- Username
- NOCD
- User type
- Staff
- Date posted
- 2y ago
Dealt with intrusive thoughts and mental compulsions since I was 5 or 6. I remember breaking down crying in first grade cause of it. Family wasn't sure what was going on and didn't know where to look so fealt all we could really do is pray about it. The symptoms went away after awhile, occasionally manifesting itself to a lesser extent but it recently flared up again this past few weeks and that's when I started researching and asking questions cause I was panicked and confused. Turns out my dad had experienced OCD as a young adult. At the same time, I started looking at therapy. Just got diagnosed last week. It's definitely waxed and waned so I'm hoping I get the help, and medication if necessary, to finally overcome this.
Researching about intrusive thoughts, finding out about OCD UK and then feeling very seen when I saw all my obsessions and compulsions listed. I wasn't diagnosed until a few months later but it helped give a name to what I was dealing with. I just knew it wasn't normal (no one around me seemed to be dealing with the same) and my usual coping mechanisms weren't working
my regular therapist suggested I see a psychiatrist to prescribe me medication for my “anxiety”. After my consultation she wanted to prescribe me Prozac and diagnosed me with generalized anxiety disorder. However, she said she was prescribing me Prozac because it was one of the medications used to treat OCD and said my anxiety was on the OCD spectrum… I started googling OCD symptoms (which took a lot of courage) because I was terrified of finding out I had schizophrenia or something and yeah turns out I had OCD.
I had severe contamination OCD when I was 10, but I truly thought I was normal and everyone else was just gross😅my mom kind of forced me to see a psychiatrist and I was diagnosed with OCD. But I think I’ve had it all my life. As far back as I can remember, I had “just right” OCD before the contamination. It really wasn’t until I had my son a few months ago that I started to realize I’ve had ocd all along; I thought when I stopped being so worried about contamination that the ocd went away but it didn’t. It just switched themes.
Mine started as a joke in Middle school when all my books needed to be stacked a certain way or I couldn’t focus so my peers just kept saying I was OCD but I later realized other behaviors that were consistent with that as well. Needless to say, I’ve since been diagnosed
Mine was when I kept diagnosing and swearing up and down I had a terminal illness. I ended up leaving work to get a full blown blood test. The entire 3-4 months I was freaking I started compulsively praying more than usual and I had to finish “rituals/challenges” or I would get terminally sick. I’ve always had this problem but the only reason I got diagnosed was because I thought to myself “this is so weird, normal people don’t think this way, normal people don’t freak out like this” I got checked for “anxiety” and got diagnosed for “OCD.”
Diagnosing myself ***
I saw an article in a magazine which mentioned the book, “The Boy Who Couldn’t Stop Washing.” I think that’s the first time I heard about obsessive compulsive disorder. I knew I had problems with getting disturbing thoughts in my head that I couldn’t get rid of. I felt that’s what I probably had.
I always had intrusive thoughts and did compulsions in order to feel good, but i nevel gave it any attention until my ocd thoughts turned into a taboo theme of incest. I knew that i wasn't that type of person yet i still couldn't shake those thoughts. I searched on the internet (i was really young too, around 10) and i found other people with the exact same problem, and eventually i found out that this behavior was ocd.
I was diagnosed at 17 with anxiety with obsessive tendencies but I didn't know that until about a month ago. I recently looked it up and realized it's also called OCD and that explains the intrusive thoughts I've had since I was 5
Found out I had the condition 3 months ago. 28 years I struggled alone.
27 for me. I feel your pain
@Fighting_OCD We got it brother!
I did when my mum said to me that my behaviours like ocd she was a bit missinformed but ironically I thfeel no she was correct I haven’t been diagnosed so I’m not sure but my nan deff has ocd she hasn’t been diagnosed but I wouldn’t skip over that I then looked it up and I was like oh yeah some of this matches me
Hi! My name is Mikhail. I have been diagnosed with OCD for a couple years now, and this year I started ERP therapy at NOCD. I first found out about Pure O from downloading NOCD's app and seeing other people post about their experiences with overthinking, fear, and shame. While I had been diagnosed with OCD before, I had never heard about Pure O, where the compulsions manifest themselves more internally. I was at a point in my life where I was isolating myself and afraid of the thoughts I was having all day every day. This eroded away my self-esteem and identity but the skills I learned doing ERP have helped me feel like myself again. I recommend doing ERP to anyone afflicted with OCD, as it has helped me train the mental muscles I needed to get back to my life again. NOCD specialists meet you where you are at and help you get better on your own terms. I have taken the opportunity to be an advocate because once I found out I wasn't alone with Pure OCD, it reignited the faith I had in ever recovering. Learning about other people's experiences and sharing my own has helped me live more authentically. I want to do anything I can to encourage others to recover as well, because I know it is possible and that this condition is manageable. Going through NOCD treatment invoked genuine compassion in me not just for others, but for myself, which is something I never truly felt before. If you have any questions at all, please reach out to me. I feel purpose in connecting with people about OCD and getting better together. Believe me, you are not the only one who has thought that crazy thing and then thought about thinking about it 17 more times until it impacted your behavior!
When and how did you first discover you may have OCD? I'm beginning to think OCD is one of the most understudied, misunderstood mental health issues ever. I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder about 6 years ago after I started suffering from panic attacks, but only just recently discovered my condition could be much more specific than that. I've been suffering from intrusive thoughts and complusions since I was a teenager with a variety of themes. And honestly this app and amazing community has opened my eyes to it. I'm curious if anyone else has had an experience like mine where they were just thrown into the general diagnosis category of just having anxiety and/or depression and is only just now coming to terms with having OCD? What has been your experience with the therapists on this app? I'm using another popular, pricey app for talk therapy at the moment, but so far 4 therapists have ghosted me on it so my confidence is feeling pretty shot. Has talk therapy and working with a therapist on here been successful for you?
Has anyone else had trouble telling people about their OCD? I would like to help break the stigma about mental health and be a part of the change. But it is such an exhausting thing to even think about. Not only would it be difficult to tell people (even people I trust), but it would be even more difficult to have to explain to people what OCD really is (not just the stereotypes they have seen on TV). On top of that I keep thinking how do I even begin to explain the subtypes that I have experienced? I suppose I don't have to, but it helps to give some real depth for them to sink their teeth into; to really understand the difference between OCPD and OCD. I keep thinking if I can get through ERP (which I have recently done), then I can certainly share my disorder with others (well I cant be 100% certain...see what I did there?). I know I don't have to tell others about my OCD and I respect people who want to keep it private. I have for years. I just think that I would like to be confident, own it, and help others who are still figuring out about their own mental health struggles. I know many of my family and friends will be surprised to hear that I have OCD. So if you have any suggestions or anecdotes you would be willing to share that would be great. Thanks!
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