- Date posted
- 3y
- Date posted
- 3y
It’ll most likely come back. Recovery and waking does not mean cured. It means you have way less anxiety and other symptoms whenever OCD (and other mental illnesses) pop back up. And you also have coping mechanisms to deal with it coming back up.
- Date posted
- 3y
In my case ocd was bad when my father had first stroke, then I recovered, then my mom died and my father had second stroke and my ocd has since doubled from what it was when I first had it.
- Date posted
- 3y
@Vesna Aw, yeah. That’s extremely tough and I’m not surprised your OCD popped up in full force. Whenever I’m extremely stressed, all my mental illnesses will get worse. But with recovery and healing, I know I can get through it and in the meantime, I have a bunch of coping mechanisms to help me.
- Date posted
- 3y
@Nica Thanks for your answer and sorry if mine was "too much". Sometimes I feel my ocd is actually helping my family be ok and that's why I can get rid of it again :). It's silly I know.
- Date posted
- 3y
I think for me it helps to try and live my best positive life. I know that it could show symptoms again but I have to do my best to be happy until that happens bc it could be years
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 3y
OCD will always be there. I think the most important thing you can do for yourself is to always remember what you learned with ERP. Exposures will always be happening in our lives. We have to take them as a lesson to not fall for compulsions again, but to approach them without fear.
- Date posted
- 3y
Sorry to pry but does anyone know if the same subtype can come back in full force? As in, can we relapse with the same subtypes?
- Date posted
- 3y
Yes subtype is irrelevant
- Date posted
- 3y
@Justmesadly I’m so scared from that. I’m still working on it for the past 2+ months. Hard to stay positive
- Date posted
- 3y
@WhyMe? It’s hard as hell , it seems like it’s never ending and in a way it is never ending! But you can get to recovery
- Date posted
- 3y
@Justmesadly Haha “hard” can’t even convey just how difficult this process is! But I’m trying, just some days I’m more hopeful than others. Really does seem never ending at times. Wish we can all get different brains at times. I hope you’re doing well! ❤️
- Date posted
- 3y
Yes, but don't get too hung up on subtype. OCD is OCD. It doesn't really matter what disguise it chooses to wear. ERP works for all subtypes
- Date posted
- 3y
@Lms526 I totally agree but subconsciously I haven’t accepted my type of subtype yet. No matter how much I say I’ve accepted it, I still have not & realized how my brain continually continues to try to “solve” it. My therapist says I need to grive. I still have faith that ERP will click for me :)
- Date posted
- 3y
@WhyMe? Acceptance is tough, but necessary. One thing that really helped me when it comes to ERP is to remember you are learning a new skill. Its no different than learning a new language. At first, it will feel strange and awkward. But the more you practice, the better you against. Eventually, if you work hard, you will become fluent. Your second language will become as natural as English. It just takes time and ALOT of practice. The same is true for ERP. You will get there.
- Date posted
- 3y
@Lms526 Thanks for your input. I’m still learning to accept it. I’ve been doing ERP for almost 2 months now.
- Date posted
- 3y
@WhyMe? Ok girls but how to convince myself that OCD is not good? With magical thinking OCD person believes that she or he is preventing bad things from happening and that's why she or he is ready to accept pain that ocd causes..
- Date posted
- 3y
@WhyMe? One other thing. Acceptance is NOT the same as approval. Accepting the intrusive thoughts does not mean that you like or even agree with them. It just means acknowledging they are there. It can be as simple as saying "This is an OCD thought"
- Date posted
- 3y
@Vesna Basically, realize that you are not that powerful. OCD wants to keep control over you. It wants you to believe that you have the power to keep bad things from happening to other people, but its simply not true. Your thoughts do not have the ability to cause harm to another person. Everything OCD tells you is a lie. Just because it feels true it doesn't mean it is.
- Date posted
- 3y
@Lms526 Ahh makes total sense. Any tips on how to accept my subtype? My major one is SOOCD & I can’t accept that it’s going to be me never being confident with my identity.
- Date posted
- 3y
@Lms526 Thanks for your words
- Date posted
- 3y
@Vesna Just try to remember that you are not powerful and your thoughts are not powerful enough to make things happen. I used to have that but has overcome it. Take the chance that anything can happen but you do not control what happens.
