We shouldn't provide reassurance to others on this app but I think picking people up on bad days can be helpful in this type of online community. This is especially true for OCD sufferers as the thoughts can make you feel isolated. Do you all agree?

Yes, to a point. I think we should support and encourage each other. But the problem is that so many of the people who post on here are seeking reassurance. You try to encourage and support them, and they reject it. Another thing I've noticed is there are a lot of people who will make a reassurance post and then get all ticked off when no one responds. Or they will ask people to respond to their posts.

I second Lms526 and excalibre - support and encouragement are good, reassurance is not. That said, I do kinda feel like there's a difference between wanting a second opinion and seeking reassurance; I don't normally ask for reassurance because I know it won't really help, but if I'm facing a conundrum or life-related challenge and I feel like I'm in a stable place emotionally, I'll sometimes look for another perspective to obtain an idea of how my stance compares. Once I've done that ONCE, however, I'm done - even though it doesn't feel compulsive, I never allow myself to ask the same questions twice because it's difficult to distinguish between OCD-related doubt and a desire for another viewpoint. I don't ask community members to read my posts either, although I am happy when they do.

Yeah. Yes to all of this. It’s like if you can tell someone’s having a really really horrible day I’m not sure if reassurance is the right word but seeing a little bit of something is immensely helpful.

yeah there's a difference between reassurance-- "your OCD fears aren't true, you're a good person"-- encouragement-- "you've got this, you will beat this, I believe in you"-- commiserating-- "I'm so sorry you're going through this. You deserve better."-- and advising-- "You need to do some self-care." The last 3 are gooodd

yes, i think helping people see more clearly ab a situation is different than reassurance in some instances possibly