- Username
- KayKay<3
- Date posted
- 5y ago
^ thats just reassurance and makes OCD worse. Dont do that. Its hard but just recognize its your OCD. Tell yourself its just trying to play a game and you’re not going to play today. You’re strong and you’re able to fight this! Hype yourself up, sounds strange but standing in a mirror and telling yourself YOU are in control NOT your OCD puts things into perspective. Youre on vacation! Youre in a happy place and your OCD wants to take that from you, dont let it. ?
I’ve had this happen with medical issues, like for example my stomach hurts and I start to think the worst after googling the symptoms. In my case my girlfriend is a medical student and she’s great, so every time I have an ocd induced worry about that she reassures me and explains to me why it’s not possible, that usually calms me. Maybe try to talk to someone who can tell you why you don’t have rabies or something like that? Sorry if I’m not being much help here ?
OCD totally sucks, I'm sorry it's getting in the way! This is one of those situations that's not a realistic risk. If the lemur had rabies it would be noticed by the staff and very sick. Since I don't have this specific fear I'm able to realize that but I can totally relate because when it's about something I am afraid of my mind comes up with all these what if scenarios also!! My exposures are mostly about accepting some degree of unlikely risk, not seeking further information, and not compulsively cleaning. So in this situation I think you would say if I was infected with rabies I would have noticeable obvious symptoms and I would deal with it at that time and until then I'm not going to worry or do further rumination and research or checking. Also OCD might try and make every sensation like a slight headache into something greater than it is so try to be aware of this and acknowledge that it's OCD! I hope this helps I can totally understand what you're going through!
Anytime!! The part about research to 2 am made me laugh! I've been there! It's great to be able to connect to others and even help process triggers with them, it helps me process also!
Thank you both for the responses! Yeah, I’ve definitely been doing a ton of reassurance seeking, and I know that I truly do need to tell myself that I can handle sitting through the unknown and anxiety and not let OCD steal my good time. Thanks so much for the motivation to fight it, it really helps hearing it from someone ❤️
Thank you so much for this- it really is helpful to understand how I can best navigate this kind of fear and obsession and how to not fuel it more. And especially the accepting of risk even if it is unlikely, and choosing to move on, not doing research (until 2am, reading actual laws about vaccination of zoo animals....ha!) and not checking is what I really need to do. Thank you for helping me feel validated and not so alone in this!
I know sometimes I have to just laugh at some of the things OCD makes me do. I think it helps me put it all into perspective. ? Yeah I love that connecting with others and giving and getting insight definitely helps us all get through it.
For sure!! It's definitely nice sometimes to be able to laugh at how ridiculous OCD can be!
Advice please! I have OCD, and it’s wormed it’s way to my relationship. It particularly revolves around social media, trust and the security of being together “forever”. I whole heartedly trust my partner. However, we all know that OCD causes doubt in the most rational things. Lately, if I get an irrational thought, I ask my partner if it’s true or not true, I get the affirmation I need, and then I feel intense guilt. The cycle begins again because I feel insecure for asking such questions, How do I work through these nagging thoughts and not bring my boyfriend into it? I get super impulsive and just ask him to reassure me. When I don’t ask him and challenge the thought, I’m really moody with him. I’ve had OCD my entire life and have “cured” other obsessions/rituals but for some reason, this one is tough, since another person is involved. Any advice?!
Hi everyone. First time here. I suffer from Contamination OCD. I have a good support group in friends, family, and my boyfriend, but I have not met anyone else with OCD and I needed to reach out to others to find help. I first got OCD when I was 17 (I am now 33) and was able to go into remission, but COVID brought it back. I was struggling at work (which was outside with the public). I found a therapist and she wrote me a doctor’s note suggesting I be allowed to work from home. My work was not accommodating at all and only offered me FMLA leave, so I took it as my only option and eventually got on Short Term Disability. The whole process took forever and was incredibly stressful. My leave was supposed to be a time of healing and it just made my OCD symptoms worse. My employer basically treated me as though I was trying to get out of work and proved to me that though they talk about the importance of mental health, they don’t take mental health seriously. I ended up having to leave my job “involuntarily due to health reasons” as they would not grant an extension nor let me return with any restrictions/accommodations. My therapist seemed good at first, but it became clear that she wasn’t really helping me. She would often use our sessions to vent about the insurance company and in one session, she basically called me a hopeless case and kept saying “I don’t know. I am concerned. I don’t know how you are going to be able to function” and threw out the word hospitalization, though she did backtrack on that one. I struggle everyday. I am worried that something from outside of the home touched something clean and is now contaminated. I need help working through this. I am constantly looking for reassurance, question if things are clean, wash my hands, use too many disinfectant wipes, and take showers upwards of 50-60 mins. I feel like my mind is being taken over by my OCD, I’m losing time, and it’s straining my relationship. For anyone who is struggling with contamination OCD brought on by COVID - any tips? My therapist never gave me anything specific to work on with this - to help me focus on something else. I am in the process of finding another therapist, but until then - any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Hi everyone! This is me writing this while having an intense OCD attack and seriously I don’t know how to handle it. At this point I cry almost every day, I’ve lost my appetite, and I don’t know what to do anymore. This summer I’ve seen a movie where one of the characters had schizophrenia and did what my intrusive thoughts were about, which is harming others. I panicked immediately and did what I wish I didn’t, but I didn’t know back then it was a compulsion: I googled the symptoms. I felt relief at first, but then I started asking myself what if I have those symptoms? What if my thoughts will become voices and I’ll believe them? (This is still one of my biggest fears) Ever since then it’s a never ending cycle, everything I see and hear I question if it’s real or only me hearing/seeing it. I overanalyse my body sensations like when my ears ring, or I feel a tightness around my head etc. I went to see a therapist to start treatment, and he told me I have nothing to worry about, cause it’s unlikely I’ll develop it. I felt at ease, and for a few weeks I felt so much better, cause that talk with the therapist went well and I finally got the diagnosis which is OCD. But then, I was scrolling on Instagram, and I saw a video and ever since then it’s getting bad again. It gotten so bad that my mind “plays” random phrases/music/words in my head, and it’s sometimes in my internal voice, sometimes it’s in others’ and it’s so scary cause I’m just going on with my day and they’re just there. Also for example I hear my mom cleaning the dishes and as she puts them away they make a sound and I hear a word in it, but it makes no sense yet I panic over it cause it was a word? I feel like I don’t even have own thoughts anymore, other than those and the ‘What if this means…?’ thoughts which cause me so much anxiety I feel like I’ll explode. The reason I’m writing this is that maybe someone who went through the same thing can help me, and give me some tips how to stop ruminating and mentally+physically checking (my emotions, my facial expressions, body sensations etc.)? I’m currently going to a group therapy which is seem to help, but I feel like I need to see a therapist alone where she/he can help me with my exact problem? Maybe it’s seeking reassurance and that’s a compulsion cause what if this isn’t OCD but still I don’t know what to do. Thank you!
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