- Date posted
- 3y
@Lms526 I think I remember your nickname and that we already communicated - you wanted to finish some schooling and become OCD therapist. Just read your comments here - I think you're more than ready for that!
- Date posted
- 3y
@WhyMe? Thanks my dear
- Date posted
- 3y
@WhyMe? People with OCD want 100% certainty. But 99.9% of the time it simply isn't possible. For example, I lived kind close to an airport. Planes fly over my complex pretty frequently. Can I say with 100% certainty that a plane will not burst into flames, fall from the sky and kill me as I sit outside on my patio or refill my bird feeder? No. But is it something that is likely to happen? Also no. I am straight, but I have had conversations with people who identify as gay or lesbian. They have told me they knew from a very early age that they were same sex attracted. Is it possible that you will wake up one day and realize you are attracted to women? Yes. But is it likely? Even if there is 0.1% change, that is still technically possible. Bottom line is that you will never know with absolute certainty. The best way to accept that is to say "Maybe, maybe not" Dont try to prove it to yourself, don't Google issues related to sexual orientation. Don't try to argue or reason with OCD. Don't seek reassurance from other people. Just sit with the uncertainty and let your anxiety go crazy. If you don't do any compulsions, it will peak and decline on its own. Acceptance doesn't mean you like or agree with the intrusive thought. Its basically just acknowledging the thought is there. Acceptance can be as simple as saying "This is an OCD thought"
- Date posted
- 3y
@Lms526 Thank you for that, I guess I really needed that as a wake up call. It’s funny, because all of that I know and logically I know that I am 100% straight, but my brain decided to mess with that. Really started with me over analyzing out of nowhere for saying that someone looks pretty in a movie 🤦🏻♀️ I’m guessing that overtime with ERP and maybe with mental stress, I started losing attraction to the opposite sex. Even if I find the opposite sex as attractive my ocd jumps in and decides to ask, “are you sure?”. That for sure puts me in a little of a panic. Really it’s just the feelings that are affecting me. Mental compulsions are the hardest thing to stop and spot. I’m still learning. It’s hard to not focus on the fact that I’m going through this throughout the day.
- Date posted
- 3y
@WhyMe? Yeah....mental compulsions are the worst. 95% of my compulsions are mental. They can be so sneaky. Hard to recognize and even harder to stop.
- Date posted
- 3y
@Lms526 For sure they’re hard and sneaky! 95% or even more of my compulsions are mental, they’re so annoying 🤦🏻♀️ how long have you been in treatment?
- Date posted
- 3y
@WhyMe? I started treatment in August of this year at age 45. But I started having intrusive thoughts when I was 8. OCD was never even on my radar until I heard a podcast where a woman with OCD shared her story and I realized I could relate. The crazy part is it wasn't even a mental health podcast. Like most people, I thought OCD was liking things neat and organized and washing your hands a lot. It was when I learned about the different subtypes and started researching OCD that things fell into place. I actually ended up reaching out to the guest and we have become friends. She has been an invaluable resource to me. We are similar in so many ways. I honestly don't think I could have made as much progress as I have without her encouragement and support.
- Date posted
- 3y
@Lms526 Wow your story is truly amazing, I’m so proud that you started treatment. I also thought that ocd was about organizing and having things symmetrical. I’ve had all of those but never thought it was “dramatic” enough to seek help. It was very much manageable. However, I learned that I also have ROCD & depression OCD all throughout my life (I’m 28), as I learned more about OCD. I’m so glad you have such an influential support system! A great support system is so important during the recovery process. I truly wish you the best and I am so glad that you replied to my questions. I’ve seen you around here so maybe we’ll cross line again.
- Date posted
- 3y
@WhyMe? Thank you so much. I appreciate that.
