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Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish what thoughts are mine and what are the ocd.. I find myself looking back at my relationship and reflecting to see if I actually had any thoughts about breaking up and I didn’t, but my brain is saying that I did, even though I wouldn’t be with my boyfriend this long if I didn’t love him. I don’t know how to handle thoughts that are direct like, you don’t want to be with him, even though I don’t like those thoughts and I get emotional. This is so hard to live with, I’m really trying but day 3 with this and my boyfriend seems like a stranger and I don’t know how to go on like I did before I had this.. I want to be with my partner but now I don’t feel confident anymore saying that.. I just hope that’s the ocd talking..

I’m so freaking hungry but I can’t be bothered to make any food

Ok first off, hey guys. I’m new to this platform. I’m fixating on a religious theme right now and one specific rumination is this idea of repentance or converting. It’s a feeling that’s super duper uncomfortable for me now. It’s been in the back of my mind for awhile and it comes and goes, but I’ve been spiraling for the past couple days trying to avoid it and I’m trying to face the feelings head on. I’m in a Christian household that attends church regularly and is concerned with biblical doctrine but I don’t know if I’m that religious honestly. I resonate with some Christian sentiments but I have my disagreements with the church and I’m kinda open with possibilities about religion and existence. I’m also not straight. Overtime, this dichotomy between my own views and the organized Christianity I’ve grown up with has taken shape in my mind and occasionally I’ll feel pressure to make a black and white choice. This urge has come full force now that I’ve started obsessing about it. I’ll visualize this idea that in order to make sure that I’m completely saved I need to repent and become a bonafide Christian right now or else this feeling will follow and haunt me for the rest of my life if I don’t do it and my heart will be hardened and I’ll be unable to be saved. But no matter how much I think about it, I’ll consider it and then I’ll experience this overwhelming feeling of dread it’s distressing honestly. That’s kind of been the root of my newest ordeal, and I’ve started ruminating about this and questioning what my beliefs should be and now I feel so confused, drained, and tired.

Does anyone feel really anxious about something and your thinking about something and ruminating then like in a millisecond you completely forget what it was and then you try and figure it out because what if the thing you were worried about was super important. Does anyone else experience this?

Does anybody else without realizing side eye their intrusive thoughts sometimes like bfr now🙄 lolll

I feel like I have no control over the intensity of my thoughts and feelings. I want to just liquify my brain and let it drain out of my ears. It’s torture to want to escape one’s own thoughts😮‍💨

Hey everyone, I hope things are going well. I’ve been off this app for a while because I’ve been doing pretty well ocd wise (have had some slips but I’ve managed them). It’s been over a week since weaning off one of my medications, which was an antipsychotic, and so far nothing has felt bad but I’m a little scared I’ll feel withdrawals or something soon lol. Has anyone taken such a medication before for ocd and had success weaning off?

is it hard for y’all to read sometimes when your ocd is flaring up? it can take me up to 10 minutes just to read a single page sometimes because i convince myself that i miss read it or didn’t comprehend it correctly. and like i have a high reading level and i love reading, this is just making it extremely hard

i’m sorry i’m new to this app but what is the bottom corner blue circle button i clicked on it and it said sos so i’m kinda scared now 😭

There’s another line too that says “because I have other things to fill my day” which speaks to me in a way of saying I have other and better things to fill my day than intrusive thoughts and rumination

i wish i had a friend or someone to talk to that is going through this same situation 😓 especially irl

Hey y'all, what're some of your old exposures that have now become enjoyable? One of mine has been evening walks. Used to an exposure now I love them 😂

I’m a Christian and struggle a lot with scrupulosity. I recently moved states and am surrounded by a lot of ppl with different beliefs than me. I have encountered a lot of different spiritual people and people telling me things that make no sense. This one guy told me about how he can heal people. He said cthat the greatest embodiment of the Enlightened state is that of the Christ - the discovery of man's source of power within himself - that light of God - the Christ consciousness is that "Christ.” He keeps mentioning christs consciousness and expanding his consciousness. It just sounds so creepy and demonic. I don’t believe that we can be God, that we are all one, and that we can have the powers of Jesus or God. And now my ocd is freaking out that I’m wrong, or that he is right. Or that he could be possessed. Or i could have committed blasphemy. Idk. Has anyone else experienced this?

I have moments of relief but other moments of extreme anxiety, stress and heart raising. I’m really tired of worrying about “what ifs” like I’m scared I’ll give up and be locked in a loony bin or in prison. existential OCD and constantly worrying about what’s real and what’s now, or who is and who isn’t is exhausting and scary. I’ve dealt with this in the past but it doesn’t make this round any lighter. Like sick and tired of not essentially knowing what to believe, combine it with dpdr it’s really tiring and physically exhausting Anyone going/went through this and have any tips or in-site. Open ears, I just wanna go back to how I was before these intrusive thoughts didn’t come up again. Would therapy or medication help and what can I do to help it.

Today i made my shower water hotter, just to feel something. I think i’m gonna spend the rest of my life stuck in my head. I miss when my thoughts would float like clouds, now they stick like honey. Sometimes i think God hates me, because why do I deserve this at such a young age. I feel alienated, I don’t even know who I am anymore. I’m uncomfortable with my thoughts and feel like my brain is paralyzed, i’m probably gonna have to learn how to be human again after this, like a paralyzed person has to learn how to talk & walk again. Every thought has a thought now. I look at life on a molecular level now. I have recently been questioning my own existence and if i’m even alive, is this all a dream? Existential OCD has taken my life away from me, and i don’t know how to get it back. This is the scariest thing i’ve ever been through and nobody around me understands how tough it is for me everyday, there is a war inside my mind. I’m so tired.

Does anyone also feel the need to wash their hands a certain amount of times and then a certain amount of times with a higher need? Like I wash my hands 3 times but 5 times if someone sneezes or coughs and such and touches me?

They feel even more real now…..

Anyone else feel like they’re counting 24/7? Always to an even number I can’t stand odd numbers. I wash my hands twice every time, always have the volume on an even number, touch my eyes eight times and then blink eight times before I go to sleep, and always make sure I take an even amount of bites.

Today was a good day not many thoughts and when they came I reminded myself that they don't mean anything anymore they don't define me and I am stronger than them and I was actually able to eat and smile!! God bless you all I hope you are all having a great day and if not remember how strong you are!!!

I have a little Etsy shop and honestly there is little that makes me as happy as packing orders. I wish it could be my full time job haha

do intrusive images/thoughts get worse when you try to ignore them? i keep getting the same sometimes more graphic pocd images and thoughts but i don't get anxiety i think?? i get super bad terrible guilt that makes me feel inhumane. i picture everyone i know knowing and i feel like dy1ing 😭

How do you deal with the guilt that comes with having negative thoughts about your partner and you can’t tell them? It makes me feel like I’m keeping secrets from them and then intensifies the want to leave the relationship cause I’m hiding feelings and thoughts from him

Today i tried on some secondhand clothes and now I fear that I have spread the germs from them to my other clothes and my bed. How do I deal with this and is it even OCD?

What a flattering picture of me! 😂

Anyone else deals with low confidence because of ocd and it affects all aspects of your life including dating friendships work socializing etc

Yoshi

Can toxic manipulation trigger OCD?

I fear if I’m not constantly consuming media I will get intrusive thoughts. I know I need the exposure therapy of going screenless. Should I get a dumb phone? I set limits but often end up breaking them.

Are there any supplements that help with OCD? Obviously they’re not magic, but I’m curious to know if there are any and how good they work.

not ocd related but im so sick rn and i feel horrible lol

Hyper awareness of thoughts. All thoughts. Constantly aware. Every one gives me anxiety it doesn’t matter the content. Help

I started Zoloft a little over a month ago but I still have intrusive thoughts and depressive episodes. This makes me believe I’m faking my ocd and using it as an excuse ;(

can anyone recommend a good lgbtq+ therapist😭😭😭

I have the day off and my team, which includes my supervisor, knew well in advance....so why do I sit her riddle with anxiety feeling like I skipped work and will lose my job?

Been having a couple of rough days and wondering if this happens to y’all

An old theme of mine ended up returning and it feels as real as ever, I really don't want to act on this thought, but it's making me feel like I want to or that I should even thought it's the last thing I'd ever want. I'd truly appreciate some advice

Today everything made me angry including my existence literally. And the thoughts were more loud and confusing somehow even if I know this thought is ocd thought. I know I did mental compulsions today for sure bc I got so stressed and anxious. The past 2 days I get anxious abt what I even speak or tell people what u talk about with my friend and it’s like my mind is trying to make sure that I didn’t say something make them think I’m weird or suspicious. To summarize, today was tiring for me & my brain

How can i know its ocd like im sure i dont want it but i get this constant doubt that im faking and that I actually like it, i dont get disgust no more and stared reading about the deep down feeling and i feel loke i dont have it even tho i think i do hahahaha its kind of confusing.I know deep down that i want to be straight but my mind is making me feel like its not ocd anymore that i was using it as an excuse

Just introducing myself, feel free to comment. My main interests are memes, video games, and i love modding (modifying) super smash bros ultimate. Heres some pics of my dog shes cool

I have lived with addictions and mental health issues alike for 3-4 years now and am thinking of starting a blog. I have been through many treatments, some successful and others not, and I would love for suggestions on a first blog topic!

I would never cheat on my partner…. Why why why why is this the theme of ocd that I have.

Does anyone else get headaches or jaw pain whenever you talk to someone that your ROCD is latched on to? What could I do to relieve it? I feel like the only way to fix the pain is not talk to the person anymore but I don’t want to do that.. at least I think I don’t want to. Please help.

I have three different crushes and idk what to do

I always ask my partner if they still love me and i always worry if she is disinterested in me and i get really upset about this idea of if she doesn't love me or doesn't want to stay with me. Could this be relationship ocd?

Hope you guys are having a great day. If you're not, just breathe & know that there's light at the end of the tunnel 🫶🏽

I just finished pure OCD by Chrissie Hodges and was wondering if anyone can recommend other pure o (mainly) memoir recommendations? Or places where I can read articles regarding people's experiences with pure o. Thank you!

Hello, does anyone know answer to this? Prolly not but worth asking!

hiii i’m haylie and I’m new to this app. I’m 21 years old with OCD! :)

I would appreciate someone weighing in on postpartum OCD. I’ve had OCD for as long as I can remember, but it spiked during pregnancy and now it’s attacking me postpartum. I’m up to 80mg Prozac, Seroquel as needed, and participating in weekly ERP. I’m trying everything I can but I’m ruminating nonstop about making a mistake with my baby’s name. It’s eating me alive. My whole pregnancy I obsessed over what items to buy the baby and was always content with the name my husband and I picked. Then, once the items were purchased, I started fixating on the name. I feel like I’d be most present if I chose a different name. I’m also wondering if maybe this isn’t OCD and I just made a mistake? Any positive feedback would be appreciated.

I have a question ☝🏻 Is OCD something you’re born with or is it something that develops over time? Because I only started getting extreme symptoms in 9th grade. Once I started doing physical compulsions in 11th grade, everyone was kinda confused on why I started doing these things out of nowhere But I remember as a kid always making sure my body felt even. It wasn’t anything crazy. Like whenever I was walking on the sidewalk and felt my foot step on a crack, I would make sure my other foot stepped on a crack as well in the same spot to make my feet feel even again. I remember mentioning this to my cousin thinking it was something relatable but they didn’t know what I meant lol. And ever since I was a kid, I’ve always liked the number 3. It just feels right ya know? It’s a good amount for me. I count to three a lot and I forever will. I will forever do things 3 times. I used to judge people if they said their favorite number was anything but 3 lol. So, are we born with OCD? Is it developed over time? Both?

