- Date posted
- 3y
- Date posted
- 3y
Wow thats good. What helped you get though it? Im still on my journey to inner peace and putting it all together.
- Date posted
- 3y
Well...I'm 45 and started having intrusive thoughts around age 8. I didn't know I had OCD until this past summer. I listened to a podcast featuring a guest who lives with OCD. I was shocked to realize I had many of the same thoughts. Up to that point, I had no idea what I was experiencing wasn't normal. I thought everyone struggled the way I did.i also had a limited understanding of what OCD was. I thought it was handwashing and liking things neat and organized. I had no idea about the other subtypes. So once I learned about NOCD and ERP, I jumped in with both feet. Just prior to starting treatment was one of the lowest times of my life. I had tried years of traditional talk therapy, but never made any progress.
- Date posted
- 3y
Wow im currently 18 and have been going through it for a year now. My goal is to have inner peace through all the chaos and what my head tells me. Would you have any tips by chance?
- Date posted
- 3y
The best advise I can give is to go all in when doing ERP. Halfway won't cut it. Expect it to be hard and terrifying. The more you do ERP the easier it gets. Its kinda like learning a second language. When you first start out, it feels very awkward and uncomfortable. But the more you practice the easier it gets. If you stick with it, eventually you will be fluent. But I promise you, the benefits of doing ERP is so worth it. Also, you will feel worse before you feel better. Also, setbacks will happen. But they don't undo the progress you have made. Take it one day at a time. You will have good days and bad days.
- Date posted
- 3y
Lms526, So awesome that you took the leap of faith to not only start therapy, but to finish and fully embrace your OCD! Congratulations. You know, we all struggle with something. Some people have more than one, unfortunately. But, what my battle with OCD has taught me is that when we face and admit that we struggle, like me and you with OCD, all of a sudden OCD and anxiety in general lose their power over us. Throw some daily ERP, meditation, and faith building into the mix and I believe you have the š to success in not only your battle with OCD, but in life in general. I think that you wanting to share your story and knowledge to help others is a wonderful thing. It is definitely a major stop on the road to a lifetime of recovery. I remember a couple of years ago I would just hop on this app and reply to random people in need of advice in the areas of my expertise/experience. Helping guide others through the darkness that is all subtypes of OCD is truly the definition of taking something negative and turning it into a positive. You can also meet and connect with therapists/leaders in the many support groups that are offered on the App! Keep staying positive, continue to get better and better everyday, and know that OCD is not going to take away from the destiny God has planned for you. Stay fearless. Best, Tyler
- Date posted
- 3y
Thank you so much!
Related posts
- Date posted
- 14w
This is my first post on this app, though I made this account back in late September of 2021. I grew up in a toxic environment, and was mentally abused by my parents, included being taken advantage of because of my autism. Iāve been suffering from OCD as long as I can remember. Ever since I was a child, Iāve sometimes had thoughts that scared me, and Iād often try to find ways to calm myself down. Iāve had thoughts over the smallest and silliest of things, but as time went on, these thoughts suddenly became more violent, like wanting to step in front of moving car while waiting for the bus, or grabbing a knife on the dinner table and using it to stab a family member. Even thoughts of death and what happens afterwards scared me. Aside from being afraid of a kids horror show for a while, OCD did bother me at points in my life, but they never severely crippled me⦠until my teenage years. Throughout my teen hood, I would very occasionally suddenly imagine fictional child characters being SAād. I would also sometimes imagine children getting injured while noticing them sometimes. I didnāt know why those thoughts popped up into my head and they would weird me out, but I would be able to usually push them aside and not think about them too much⦠but it got worse after I was dropped out of high school without my consent by my parents. In March of 2017, I was at a gas station when I saw a child and imagined doing a disgusting action with them. It freaked me out immensely and sent me into a panic attack. I was able to calm down from it shortly after, but I think it planted a seed into my brain, and it would launch a horrific attack on me the very next month. Me and my family were driving around a town for a special occasion when I had the worst OCD attack Iāve ever had. Every child I saw, I imagined doing something disgusting to them. I was having a full blown panic attack and it honestly felt like my mind itself was being sexually assaulted by this horrifying thoughts. This incident scarred me mentally, and to this day, Iām still afraid of being around anyone younger than me. I tried researching what these thoughts could mean, and I found out about these being symptoms of OCD. After talking with a psychiatrist a month later, I was diagnosed with OCD. For a while, I thought Iād be okay from that point. I thought I could conquer this on my own⦠but by early 2018, I was still struggling. I eventually came out to my older sibling and parents about what I was dealing with. They thankfully didnāt ridicule me, and did help me with getting a therapist. The first visit with my therapist went alright, but I was an emotional mess after finishing the session. The next time I went in however, I was seen by someone else because my therapist was out. The man I saw honestly felt condescending, and he basically made go to a group therapy session. The group therapy didnāt help in the slightest, and with more toxicity developing in my family afterwards, I stopped going after the group therapy. I did see my therapist at least once I think, but that was it. Ever since 2018, I was silent about my OCD. I was just hoping that someday Iād be free of my shackles both from my mental illness and my toxic environment. Two years later though, a friend (now partner) of mine heard about my familyās living situation and wanted to help get me out of there. I first visited them in 2021, and thankfully I stay with them for the most part. That being said, I was still worried about opening up to them about my OCD. I did talk with them about general OCD from time to time, but never got into P OCD⦠until last year finally. I opened up them fully about it, and both they and their mother told me that they werenāt upset, and that they understood where I was coming from. I think that genuinely helped me out, and I donāt feel as anxious as I did before. Just yesterday, I finally talked about my OCD to my older sibling (theyāre super supportive and understand our parents toxicity). I was genuinely nervous about telling them for a while out of fear of them either abandoning me or ratting me out⦠but they understood. They were accepting and didnāt ridicule me at all. It was like a weight was lifted off my shoulders⦠and honestly, I think I might have the courage to speak up on this app finally and hopefully find a therapist who can help me. Iāve been suffering with P OCD for over 8 years now ever since I was 18. I just recently turned 27 a few days ago. Iāve been suffering in silence for so long due to trauma, fear, and PTSD. But now, I think I want to take a step forward and get onto the road to recovery. It most likely wonāt be easy and it wonāt happen overnight, but I feel relieved knowing I have people who love and support me, now that Iām in a better environment.
- Date posted
- 13w
I few years ago, I did self-harm a few times, and then I got super into spirituality, and about a year ago, I remembered I did self-harm and ever since haven't been able to shake the guilt off... Constantly, every day, my mind would make me feel guilty about it and think about it all day. It's like my brain knew the thought that I could/ have cut myself scared me, so it kept bringing it up. My family had no idea I had ever done this, so my OCD told me I was a liar for not telling them about every day. I was afraid that they wouldn't love me anymore and send me to a mental hospital if I told them. About 2-3 months ago, I had gotten so fed up with having these thoughts every day and confessed to my mom what I had done, and her reaction was great. And I thought I'd never have thoughts about when I did self-harm again because I finally confessed. I was wrong. Even with people telling me that it's okay, I did that, I can't shake the guilt I had around this event, and even more so the fear/guilt around my own thoughts... My therapist and I talk about how the problem isn't the thoughts but what the OCD does to them. I try to create positive neural pathways, but that just makes me more stressed about it. There are things I'm supposed to tell myself when I feel negative, but I think I get that confused and tell myself those things every time I have thoughts about what I did. Which is feeding into a mental compulsion (replacing every "bad" thought with a "good" one. What works for me is (if I can) do nothing and have the thoughts... It's been hard to get better because I have had no idea what's been happening to me and felt like for the last year I was going crazy... I always thought OCD was cleaning stuff and physical compulsions . Everything that happened to me happened in my head. On the worst days when my OCD is really bad, every single time I was conscious and aware, I was thinking about the fact that I did self-harm. I would lie in bed all day trying to figure out my thoughts because I thought if I watched TV, I would be avoiding important things. I thought I had to figure out all my thoughts. I would ruminate, replay, and second-guess all. day. long. It was hard to recognize it was OCD because I thought I had done something seriously bad and wrong, and that I must deserve these thoughts. I think the trick is that you feel like you must have positive thoughts, and the most distressing thing wasn't necessarily the fact that I did self-harm, but the fact that I couldn't stop thinking about it. I find the best thing you can do is just have all your thoughts in your head and try not to separate them from good and bad, if you can. It's nice to have people who understand!!!! More to come, about the journey. My favorite thing to say when I'm stuck is "that sly devil... OCD. Silly OCD is getting to me right now, but it won't last forever. That sneaky guy tricked me again" Love you!!!
- Date posted
- 13w
So... I few years ago, I did self-harm a few times, and then I got super into spirituality, and about a year ago, I remembered I did self-harm and ever since haven't been able to shake the guilt off... Constantly, every day, my mind would make me feel guilty about it and think about it all day. It's like my brain knew the thought that I could/ have cut myself scared me, so it kept bringing it up. My family had no idea I had ever done this, so my OCD told me I was a liar for not telling them about every day. I was afraid that they wouldn't love me anymore and send me to a mental hospital if I told them. About 2-3 months ago, I had gotten so fed up with having these thoughts every day and confessed to my mom what I had done, and her reaction was great. And I thought I'd never have thoughts about when I did self-harm again because I finally confessed. I was wrong. Even with people telling me that it's okay, I did that, I can't shake the guilt I had around this event, and even more so the fear/guilt around my own thoughts... My therapist and I talk about how the problem isn't the thoughts but what the OCD does to them. I try to create positive neural pathways, but that just makes me more stressed about it. There are things I'm supposed to tell myself when I feel negative, but I think I get that confused and tell myself those things every time I have thoughts about what I did. Which is feeding into a mental compulsion (replacing every "bad" thought with a "good" one. What works for me is (if I can) do nothing and have the thoughts... It's been hard to get better because I have had no idea what's been happening to me and felt like for the last year I was going crazy... I always thought OCD was cleaning stuff and physical compulsions . Everything that happened to me happened in my head. On the worst days when my OCD is really bad, every single time I was conscious and aware, I was thinking about the fact that I did self-harm. I would lie in bed all day trying to figure out my thoughts because I thought if I watched TV, I would be avoiding important things. I thought I had to figure out all my thoughts. I would ruminate, replay, and second-guess all. day. long. It was hard to do any of the things I loved; OCD took the joy out of it. It was hard to recognize it was OCD because I thought I had done something seriously bad and wrong, and that I must deserve these thoughts. I think the trick is that you feel like you must have positive thoughts, and the most distressing thing wasn't necessarily the fact that I did self-harm, but the fact that I couldn't stop thinking about it. I find the best thing you can do is just have all your thoughts in your head and try not to separate them from good and bad, if you can. It's nice to have people who understand!!!! More to come, about the journey. My favorite thing to say when I'm stuck is "that sly devil... OCD. Silly OCD is getting to me right now, but it won't last forever. That sneaky guy tricked me again." Love you!!!
Be a part of the largest OCD Community
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond