- 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
- 21w
Hi everyone, I'm in a bit of a difficult situation and I wanted to ask for some advice. I recently finished my studies and I am living from my savings while I look for a job. However this process has turned out to be a lot more difficult and tedious than I expected. I suspect I have OCD as I relate to a lot of the experiences described here, in particular those corresponding to pure OCD. I have continuous intrusive thoughts about how what I'm currently doing is not enough, I constantly need to reassured that what I'm doing is right, with some magical thinking and concerns about my relationship sprinkled in. These intrusive thoughts have made it very difficult to make any significant progress in looking for something. Added to this I'm not even sure I have OCD as I don't have the money to afford therapy right now (my mind keeps telling me that it's silly to write this message because there's no way I have OCD). I live in Switzerland so as far as I understand my insurance won't cover sessions with NOCD. In conclusion I'm a bit stuck, therapy would help with finding a job but I need a job to get therapy. If any of you have had any similar experience and have some piece of advice it would be very welcome.
- Date posted
- 19w
(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
- 11w
i am new to thinking about OCD - keep that in mind when reading. for a very long time without realizing it i obsessed over what mental health issues i had even though i wanted to stop and i never came across OCD. i think i eventually came to a subconscious decision to stop thinking about mental health issues after a very long time but it came back in an abusive relationship where i am pretty sure they have OCD even more severe than me. i think they misdiagnosed themselves with BPD and they are just very traumatized and have OCD about rejection and many other things but it could be both. they convinced me that i had BPD and i still do not know about that and i want to stop caring about that because my obvious OCD and PTSD are bigger problems. they intentionally hurt me a few times - this was because they convinced themselves that they had DID and everything they did was just another person doing that and i tried to help them resolve their mental health issues. this eventually worked as they now recognize that they did not have did and they are genuinely sorry and genuinely understand how damaging it was for them to hurt me and them have them be the only person that comforts me. it is extremely difficult to get comfort from other people except them and i am obsessed with trying to process emotions from repeated damage they have caused me over a 8 month lifespan. i was trying to say "its okay" to myself or tell myself that they truly didnt mean it afterwards and im attempting to stop that. the thoughts keep popping up. i was taking a long break where i only communicated to them through a mediator (my partner is now being very respectful) and i felt like i was truly healing but a few days ago i thought about if i have ocd or not and it made me realize that i was entirely dependent on them for comfort and i miss that love feeling i want nothing except that love feeling back without the abuse. this made me spiral horribly and i begged the mediator to let me talk to them and then i started talking to them for a few days, regardless of how understanding and kind they were they still made me feel like i need to puke because of how bad i felt for them and how much pain is associated with them. i started actually dissociating a few days ago which they did a lot. things feel blurry just like how they described. i think i needed to do it in order to talk to them for an extended period. i ended up helping them by telling them about ocd even though im tired of helping them through everything and having them rely on me i just wanted to give them the tools to feel good but it made me feel terrible because i always used to help them and then feel bad and it made me throw up after i wanted to take a break. i was healing and talking to them set me back really far - i learned a lot about how they feel about this and i learned a lot about why i do this in the first place but it hurts so much and i cant let myself talk to them again. i keep trying to process my ptsd when the memories come back and constant dissociation is making it harder i hope that ends soon. im worrying that im suppressing my emotions all of the time because they thought that was why they originally thought i was feeling bad and not the trauma. i am trying to seek a psychiatrist and therapy soon but i am reliant on my mom for that and i dont know what to do or if shes going to do something thats good for me. im excited to see the psychiatrist though. im 17. i am at the point now where i just want to stop having the highs and the lows and just be neutral all the time but its so hard to break out of these patterns. its really hard to sleep enough. genuinely any advice for any information i have provided would be appreciated no matter how small
Be a part of the largest OCD Community
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond