- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 2y ago
Allow yourself some grace. You can use a self-compassion statement to help, such as “I give myself permission to not need all the answers.” Compassion towards OCD can be another approach. “OCD, I know this will scare you, but I’m not going to do your compulsion/rumination. I’m going to be brave, and trust the process. I’ve got this, and we can handle it.” Take care and hope you feel better soon.
So talk to it kind of? I felt I was taking big leaps and just this week has been rough! I hope you have a wonderful day
@Anonymous You bet. Through ERP my therapist at NOCD has been really helpful in showing me different tools to acknowledge the obsession, and sit with the uncertainty/anxiety. The self compassion piece can help, and is one of the many behavior and mindfulness tools out there. Mindfulness practices daily can help support as you do ERP.
Are you in ERP therapy?
Yes. Been leaning into it. Jus feel so uncomfortable & anxious doing my exposures. I have HOCD. And reading about other peoples stuff I notice my ocd try to get latched onto their stuff. I notice how positive and uplifting you are in this app! Please give tips
Never knew I had OCD until about 3-4 months ago: always been a clean person sometimes over the top with it but just ignore it lol started having intrusive thoughts ab my family and looking up stuff and seeking that reassurance has kind of made this snowball
@Anonymous Including ERP therapy, start practicing mindfulness, yoga or meditation, exercise, get on a daily schedule (including morning and bedtime schedule), limit phone/computer usage, get into a hobby or two, don’t ever give into your OCD because it’ll only make things worse, and remind yourself often that you have personal agency and you don’t have to put up with OCD. Feelings are not facts.
I feel for you so much. This disorder is hard. It can take many things from us and there is hope. We can live in recovery and OCD is very manageable. I am so glad to hear that you are doing ERP. The key is to be consistent with homework and practicing the skills. Give yourself credit for all that you are doing and recognize that you are in fact living with one of the worlds top 10 most debilitating illnesses and you are doing it. Join some of our free support groups too- these are super helpful. You are not alone in this.
John Hershfield’s book on Everyday Mindfulness is a great read, I’d recommend it to anyone in their recovery.
I’m going through a really bad flare up. I developed ocd many years ago when I had my first child. Postpartum ocd. I suffer from harm and pocd. At first I had mostly mental and some physical compulsions but the physical faded away pretty early on and i’ve just done mental compulsions since. My ocd was in remission for alot of years and if the ocd would pop up now and again, I was easily able to shrug it off and not engage. A few years ago I went through a stressful time in my life and the ocd came back to stay. At first it was bad but then it got better and has been pretty mild until now. It’s been really bad this week and the physical compulsions are even back. I never thought it would ever get this bad again. My ocd is making me doubt who I am and how I feel. I know it’s all ocd and not real or true but the ocd makes it feel so real that I can’t easily dismiss or disprove it. The more I try to disprove it the more real the ocd makes it feel. I’m really struggling and don’t know how to get back on track. I don’t have access to a therapist because there are no ocd specialists near me and my insurance doesn’t cover online therapy. That’s why i’m reaching out here. Has anyone been through a rough relapse? How can I get through and past this??
hi. so one big factor of my OCD is rumination. i met a guy who i have a crush on the idea of (idea bc there are red flags). my biggest fear is not finding true love, my ex told me no one else would deal with what i have (my ocd, specifically reassurance seeking and getting overstimulated after intimacy). a few weeks ago, my friends and family all gathered and tried to give me advice that sounded like “you’re shy and you’ll never find someone.” after that, i’ve felt off. i’ve been using an unhealthy coping skill, daydreaming, and i’ve just felt unbalanced. my ocd makes everything feel different sometimes, i can’t explain it. life, myself, almost like being in a dissociated state. has anyone else experienced that? i don’t know how to remain balanced during my off times and i know pms exasperates it all. i take ashwaghanda and omega 3s in a multi vitamin daily. i take them all together in the evening but i’ve missed three days recently and also messed with my rocky sleep schedule because of fun times with friends. i hope these supplements work, because i don’t know if i’d be brave enough for medication. i had a bad reaction on prozac and often am forgetful. i just have been battling my OCD consciously for almost ten years now and unconsciously for longer. i am so tired, as my mental health extends beyond my OCD. i’m in talk therapy with some cbt aspects but i only see her twice a month. i’ve broken down so many times and promised myself id get on track or that certain things would work, but it’s like i am stuck in a circle that gets smaller when i’m able to help myself. i just want to be normal. i want to be able to mess up my sleep schedule to enjoy good times and not suffer horrible consequences or fear that i will be entirely thrown off balance. i don’t want to worry or doubt or feel so dissociative that i squint my eyes for a moment and wonder why i feel so unreal. i will never understand why god has allowed me to go through this. i cannot let it be for nothing but i don’t know how much more to bend and contort my body and brain to get somewhere stable but how lovely it would be if i could. i don’t have much of a schedule right now, i get apathetic and give in with things from time to time. one thing can trigger me and i am back to square one wether in a week or month. any advice, any and all is so helpful. your stories, your thoughts. maybe feeling less alone and knowing what has helped you is exactly what i need right now. thank you 💗
Every day my ocd makes sure there’s a new reason for me to stay trapped in my mind rather than being the mom I want to be that my kids need. Instead i’m stuck in my head depressed and pushing them away. The other day I was braiding my daughter’s hair like I always do and her hair is really long so when I get to the end of the braid I can see her butt in my peripheral vision and I looked down and I immediately got upset asking myself why did I look down?(the ocd has made me question everything I do now). I know it’s just because I was at the end of the braid and I just looked because I was already looking in that direction. A normal person wouldn’t even think twice about it. There was no inappropriate reason behind it at all but of course my ocd latched onto the situation and said I looked down because I wanted to look at her butt. I was so upset and said to myself “I don’t understand how the ocd started an intrusive thought because she was wearing baggy pants. I could understand if she had on tight pants and her butt was more noticeable” and the only reason I said that is because usually the only time my ocd starts intrusive thoughts telling me i’m looking at my daughter in a wrong way is when she has on leggings or a crop top or bathing suit ect. Now my ocd twisted what I said to mean that I like looking at her in tight pants. Nooo! That’s not what I meant but now the ocd won’t stop trying to make me believe that. I don’t ever look at my children in any inappropriate way. I hate this. I hate ocd and I can’t live like this anymore.
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