Related posts
- Date posted
- 24w
**TW for POCD** I’ve spoken about this a few times before. That urge I had to type in “child porn” into google. I talked to my NOCD therapist today about it. She told me the ERP for it was to type it in. She even did it with me. Obviously nothing but news stories, crime statistics, and photos someone would use for a project showed up. I’ve been so petrified of typing that in there. She wants me to do it every two hours and listen to what OCD will say. I typed it in that way, I typed it out full, and I typed it out with an additional word. I clicked and browsed through all the google tabs. I’m okay, but I can’t stop crying. I’m scared to do it again. She said it’s not likely going to get flagged due to people looking that up for research projects and stuff. I’m just afraid repeatedly searching it up will cause some sort of alert. I feel so scared and full of nerves. I guess that’s what the ERP is supposed to do, but it was so scary. So scary :(
- Real Events OCD
- Students with OCD
- POCD
- "Pure" OCD
- Older adults with OCD
- Harm OCD
- Young adults with OCD
- Mid-life adults with OCD
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 19w
December 14, 2024, marked two years since my first ERP therapy session with my NOCD therapist, Mixi. And October 2024 marked a year of being free from OCD. It was not an easy journey, confronting my fears face to face. Exposing myself to the images and thoughts my brain kept throwing at me, accepting that I might be the worst mother, that my daughter wouldn’t love me, and that I deserved to be considered a bad person. It was challenging having to say, “Yes, I am those things,” feeling the desire to run, but realizing the thoughts followed me. At the start of my therapy, I remember feeling like I couldn’t do this anymore. Life felt unbearable, and I felt so weak. I longed for a time before the OCD, before the flare-ups, before the anxiety, the daily panic attacks. I thought I’d never be myself again. But I now know that ERP saved my life. The first couple of sessions were tough. I wasn’t fully present. I lied to my therapist about what my actual thoughts were, fearing judgment. I pretended that the exposures were working, but when the sessions ended, I went back to not sleeping, constantly overwhelmed by fear and anxiety. But my therapist never judged me. She made me feel safe to be honest with her. She understood OCD and never faltered in supporting me, even when I admitted I had been lying and still continued my compulsions. My biggest milestone in therapy was being 100% transparent with my therapist. That was when real change began. At first, I started small—simply reading the words that terrified me: "bad mom," "hated," "unloved." Then, I worked on listening to those words while doing dishes—not completely stopping my rumination, but noticing it. Just 15 minutes, my therapist said. It wasn’t easy. At one point, I found myself thinking, “Will I ever feel like myself again?” But I kept pushing through. Slowly, I built tolerance and moved to face-to-face exposures—sitting alone with my daughter, leaning into the thought that my siblings might die, reading articles about my worst fears, and calling myself the things I feared. Each session was challenging, but with time, the thoughts started to lose their grip. By my eleventh session, I started to realize: OCD was here, and it wasn’t going away, but I could keep living my life despite it. I didn’t need to wait for it to be quiet or go away to move on. Slowly, it began to quiet down, and I started to feel like myself again. In fact, I am not my old self anymore—I’m a better version. OCD hasn’t completely disappeared, but it’s quieter now. Most of the time, it doesn’t speak, and when it does, I know how to handle it. The last session with my therapist was emotional. I cried because I was finishing therapy. I remember how, in the beginning, I cried because I thought it was just starting—because I was overwhelmed and terrified. But at the end, I cried because I was sad it was ending. It felt like I had come so far, and part of me wasn’t ready to say goodbye, even though I had already learned so much. It was a bittersweet moment, but I knew I was walking away stronger, equipped with the tools to handle OCD on my own. If I could change anything about my journey, it would be being open and honest from the beginning. It was the key to finding true healing. The transparency, the honesty—it opened the door to lasting change. I’m no longer that person who was stuck in constant panic. I’m someone who has fought and survived, and while OCD still appears from time to time, I know it doesn’t define me. I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments. Have you started therapy, is something holding you back? Is there something you want to know about ERP therapy? I'll be live in the app answering each and every one today from 6-7pm EST. Please drop them below!
- Date posted
- 18w
Anyone else feel that when they aren’t experiencing a theme that their ocd is almost non existent. It almost makes me feel like I’ve been faking it, and also makes me feel ridiculous for obsessing over things. I feel sorry for myself :/ I know that my themes are valid and felt very real in the moment, but after I “get over” them I just can’t believe that I was obsessing over something that either wasn’t true or didn’t apply to me. I would also like to know how to prevent themes from reoccurring. Health, religion and existential OCD themes tend to take turns throughout my life, I just didn’t know that was it ocd. Trying to break the cycle.
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