Anyone else get really angry and upset when those that are sick around them continue to live about their days and spread germs without quarantining themselves. My mom is very unhygienic overall, (probably what caused my contamination OCD in the first place). She’s super sick right now and refuses to stay in her room and is instead touching every surface she possibly can, wants to socialize, heavy mouth breathing, etc. It makes me so angry to see someone not realize that they have a moral responsibility to avoid getting others sick. She does not even wash her hands. I’m having to wear masks and gloves in my house and disinfect every 30 minutes because she keeps coming out of her room. I’m beyond stressed right now.

I just want to get better, live better!

I am starting to realize it interfere with my ability to function a lot and I want things to get better.

Does anyone ever feel like cleaning and de-cluttering is too hard for their OCD. It’s as if I can’t part ways with any of my stuff no matter how bad I want to. Any tips??

Is it normal for OCD to manipulate your feelings and make you feel guilty for loving your partner? I have both religious OCD and relationship OCD I felt like loving my partner is a sin. So i felt guilty for loving him. But now, I feel guilty for feeling guilty for loving him. I love his everything. I love loving him so much. I just want to enjoy my relationship.. i want these days. Im so tired. I don't deserve him. I feel like an horrible partner.

Could use some encouragement today, I’m going to my first IOP consultation and currently very anxious and sad. It’s a big step for me, but I’m scared. Even at 26 years old my mom is still going to go with me.

I know confessing is a big thing for OCD and most of time it has to do with feeling guilt/shame. For example: someone who sufferers with ROCD might feel the urge to confess to their partner that they looked at someone or found some attractive, this has to do with shame/guilt. However, as a kid I remember feeling the need to confess about things that made no sense, had nothing to do with shame/guilt or doing something bad. For example: As a kid I would see a cat on the sidewalk and 5 min or 10 hours later my brain would tell me “tell your sister/mom about the cat.” and I felt physically compelled to tell them. It was always weird/random things I felt the need to confess, sometimes I had to keep repeating the same thing & I could tell my family was annoyed but I couldn’t help it. Some days I couldn’t keep myself quiet and would talk the WHOLE DAY, I would cry because I couldn’t stop myself. I don’t suffer from this type of confessing anymore, but does this make sense? Was it OCD?

…. and I just feel awful about how I was as a mom when my kids were born, especially with my second. I just cycle through all the scenarios where I went completely wrong, felt I was unfit, or where I should have should have reached out when I was struggling mentally or physically, but didn’t. I don’t want to say that medication would have radically made me a better parent, but I feel like I could have really benefited from it (I was recently diagnosed within the last few years with OCD and ADHD.) I feel like I am way better now that they are older, but I don’t feel like it takes away to what happened in the past. It’s just getting exhausting continuing on like this day in and day out and I don’t want to do it anymore.

Anyone else a teenager here? I’m 15 nearly 16

I’m struggling so bad today… I literally constantly think I have cancer. I had a scare in the past and recently they found cysts on my ovaries but I feel like I have a lump in my throat and I’m convinced it’s something bad… I’ve gone to the doctors so many times, I’m sure they’re annoyed with me by now. I can’t calm my anxiety, please help

One thing I’ve learned as a sufferer with OCD which may calm people down is whenever they get an intrusive dark thought laugh at it! Like literally make it into a joke, make it funny, overtime your brain will realise that it’s not important because you aren’t getting distressed by it. Hope this can help someone

Defeated. I am tired, I am stressed, and I just want peace. Nothing feels like it is going to get better. I am at a constant battle with myself. My brain and my heart/gut just don’t even speak at this point. I feel like I’m going crazy; it’s not normal to try and convince your brain it’s wrong. I am just tired..

The day I understood everything, was the day I stopped trying to figure everything out. The day I knew peace was the day I let everything go.

is it normal to be so stressed that you simply can’t focus and it feels like you are dreaming and nothing is real?

Tough day today, sometimes I see no way out of this

Does anyone have any compulsions that your brain wants you to do but it is physically impossible, example- touching your tongue to your nose, twisting a way you can’t etc? My therapist said because I felt like I couldn’t do something like moving to a new environment my brain is playing tricks on me with the compulsions.

