- Username
- dieinaholeocdurabutt
- Date posted
- 3y ago
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.
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!!!!
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
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❤️❤️❤️❤️
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!
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!
@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 :)
@k-low I will check it out! I am glad I have people that understand and have suggestions, so thank you again ❤️
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 🥰
Right I need some serious help. Well where do I begin, I have been doing rituals since 4 years ago. I started doing rituals because I think I was having a really bad week at school and when I started doing the rituals they seemed to be making things better, and gradually I just started doing loads of them and I just lost track of how many I had, it was unbearable. Fast forward 4 years and here I am, I was upset anyway because I was feeling anxious because someone looked at me funny and I started panicking and I was thinking stuff like, what if they hate me and why were they looking at me. At the time I was opening up to my mum and we was watching a series at the time I was opening up to her. Then suddenly, a scene came on where there were terrorists and I just froze, what if I am a terrorist, and since then I haven’t been able to get out of my head the thought of being a terrorist and my mind convincing me that I am one even though I know I am not. I am still struggling with these thoughts now and your mind really does a good job in to thinking you are an evil terrorist even though deep down you know you’d never do something like that. I have managed to stop the rituals now but I still suffer with the thoughts which makes me think “maybe it isn’t OCD then as I don’t do any compulsions, maybe I am just evil” and then I always get stressed out and reply with “No, I am not” which I know isn’t good and I try to not reply and just let them be there but I just don’t know how to, it’s so hard. I’m really impatient with meditating. When I first started having the thoughts I couldn’t eat, I can eat now and go out but I am always getting the thoughts. The only time I don’t get the thoughts is if I am really busy doing stuff like work etc, I also get the same thing with like school shootings anything to do with that sort of terrorism stuff, I hate it so much. I have been to the doctors and I am on antidepressants and I am also getting therapy for it but will it help me? Would you say I have OCD? My intrusive thoughts always seem to target the things I like most so for example they target when I go to football games, my brain tells me I am going to commit an attack here and it makes me upset and it also happens when I go to college and my brain tells me I am going to commit an attack there which also upsets me. My brain also tells me when I start working (which I want to do) I am going to spend all of my money on weapons which therefore prevents me from wanting to get a job which means I can’t buy stuff that I want or start driving as I need money for it. Lately, my OCD has been weird because I have been getting the thoughts but I don’t get as anxious which makes me feel like, maybe it is just me, maybe I am a terrorist, maybe I will act on it which therefore makes me feel weird and scares me a bit but doesn’t scare me as much as it should do because I want to be really scared of the thought of acting out on it (which I used to be) but now I don’t react to it with as much anxiety but the thoughts are there and I feel like I should be reacting to them in a way where I shut them down but I am not. This all stemmed from when my doctor asked me, “am I planning something” and I said no but since then it has just stuck in my head and it has been like, “what if I am planning something” or what if I do plan something. Lately, I’ve been talking to a girl that I really like and my thoughts targeted her because I really like her, like when I met her my brain was telling me I was going to hurt her or her family when I obviously wasn’t going to and I’ve tried to just let the thoughts be there but sometimes it just gets too much for you and you can’t not get emotional. I cried a lot the other day about it. I’m starting therapy tomorrow so hopefully I can get some help. I also seem to get triggered by reading about what other people experienced because I read about other people’s experiences with their OCD and some had paedophilic OCD and I was like what if I am one of them? And then I looked at a young girl and my brain told me I was attracted to her but I obviously wasn’t but that one came for like 2 days non stop and then stopped. When I hear loud noises I also think about terrorism things like, gun shots or bombs and it really scares me. I also have horrible thoughts like, what if I get angry and act out on any thoughts and it really stresses me out or what if one of my close family members pass and I act out in a bad way due to not coping with the grief. I also get quite worried because I never see anyone with my sort of intrusive thoughts and it makes me feel like it isn’t OCD which stresses me out and makes me overthink. That isn’t even getting started on my relationship with my girlfriend. I have been booked in for CBT therapy in 3 months, but will it actually help me? Will it actually improve my life? Sorry for the really long message, I just really need some help.
