- Date posted
- 3y
- Date posted
- 3y
The first and most important thing is don't give up. It won't always be this bad. Think back to a time when you were in a better mindset or had a couple good days - you will get there again. You need to believe that, you will get there again. In regards to the therapy - keep working on your mom while trying to show love and compassion towards her as well. Does she understand how much OCD has disrupted your life? Does she know how much it tortures you? Sometimes it's not obvious to others or they convince themselves not to see it and that everything is fine. If this doesn't work - could you possibly get a job or other income to try and pay for therapy? You could also keep trying to do ERP - starting very small, and maybe with the help of extensive OCD tutorials - have you tried Katie D'Ath's videos on YouTube? I know it is awful to feel stuck but there is always something we can do to improve our situation. What about just general health and habits? Can you workout/exercise more at home? Can you improve your sleep habits and ensure you get enough sleep daily? Can you Improve your diet and get better nutrition? Good luck and hang in there.
- Date posted
- 3y
Thank you so much! I am trying my best not to give up. I feel so alone and I appreciate someone is out there. I WILL try all of this!!!!
- Date posted
- 3y
Hi! My name is Tyler Devine and I am one of the advocates here at NOCD. First off, you’re an incredible writer. Sometimes putting these feelings and thoughts into the atmosphere is what helps the most. I have battled OCD most of my life, but really didn’t start working on it until about 5 years ago. Having a brain that is built for OCD is both a blessing and a curse. We analyze everything, feel everything, hear everything etc. No matter what subtype you deal with, OCD at its core looks the same for everyone. The awesome thing is is that you are not alone! Millions of others are right there with you, dealing with the same issues. ERP is one of the hardest things to do in the mental health arena, in my opinion. However, starting small and at your own pace is key. It’s nice that your boyfriend can understand and is supportive of you with it. That being said, he cannot feel/think what you do so explaining it over and over can be overwhelming. Continue to learn about OCD (the ins and outs, new studies, etc), reach out and help others in need, and honestly dig into your faith. Faith 🙏 has not only put me at peace in the world, but it has had a significant impact on my battle with OCD! Stay positive and never settle Ty
- Date posted
- 3y
Thank you! I have had OCD most of my life as well, and I’m about done with it. I want to take the initiative to get better, but it’s super hard being isolated and having no therapy. I feel much better knowing I’m not alone. Thanks again for responding I really appreciate it. I feel so happy today, and I won’t give up getting help❤️❤️❤️❤️
- Date posted
- 3y
I'm soooo sorry to hear this! Your mother should really help you! Is there any chance you could get a job (depending on your age) so you could pay it yourself? Also: YouTube really helped me: nathan petterson i think was his name, he has some super helpful tips for that!
- Date posted
- 3y
Thank you for the reply! I have had a job, and I had to quit due to anxiety, but I really want a job as soon as I can have a stable routine. As of right now, I don’t think I could handle a job with out being more stable! My sister has a job and has told my mom she would pay for it (my sister is a mental health advocate and she knows how bad my health is) my mom got super defensive. It’s okay because I will try my best and not give up! Thank you for the suggestion I’ll check him out!
- Date posted
- 3y
@dieinaholeocdurabutt Oh gosh... Your mom sounds very unsupportive. I'm so sorry. People don't understand how hard anxiety can be and how limiting it is! Have you tried Noocd? You don't need anyone's approval for it (i think) you can just sign up and go :)
- Date posted
- 3y
@k-low I will check it out! I am glad I have people that understand and have suggestions, so thank you again ❤️
- Date posted
- 3y
Sending support and empathy your way! I understand how rough things can be when you're feeling triggered by everything. You're incredibly strong and you will persevere! I hope you'll have easier days ahead and that you'll be able to get on track with ERP, even if you start really small and make baby steps of progress. You can do this 💜 Also, your username made me legitimately laugh out loud so thank you for that - I needed it this evening 🥰
Related posts
- Date posted
- 22w
(Long post warning) Hi, I’ve been struggling with severe OCD for six years now. it started in 2019 with my theme being getting sick/emetophobia. it devastated my life. I almost didn’t graduate high school from it. I remember washing my hands for three hours one day until they were nearly bloody while crying and asking why I could not stop doing it. I remember id have to write and rewrite sentences when I did my English homework and that’s why I nearly failed that class. I remember how I would spend up to thirty minutes to an hour pacing the halls of my apartment while my mom was asleep until I neutralized the thoughts about throwing up and I could finally go to bed. I don’t know when it happened, but my theme switched. Sometimes in late 2020 or early 2021, it switched to POCD. It started with a single thought, and I focused on it and it’s been my theme since then for four years. It has been absolutely destroying me. I feel so disgusted and lost and just tired. My compulsions are severe now. I thought they were bad before, but now they’re ten times worse. I can’t eat, drink, change my clothes, walk, or even do things on my phone normally. I’ve developed so many mental compulsions that it’s so intricate and complicated yet at the same time I’ve done them so much that they’ve become normal. An example I have is if im putting on a shirt and I have a “bad” thought, I have to take it off and put it back on two more times (that’ll make it 3 times I put the shirt back on - odd numbers are my safe number). I have to have a good thought on the third time otherwise I have to take it off and put it on two more times to make it five times I put on that shirt. If not that then I just put on a different shirt because the original is now tainted with my bad thought. I can’t open apps on my phone. It’s with the numbers again. If I open TikTok once while having a bad thought - I have to close it and open it two more times and so on. Sometimes I do it up to 30 times. So I just don’t do things usually. I don’t turn on the TV because I know I’ll redo it. I don’t open a book or grab it off my shelf because I’ll have to repeat the action. I can’t even lay in bed without getting up and redoing it even if im exhausted. I just feel so helpless. I don’t know what to do. I feel disgusting and even now my minds screaming at me that I am dirty and what I think is true. I just wish I was free of this, I wish I could just live my life. I’ve wasted hours and days because of my compulsions. I mask it so well around my friends. I don’t do them in front of anyone or I’ve learned to hide it well. But when im back home alone, it goes haywire. I just want to live again.