I hate how ocd makes me feel, i feel ded inside honestly. Today whole day I tried my best, best to keep going and not give it all again but now the feeling is back that sad kinda feeling can't describe it... (also when my periods date get closer I tend to get more anxious and my OCD gets bad)

Day 3 of accepting my thoughts with the anxiety is so hard but I feel so much better after the anxiety pass but I still get negative thoughts like I m tired of this anxiety every day I never want to feel that anxiety again that’s where I m getting a little bit stuck on those thoughts

What do you do when you have a memory from the past but you don’t know if it’s real or created by ocd, a false memory? This is so hard🥺

If you’re on sertraline, what is your current dosage and what was your experience tapering up? I’m in such a rut on 75mg just so depressed and bothered more by my thoughts. I honestly feel like I felt better on 25/50mg and those are so low. I’m so confused.

What are your experiences with this drug?

What happens if you don’t have insurance? And I still make a call?

I’ve been doing so great with my ocd. I finally can say I feel like a human again. But I’ve been having terrifying horrific dreams and every sleep paralysis. Anyone else?

I’m sad. Just really really sad. My ROCD also loves to spice it up with false memory and real event OCD. I’m anxious but I’m more so sad tonight because I just wish I could go back in time and change everything. Not vent to people about when my husband made me mad. Not go out with friends. To know how to communicate better. To change so much. So my OCD couldn’t use my venting as fuel. So my OCD can’t create false memories. So my OCD doesn’t take past events and use them against me.

I've struggled with many different themes of OCD for over 10 years now, but Real Event OCD feels like the most agonizing and distressing. Has anyone used NOCD for helping with Real Event OCD?

I was never confident about becoming a Dad, it I went for it and I think I've been doing great, I can say I would say I've done myself proud. I drop my three year old off at nursery even morning, and I got asked by the teacher to go on the parent council. I said " I dont know, I'm really nervous " She said to me I do t need to be and they are asking me because they think I will be fantastic, as I am calm and sensible, so are the type of person they want, which made me feel good. Why thogh, why is it me who gets that? Everyone else are there with their kids, so I reluctantly said yes and the teachers seemed very happy and smiled, and were saying how good I will be. I don't want to do it lol It seems like a lot of effort and pressure and I'm already a sufferer of OCD. This is a fear I don't have to face to be honest, it's optional and I don't know how to process this. Either do it, or be honest and say I don't want to do it. Problem is I don't even know truly what it is. It's only nursery and I don't know if I'd feel like the type of person confident enough to be on a parent council. It sucks to feel happy one moment and then got days on end only focus on the fear

Hey guys I’m new to this page. I have really bad anxiety, ODC, and depression from the anxiety and OCD. I’m scared to go to therapy because I will like talking g about it will make it worse. I feel like this is never going to go away. I try to stay positive and have hope but it’s so hard. How do I get my old life back :(

is it possible for your ocd to sexualize or make everything violent?? even smells? ik i sound crazy but i keep overthinking every single thing bc i'm so terrified of my ocd

For a better life

It all started around a year ago when I had a friend stay the night. It was pretty late and we were playing video games I was sitting on my chair and he was sitting on my bed. He kept trying to get me on the bed with him but I kept declining the offer and I didn’t really think anything of it. After a few hours my neck started to hurt from looking up at the tv so I decided to sit on the bed with him. He then put his head on my shoulder and I started freaking out. I had what I think was an intrusive thought but idk for sure and my brain asked me should I kiss him. This gave me so much anxiety because I’ve never had a thought like this before and I know I didn’t want to. Shortly after I said I’m going to bed and he fell asleep right next to me. I couldn’t fall asleep that night I had so much anxiety with a million thoughts running through my head. I’ve been having intrusive thoughts ever since. Does this sound like ocd or am I just in denial? I need to know the answer

Feeling like when my husband and son leave the house and I'm home alone or just with my 3 year old that I'll start seeing things outside like things coming out of the sky that I know is not realistic but it scares me so bad that I can't be home alone without panicking and wanting to run somewhere. Any suggestions?

Just completed my first psychiatry appointment! Very proud of myself

Idk if anyone seen my post yesterday. This girl I'm talking to is very beautiful. And we met in person and been talking for a month I think. I really started liking her for like 2 weeks then I stated getting bad intrusive thoughts and it's kind of making it seem to myself like I'm ignoring her on purpose when I see her or overthinking or not finding her as attractive and she is a lot dif then me I think like goth/emo alternative is but not sure which one. But very cute. And I get really bad thoughts about her everytime I think about her and it's very annoying. How do I cope with this it's making it worse with you doubt. Like my mind/ who wants me to be alone forever. And I've dated once but never fell in love or had sx with her so idk why my thoughts keep doing this.

Is it normal when you have rocd to feel like there’s something wrong all the time. Even tho my relationship is healthy and I love him and he loves me and things went good, I feel like something isn’t right and idk what it is

So today I visited a professional and gave me a prescription just to take the edge of ocd so I can practice ERP, I don’t know how feel about it, especially because of the stigma around meds.

feels like everything becomes associated with an intrusive thought at this point. whenever I try and do even a simple task, a intrusive thoughts pops up. It’s draining, because I end up avoiding such tasks because of this. things such as reading or watching a show have been ruined for me because of this.

i got showed a girl from schools nudes without my genuine consent i was hanging out with my friend and some of his friends and they were like "hey wanna see the __ photos" and i was like umm cause i know which ones they were talking abt and they showed me which technically means they were in possession of CP and i feel ill knowing that i may have been shown that . i tried to laugh it off and be like "omg what!!" but now im like god i feel bad for the poor girl idk why i ever considered letting them show me (we're all the same age and none of my other friends feel guilty about being shown it but im like whatttt!!!!) also this happened a while ago like march before my ocd really developed and i never thought about it.

Can you have multiple themes but with 1 theme being the WORST and the othet themes being not that intense? like i have 1 theme that effects me daily and my other themes effect me here and there but not a lot

Just came across this concept “counterintuitive”in physics class and I think it’s very useful when dealing with ocd. A lot of the times our intuition tells us something bad is happening or is going to happen, but we can remind ourselves to act counterintuitively (like physics using math to explore the world) and this will give us a reason to keep going with our own stuff when intrusive though hit

Hi guys does anyone has experience w this medicine? I feel ike it doesn’t work to me… Xanax works way better but it can be taken for a longtime…

Let your prayer be completely simple. For both the publican and the prodigal son were reconciled to God by a single phrase.-7th Century Church Theologian John Climacus

my intrusive thoughts are so bad and they attach themselves to everything i see/do is this ocd?? i was on ig and saw something somewhat sexual and my brain came up with me hurting someone sexually with the thing i saw on instagram. It's this ocd??? im so tired of feeling crazy

Just trying this app out! Lots of useful info after reading others stories!

Hey ocd people… i was wondering if im the only one still feeling a bit sad even though my ocd is much better? Is it normal? Will ocd just keep making you feel a bit sad?

Has anyone experienced derealization due to extreme stress and anxiety from intrusive thoughts? I had an episode of derealization back in 2021 after intrusive thoughts about health and getting cancer and now after a lot of intrusive thoughts about harm which caused me unexplainable about of anxiety, life doesn't feel real anymore. I've been feeling like this for two days now. So i'm either going crazy or experience derealization

I just feel so bored I life and sad and I’m just longing for something exciting but I’m 16 in December so it’s a weird age where I can do lots of things if I want to but at the same time I’m still kind of a child so like I’m longing to do more adult things but I’m not allowed to if that makes sense,I’m just longing for an exciting experience, does anyone else feel like this

i have this theme where i convince myself i’m actually dumb and that i can’t be happy. like my defaulted destiny is to be miserable and any attempts to be happy j won’t work. i don’t know if it’s ocd or if it’s true?