- Date posted
- 3y
Q&A Time!
I’ve recovered from OCD and my 4 other mental illnesses. I’ve had almost all sub-types, so if you have any questions, ask below! 🙌🏻
I’ve recovered from OCD and my 4 other mental illnesses. I’ve had almost all sub-types, so if you have any questions, ask below! 🙌🏻
I feel like I’ve experienced every subtype as well from a younge age and didn’t get diagnosed until 27, so it’s made it pretty hard 😂 but I finally see the light and myself a lot more
I wasn’t diagnosed with Pure O OCD until 2016 🤪
What to do if you find yourself looking at privates and don't want to?
Private parts? If you happen to look at them, just move to another sort of the body or somewhere else. Don’t make a big deal out of it because it’ll only happen more and your OCD will get worse. The more you obsess over something, the stronger it’ll become. It’s the Pink Elephant experiment in a nutshell (I recommend you look up the experiment because it’s really interesting).
@Nica Ok!! Thanks for the help!
how long do ur themes usually last
It highly depends on the themes. The longest wait POCD and it was 7 years. But I’ve recovered from it a few years ago.
@Nica 7 years?😃 i’ve had tocd for 3 months and can’t handle anymore
How did you overcome Pocd? I’m really struggling with this theme. I’m so scared I’ll hurt a child.
I did ERP therapy and I trust my therapist (and past therapists and psychiatrists too). He knows my whole history and I am not what I fear. If multiple professionals have said I am not a pedo, then I follow the professionals’ advice. That’s it. I do not give into my OCD’s whims because it will not take over control of my life again. I gave into it for 6 years and it was a horrible life.
@Nica Thank you, these thoughts feel so real. Very scary, but I’m still forcing myself to go out and hang out with friends. I won’t let this illness win.
Can pocd give actual feelings of desire?
Seeking reassurance isn’t helpful.
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I got my therapy from my current therapist that I’ve been seeing for 8 years 😁
Did you ever struggle with magical thinking? If so how did you successfully get through erp? I’ve been doing erp for almost a year and I have significant improvement but the magical thinking/ thought contamination is so relentless and attaches to everything.
Magical thinking in what way?
have you struggled with voices ? fear based thinking. Not audible voices
What type of voices are you talking about?
@Nica Sort of like something in your head that tells you to do things. Like I’ll hear that if I don’t stop watching tv for example that something bad will happen. Like impulsive thoughts like that. I just like associate it as something that isn’t me I’m not sure why.
@gennu7 Sounds like intrusive thoughts. If you haven’t, I suggest looking into getting diagnosed by a professional.
How long have you been recovered for?
3 years.
Also how expensive was therapy?
It highly depends on where you live and your insurance plan.
what’s your biggest piece of advice for recovery?
Work hard on your ERP, practice mindfulness every single day, and learn coping mechanisms but don’t take your mental illnesses so seriously. Thoughts are merely thoughts; they do not matter. Actions matter and will define you.
what do you recommend when you have thoughts like about past events affecting future? I know acceptance is key but I’m having a hard time not ruminating
It kinda mind boggling to me how OCD can even cause stuff to happen to us physically as well. And it all feeling real. It only reminds me how flawed our bodies really are. If people were to hear of our situations they'd call us names and choose to stay ignorant. People fear what they cannot understand. Before this I could have possible have been one of them, but here I am. OCD really goes for anybody. Does not matter what ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation you are. It is a twisted disorder that likes to make others lives harder. If I were to tell myself before this that this would happen, I would'nt believe it. I was convinced I am evil, I cried for weeks. I had to sleep in my parents bedroom for a period of time cause I couldn't face the darkness alone. This application helped me greatly during this, cause I learned just as much about OCD as I did about myself. At the same time I get saddened cause I see people going through the exact same, or much worse. If any who come across this post have any questions for me, u can feel free to do so
I haven’t done a Q&A in over a year (my bad) but I used to do these at least once a month. Work is slow today, so please send me any questions you have about OCD and I’ll answer them as best as I can. A little about me: I’ve been subclinical/recovered for going on 5 years and I’ve been on this app volunteering since 2019 in an unofficial capacity—I’m not connected to the NOCD team, so I don’t have any badges. I did ERP treatment with my therapist in-person while I was also being treated for PTSD. I have OCD, PTSD, ADHD, depression, GAD, social anxiety, driving anxiety, and a few speech impediments.
In 2023, as I was finally getting sober from harder substances, I found myself in one of the scariest mental spaces I'd ever known. I was still smoking daily, my relationship was rocky, and one night—it all hit me. It felt like I had slipped into a video game. Nothing felt real… or maybe everything felt too real. The world around me was distorted. I had always dealt with anxiety, but this? This was something else. I was spiraling—drenched in guilt over everything I'd ever done, every person I thought I hurt, every wrong I tried to make right all at once. It was suffocating. At 23, I tried checking myself into a mental hospital—something I hadn’t done since I was 17. I was desperate to understand what was happening. My relationship took a hit as I spilled every ounce of guilt I carried to my partner, unable to stop the cycle. It wasn’t just anxiety. It was OCD. And while the diagnosis was terrifying at first, it was also reassuring. I finally had a name for the storm inside me. I wasn’t alone. People I admire—like Jenna Ortega—deal with this too. It’s not just me. It’s real, it’s hard, but it’s also something I can face. Since then, I’ve made big changes. I stopped smoking—realizing it only made the noise in my head louder. I started therapy. My partner didn’t understand at first, but as we both learned more about OCD together, we grew stronger. We’re now engaged, and I’m happier than I’ve ever been. But now it’s time to reconnect—with myself. I want to find the me before everything. The creative, passionate, connected me. I want to start streaming games again and hopefully rebuild the following I lost. I want to connect with people again—I don’t have many friends left, but I’m determined to find my people again. I’m also diving back into my art. Journaling. Sketching—even when I don’t like it. Because it’s the act of creating that heals, not just the end result. I won’t let OCD run my life. I will prevail.
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