i'm sorry in advance for how long this post is and if it's to much information. i'm undiagnosed but have been struggling with compulsions and intrusive thoughts since i was 7 or 8. My worst intrusive thoughts theme has been about p*d*phil*s. I've been dealing with it since my freshman and sophomore year but these thoughts didn't become debilitating until June of last year. I had a panic attack and confessed to my parents about these intrusive thoughts. They were obviously shocked and share. I felt so ashamed and like a monster. After talking with my dad he said we would see a therapist about it. Sadly we never did the first appointment we were late and missed are spot and the second appointment i sprained my ankle the night before so instead i was in the hospital. After that i closed myself off i tried dealing with them on my own using sources like NOCD and stuff. I did try to bring up going to therapy to my parents. Every time they would ask me if the intrusive thoughts were back and I would lie saying "no i just would like to go to therapy" I was so scared they'd be afraid of me and stop loving me, especially my mom. Eventually after awhile my parents forgot about it and I tried ignoring these intrusive thoughts because I was so focused and stressed from school. I decided I could just wait till I turn 18 and schedule myself into therapy. recently though my intrusive thoughts have gotten worse. I recently had a convo with one of my friends who has intrusive thoughts as well and she's encouraging me to talk to my parents. I'm asking y'all what should I do. As much as I'm scared I want to get help because I'm sick of living and feeling like i'm day away from acting on my intrusive thoughts.
Was having an okay day today after a few rough ones with ROCD. My partner came to me today to show me houses that he likes in our area which are available for renting. Our apartment lease is up in June and he was talking, like he has been, about our next steps as a couple and how he’d prefer to rent a house together rather than to stay in the nice 2-bedroom apartment we now live in. His ideas became more detailed, how we’d rent for a few years and save before getting a mortgage and moving into a purchased house together. He’s very very into me and treats me so well. For example, I’ve recently come down with celiac disease and now we both have to live in a gluten-free household for life. I told him how sorry I am about this change and how unfair it is to him. He responds “I don’t care- I have you- and that’s all I care about” 🥲 I’m lucky to have someone who has pretty much committed to me for life and accepts me exactly how I am, and always supports me and helps me. The problem is I’m really struggling with ROCD and to feel at all in love with him. (The breakup urges have been brutal this week.) Anyhoo, back to today. I’m laying there listening to his thoughtful and sweet ideas about how we could make a nice property-that he has pictures of- even better for me (he knows I’m a perfectionist, and that I’m into clean lines, expensive-looking design, and am picky about hotels) and I’m trying to just get past the huge anxiety spike. I’m trying to get to the point where I can look at him without scrutinizing his appearance and can feel something besides distress when we’re spending time together. (Love would be nice . . . and new.) I think I am doing a few compulsions as I tend to have automatic thoughts where answers just pop into my head . . . either rating his appearance, if I want to lose him, if I could even bring myself to break his heart, if I’m staying to keep him from pain and am actually unhappy, if I could deal with him not being in my life; if I’d rather be alone, if I’m attracted. The answers go back and forth. I’ve always felt like there was some barrier between us and our connection, and I can’t break through it and fall for him. I know a lot of this screams textbook ROCD but it’s impossible to believe there isn’t truth to it to some degree. I’ve been getting so lost in trying to figure out if we’re actually a fit; if I could be happy for the rest of my life in this relationship. I know entertaining these questions is compulsive, and a horrible idea but I’m having trouble pulling back. As for another worry- I am in a nice apartment complex and a little over a year ago this place changed owners. The new owners are far more uptight and changed a lot of qualification policies. My income isn’t high enough to qualify for this place anymore, so if I move out I really can’t get back in. (I can renew my lease annually without an application or verifying proof of income, so, if I wanted, I could live in this complex forever- as long as I never leave.) I’m in ERP but am not doing the best job of keeping up with the exposures (partially due to being busy with everything happening with Christmas coming up, and partially due to fear). I know, it’s bad to not be doing ERP, and I blame nobody but myself, but motivation is not happening right now. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated. =] Sorry for the novel. >_<
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