Hi! I'm new here, I just wanted to share that I'm currently obsessed with my body image, how I look, my weight etc.. I think about it 24/7, I think about how horrible and disgustong I look, but I don't know if this can be related with OCD and I would like to know if someone has experienced this Thank You :(
(TW: ED, body dysmorphia) Hi, Gago! Yes, I experienced this form of OCD a few years ago. Sometimes it can manifest as an eating disorder, but other times it can be solely related to body image and obsession (without restriction or binge-eating). I know it's hard, and would be willing to listen if you want to talk. :)
Thank you! I don't have an ed, it is just the thoughts about how I look all day šyes please :) I would like to talk
@Gago What are some of the coping skills you use to navigate these OCD symptoms? Have you tried replacing them with ERP?
@Gale_20 I don't have coping skills for this "type" of OCD, I just cry and try to avoid mirrors, yesterday I started some EPR like looking at pictures of me, it helped a little bit
@Gago It's good that you are trying to overcome that tendency toward avoidance, but what about rumination and reassurance? For example, do you use the internet as a way to reassure yourself that you're "normal," or compare your body to the bodies of other people as a form of reassurance? Do you isolate yourself on purpose because you're so stuck in that obsessive mindset, or don't think you can let the thoughts go long enough to hang out with someone for fear that they feel the same way about your body that you do? These behaviors might be hard to spot at first, but they can be a lot more damaging in the long run even if they provide some sort of temporary relief.
@Gale_20 I always compare myself to others :( and also I avoid to hang out with someone, I have been isolating myself a lot because I view myself as disgusting and I don't want to be hurt
@Gago The fact that you are able to identify these habits is key to finding better coping skills, so good for you! But when it comes to ERP, it is important toāin addition to exposing yourself to your fearsātry to stop seeking reassurance from others (and also try to stop avoiding thoughts that make you anxious on purpose). When you do fall into an intrusive pattern of thinking, I find that the best way to escape it is not by forcing yourself to stop thinking that way, but by allowing the thoughts to happen without engaging with them. Instead of "I think I look disgusting, so I must look disgusting," you could try to be less black and white about it by allowing the thought to pass you by, refusing to prescribe any hidden truth or substance to it. This is definitely easier said than done, but try to just remind yourself that "this is just a thoughtāit is neither true nor false, it is just a thought that I am having." I hope this helps. I understand it's hard, but you truly are not alone. ā„ļø
@Gale_20 Thank you very muchš I will try to be less black and white Yes, its very hard š
I relate to what you're saying, too. I struggle with the same thing.
Is it possible to have a huge fear of OCD itself? (OCD about OCD) Iām scared that Iām not perfect and that Iāll go crazy or something like that, that i wonāt achieve the life that i want, that im weird bcs of ocd, what other people will think bcs of my ocd, that i will feel like this forever... I try to reassure myself that I donāt have it, but I just want to cry. Everything related to OCD triggers me, and I know these things are also signs of OCD. Is this normal for OCD? Maybe I just need to accept it, I donāt know. I think about this 24/7āsome days are better, and I kind of feel like I donāt have OCD, but it always comes back when something triggers me. I also keep asking my parents if theyāre sure I donāt have OCD. They tell me I donāt, but it doesnāt help because I know they donāt really understand OCD. So, itās basically just another obsession, but about OCD. Has anyone dealt with this? Iāve never heard anyone talk about this, so Iām not sure if itās even a thing.
Hi everyone, I have been struggling with something for a while and I am starting to wonder if it is related to OCD. For as long as I can remember, I have had this habit of looking at people, whether friends, family, or strangers and even kids, through a lens that feels like it is from the perspective of someone who might find them attractive or sexualize them. I donāt want to feel attracted; it just feels like my brain automatically puts them in that perspective. Iāve done this for as long as I can remember, and I honestly thought it was just part of me being curious or creative. I have always thought this was just a quirk of my brain, but now I am starting to wonder if it is an OCD thing, especially since it feels automatic and I get anxious afterward. Has anyone else experienced this? I did not think this was part of OCD, but now I am not so sure.
Hello, Iām new to this app. Iāve always had an anxious brain, and Iāve had coping mechanisms for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid, from as early as I could spell, until I was probably early teens, I would constantly write words in my head along to the beat of music. Itās such a vivid memory because I never stopped doing it. The word had to perfectly match up to the lyric and I loved that it kept my brain busy. I grew out of that, but felt like good context. My anxiety increased drastically around ages 17-19, and I began therapy. I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety and panic disorder, due to having a panic attack nearly every day at that time. I overcame that as well, and now the panic attacks are every now and then, but the anxiety is constant, and some recent symptoms have led me to believe I might have some form of OCD. Maybe not. Iām trying to understand myself and get better so I joined this app to make sense of things. Lately Iāve been having really intense intrusive thoughts. Iām really embarassed and they make me feel like a bad person. Thoughts pop in my head seemingly out of nowhere. It will be an image of me harming myself or someone else in a really bad way. (Trigger warning) for example the other day I couldnāt shake the image of me putting a knife through my own forehead, although itās not something I want to do. Or Iāll imagine someone killing me. I imagine my loved ones dying often. The thoughts feel so out of my control itās insane. I hate them. Another persistent issue that isnāt as new is replaying social scenarios. Iām a hairstylist so this one is difficult since I meet a bunch of new people every day. I obsess over how I act and if people like me. I will impulsively say things all the time and they will haunt me for weeks. I question even my closest friends and family who show their love. I find myself so angry and numb and like I have so much built up emotion and a busy mind always. While doing my job I spiral really badly if any little thing goes wrong and itās embarassing. I know thereās more but I canāt think of it now. I just want to feel better and like Iām not constantly battling my mind.
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