- Date posted
- 9w
How to deal with OCD when you’re dissociating and numb and it’s going from ROCD, existential to how you hate yourself, to your whole life story trauma flooding, to retroactive jealousy, to how you never anointed to much, to how it’s hard for you to love people and not scrutinize, to how you never really did much on your own and always needed help and attention, to how you’re scared of death, to how you’re scared of abandonment and being alone, to saying if you don’t fix all these at once you’ll lose your relationship (I have CPTSD and there’s a push pull and I never had a chance to fix it) and I try to control everything. And I realize it. And it’s going on about how adulting is scary. About how I try to work and the. Quit because I’m afraid of opinions. About how I hoard. About how everything in life seems senseless. About how I can’t connect. About how I people please and about how I’m selfish. About how nothing will ever be perfect. I’m not joking when every second of my day is a FLOOD of thoughts and it’s been 46 days like this after one thought I tried to sit with spiraled me into a dissociative shutdown. I’ve had bad OCD all my life but as I got older more and more fears piled up. And my trauma is so bad. And so loud. The OCD is so bad. There’s nothing in life I don’t fear. And everything feels like a threat to me. His past. Him. And how I don’t want anyone else but my brain won’t stop ripping him apart. How “no one” will be good enough for my perfectionistic mind. I truly don’t know how the absolute fuck to get over something this severe. And I have horrific self worth issues. Bad. Like zero self worth. boundaries. Anything. I never had skills. And idk how to explain to my family how bad this OCD is. I run to my mom like a scared child. But even she can’t give me comfort because I’m in hell. And I always wanted people to help me fix things and now that I’m trapped in my own mind I can’t. I’m scared. Shitless.
- Date posted
- 5w
Im not sure where to start but yesterday was very painful for me and I was having thoughts about you know not being alive because of how overwhelmed I was with OCD … how guilty I felt about the thoughts that come in my head snd I couldn’t stop them as they got worse by the second … how ashamed I felt … I feel like an awful partner to my person … I get very immoral thoughts and thoughts I can’t even write here or share … and I have been very intolerant to my compulsions and I always tell him my thoughts , the content .. my actions .. everything and I fall for ocd’s tricks … I get thoughts about people .. people .. strangers .. people from my uni .. people he knows or is close with and I hate it .. and these thoughts can range but recently they’ve been enough to make me reach this point .. I made the decision to not tell him anything , to protect him and to get better but I haven’t been fully avoiding all my compulsions yet.. not all.. although the last 2 days I did but I haven’t been feeling or doing great at all .. I have been very frustrated and snappy even with him when that never happens .. I feel awful and selfish , I feel depressed and I have exams this week … hes a really pure soul .. hes nothing but sweet , supportive, patient and understanding but I’m really hurting snd I don’t like feeling this way .. feeling this angry at everything .. being unlike me .. being distant from him .. and I feel like life is falling apart .. I can barely catch my breath , barely catching up to my studies and I’ve been compromising on my attendance… I need help snd I don’t know what to do .. I feel stuck snd lost .. I don’t know if I should be telling him what thoughts exactly come to mind or like what happened the last few days (thoughts includes someone close he knows like super super close to him , had a doubt snd I know it’s intrusive but still , thats just one thought ) or do I suck it up truly and not share anything at all because this is the disorder snd not me .. it’s not my fault or intention ? (Again most of the thoughts that come in like for instance those comments I get about strangers for instance , I don’t want or intend them but they do as if my brain is teasing me and I feel like I’m responsible or at fault ) and I should just treat this as a disorder ? And really know that it’s all just lies snd not ever true or real ?… I can’t help but feel it’s as if I’m deceiving him , betraying him , hiding things from him or cheering on him specially because of these thoughts snd a great person like him deserves the best but I’ve been nothing but shitty hence why.. I’ve been the way I am … I really do need advice snd not just in this but actual advice almost im every aspect of my life right now and I would really appreciate any urgent help or advice … im sorry for how long this is but I thought maybe you’d see the picture clearly this way … Thank you 🙏🏻
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