- Date posted
- 6y
- Date posted
- 6y
^ 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. ?
- Date posted
- 6y
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 ?
- Date posted
- 6y
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!
- Date posted
- 6y
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!
- Date posted
- 6y
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 ❤️
- Date posted
- 6y
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!
- Date posted
- 6y
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.
- Date posted
- 6y
For sure!! It's definitely nice sometimes to be able to laugh at how ridiculous OCD can be!
Related posts
- Date posted
- 21w
(long read ahead, sorry lol) I’ve struggled with ocd for as far back as I can remember. I find that it gets worse with stress, and recently I’ve really been struggling with the contamination aspect of my ocd. I’m worried about it becoming unmanageable and negatively affecting my relationship with my partner. I’ve been living with my boyfriend since January (got kicked out of my house a week after I turned 18, it’s for the better though my house is toxic as hell) and I love living with him, but him and his family aren’t as concerned with cleaning as I am used to. My boyfriend and I have been together going on 2 years and there’s been many times throughout our relationship that his struggle with depression severely impacted his ability to keep up with cleaning his room. This is something I completely understand because I’ve struggled with it too so i’ve often helped him clean, and since i’ve moved in he’s done so much better at keeping up with cleaning (especially because he knows about my issues with clutter, mess, germs, etc.) He is really good at being accommodating towards my needs (not overly so, i’m aware that recovering includes accepting being uncomfortable), but it’s so hard for me to differentiate between what is the normal standard for cleanliness and hygiene and what’s excessive and unhealthy. I get so stressed out every single day over the thought of how dirty everything is. He has 3 cats that mainly stay in his room (he has a catio attached to his window/side of the house) and dogs which stay on the opposite side of the house and backyard, so there is fur everywhere constantly (i’m also allergic to cats but it’s not severe). I can’t stop thinking about how they are getting germs from their litter box all over everything. They also used to piss under his bed and in his closet when his room used to be a mess and it’s soaked into the floor so no matter what it stinks. It’s so hard to bring myself to walk around the house without slippers because my feet will get visibly dirty and my socks would get covered in hair. I always think about how my boyfriend sometimes walks on the rugs in the bathroom in shoes and all the germs that spreads. There’s so many more things but this is already getting long and I am shaking just thinking about how unclean everything is. I want to deep clean the entire house myself so I can get it to where It’s not like psychological torture everyday and it’s easier to maintain but I have been so busy I don’t have the time. I am worried about my boyfriend thinking I don’t like living with him or that I think that’s he’s dirty but i don’t. We have had several conversations about this and he’s reassured me that he knows none of my obsessive thoughts are personal but I still feel so bad about it. I would like to get therapy to help work through this but currently that is not an option for me. I know things will get better once I get through the main things in my life that are causing a lot of stress and therefore making my ocd flair up, but I need advice on what to do in the mean time. I keep having moments where all I can do is shake and cry and clean and I feel bad for my poor boyfriend who can only sit next to me and try to comfort me or help me clean. I also don’t want to make him worried that nothing he does is enough for me (i’ve also already talked to him about this and told him about how I can never even be clean enough for myself and that I don’t think he’s dirty). There’s been many times where I want to tell him to do things that I think might be my own unhealthy compulsions (ex. not wearing shoes in the house or in our room, not getting into bed with socks on, making sure to completely dry off before getting out the shower, put makeup and jewelry back where they belong right after using them, etc.) but i can’t tell if they’re reasonable or not and i try to not tell him unless it’s something that severely distresses me. I’m aware that everything is going to have germs no matter what and have been using NER’s to help manage my thought spirals/rumination. I know that I shouldn’t keep doing compulsions because it just offers temporary relief and makes the problem worse because nothing will ever be enough. I just feeling so overwhelmed and hopeless and exhausted and want some feedback.
- Date posted
- 14w
A few days ago, I posted how proud I am of myself, that I managed to go to the doctor to get a vaccination. Now, two days later, I find myself panicking and ruminating. It was a practice where they also test a lot for HIV and other blood diseases and in my mind, the needle/syringe they used for my vaccination was somehow contaminated with blood from another patient. Maybe by accident but sometimes my mind would make up a scenario where they would do it even on purpose. I was so proud of myself, that I managed to go there on Monday and now I am making up scenarios how I caught HIV by going there - I am feeling guilty because I was „careless“. Any tips for the moment? ❤️
- Date posted
- 13w
I’ve been really struggling with obsessing on the though that I somehow got exposed to rabies without my knowledge. I live in an older home and my mind keeps telling me somehow a bat got in without my knowledge, even though I have no reason to believe so. I also own a cat and I’ve also been struggling with what if he got exposed because of this “bat”.
Be a part of the largest OCD Community
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond