you love her romantically? What if she is your lesbian awakening?” It bothers me and makes me sad😔 She even kissed me once on my hairs, once on my cheek and I’ve never felt any butterflies or never felt in love and after that happened I wasnt even panicking because i knew it doesnt mean anything and that she only cares for me and nothing else. But im just scared that this is also one of my proofs that I’m a lesbian😔 People told me that this has nothing to do with my sexuality and this actually might mean that im just looking for a mother (i do have a good relationship with my mom so idk why this happens, but i sometimes feel like my mom she is more like a friend and not as a mother who understands my needs and feelings). Anyway, i somehow feel like this doesnt make sense and if i would be in love with this teacher then I would know it. I feel like its bullshit but i cant get over the fact that some lesbians actually had their lesbian awakening when they had a crush on a teacher even though i dont think what i experienced was a crush. 😔

Hi all! I have posted about this before and still not sure about what to do. I am struggling with the question of whether or not I should tell my partner (getting married this week) about the fact that I have OCD and my past experiences with it. And if so how? On the one hand, I think it would be good for them to know that I have this issue (to know me better, and basically strengthen our bond), but on the other hand, I am not sure about how they would react to hearing some of the past manifestations of OCD that I suffered with (mainly POCD and other sexual OCD - about 10 years ago now). My OCD today is mostly checking things around the house to make sure everything is safe - a more “plain” and “non-threatening” (to people without OCD) kind of OCD that wouldn’t be too challenging to discuss. I guess I want to share my experience but wondering if it makes sense to if I am going to leave out the more challenging (but also what has been for me the most impactful) stuff out. And of course keeping that stuff in the disclosure would carry risks as well. Looking online for expert opinions on this is a bit inconclusive. Expert opinions range from “don’t do it, it’s reassurance and these thoughts are meaningless and don’t define you”, through “you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to but it can be helpful”, to “you should probably do it, but maybe don’t share everything”. Any thoughts from anyone who has gone through this? Thanks!

there’s so much happening. i’m so scared God is sending me signs. First, my mom said she felt so bad when she hit my old friends face with a charger one time and her name is faith, and then, I got on my instagram and the first person on there with a post is that same friend, faith. I was like, okay that’s weird. I kinda had a panic attack about it, then I came out to my living room, and the tv mentioned someone named faith, and then a song played that sung about a sign. I correlate everything back to being scared that God wants me to break up with my boyfriend. Idk i have really bad rocd, and i’m terrified God is sending me a sign to do that, how do I know He’s not when signs like this happen? Please help.

I could tell immediately that I was going to have an argument with my gf this morning. She was telling me that she felt some type of way because when she states her opinion on any particular topic, that I respond with, "No I don't feel that way," and then I proceed to state and opinion that is, in her opinion, the same thing that she just said. She described a conversation we had over, Couples Therapy, the show. She also recalled an earlier conversation where I told her if I express a difference in opinion, that she doesn't have to respond, she can just keep the response to herself. That she realized that I was saying that just to be heard. (TBH I vaguely remember that conversation.) I responded to this by telling her that I believe this is an opportunity and that we should discuss it with our therapist, (we had a consultation but have not booked our sessions yet.) and that I know longer feel that way, that I am evolving as a person and that I don't feel that I have a right to dictate how anyone responds to my thoughts or opinions. That it's important to me that we're able to have safe and effective communication in our relationship. Long story short she told me she doesn't trust my response and that she thinks it may change again to something negative. Again I expressed the want to discuss this topic further in therapy and that with all the personal development I have been doing that it's natural for her to feel that way and it's a strong possibility that my feelings and thoughts may change multiple times as I grow. In the end, even after I expressed that I no longer feel she should have to, not say anything when I share my thoughts or opinions, she still brought that conversation back around again and ultimately said that by me wanting to have the conversation with a therapist that I was "weaponizing" therapy against her. This entire back and forth filled me with anxiety, fear, frustration and helplessness. I feel like no matter what I do or say I am in the wrong and I should now be punished with, rejection, isolation, stern responses and gazes and lack of interaction. That no matter what I do for the rest of the day and possibly the rest of the week all my behavior will be scrutinized and placed under a microscope of judgement. How do I move through the day without these dreadful feelings of animosity, shame and guilt?