Does anybody here struggle with existential obsessions? Like ruminating on issues like morality, the meaning of life, etc?

Yes, this was one of my biggest/longest OCD themes and I still struggle with it some days. DONT FEED INTO IT. The answer is not to try to "figure it all out" or "figure out your opinion on it". This will continue the cycle. What you need to do is disregard the intrusive thought (Existential question) and not engage in rumination/analysis but refocus your attention on something else. I had to do this over 60 times a day in the beginning. Eventually it calms down and you're not so desperately involved in it 24/7.

You will find existential questions in every little thing, ever. You could look at a tree and find an existential question pop into your head about it. It's hell, I know. But once again, the biggest thing you can do to help yourself (which you'll think sounds counterintuitive) is to disregard as I've described above. Please, just trust me as I've suffered with this for so long and would like to see you save yourself some precious time. Don't try to figure it out!

Exsistenital OCD + moral scrupulousity can really come together

We don't NEED to figure it out to be able to enjoy our lives, even though OCD tries to tell us that. Good luck.

Thank you you are so right. I also plan to talk more with my therapist about it. My biggest triggers are wondering if I’m really an authentic person or just a product of my environment. I also wonder if emotions are real or just social constructs.

Oh trust me, I've thought all of these things over so many times and my mind still gets baffled by it. It seems we're able to come up with such complex questions, more than the average person can. They're so confusing and stressful and time consuming. I obsessed over whether we have any control over who we are or if it's all just our brain and it's experiences and genetics, etc. Pretty much what you're describing.

I wondered if I'm actually a good person or if I was just taught to be that way, like a social construct.

Yeah and it made me lose touch with reality

Exsistenital OCD & Hyperawernes + moral scrupulousity can really go along

Yes exactly. My family is very loving about it but they don’t really understand either. It’s nice to talk to someone who gets it. I have not been officially diagnosed or anything, but I found out about Existential OCD and it seems to describe me pretty well.

Thank you for listening ?

My OCD came full force around October, and it took me until 3 weeks ago to get diagnosed. Like you I found out about it online. I have other OCD themes as well, religious OCD followed my existential because religion seemed like a solution to all the unanswered questions. Basically, if this feels like an obsession to you and not just natural curiosity, and it takes up a large chunk of your day for more than just a few days or something, it's most likely OCD. Talking to a therapist can help, I just started 3 weeks ago, but most of my improvement came from doing my own research on accredited sites and YouTube and books.

Yes, I went through a phase where I felt like life had no meaning and I didn’t truly “own” any of my possessions. It was really stressful! This may be out of the ordinary advice, but I got really into this philosopher called Albert Camus. He basically says that life has no inherent meaning, but just experiencing the simple pleasures, enjoyments, and raw beauty all around you is enough meaning. That outlook really helped me move past existential ocd. Meditation too.