Can people please share some stories of recovery? I’m feeling so helpless at the moment and need desperately some inspiration to keep on going. I really can’t see the way out right now 😭
I used to go crazy at home just thinking I was in the wrong place, surrounded by the wrong people, doing the wrong thing for my career, etc. With ERP and a lot of help from a therapist here I'm now happy and can do other things with my life rather than just thinking over and over. It took about a year for me to truly get there but I'm so happy i did it.
@Devu Thank you
Yes! I am so sorry you’re feeling this way, I’ve been there too. I have more details of my story in my profile bio, but in summary: OCD used to take over my life, and because I didn’t understand how it worked I blamed myself for a long time thinking there was something wrong with me. When I finally started ERP, I was scared but also ready to change my behavior for my long term mental health. During my first exposure (putting away groceries without washing my hands), I cried. I had alllll the doubt about the process, wondering if it would work, how I would do it, etc. Then, I remember going to the gas station a month or so into treatment and touching the gas handle without washing or sanitizing my hands. I was AMAZED that ERP had begun to work and felt so proud of myself. ERP can be hard work. Even now, I have days where life feels easy and days where I feel more anxious. But it is so worth it. Going through the process showed me that I was in control of my life and my actions, not OCD. And now I feel so confident in who I am, in my ability to make decisions, and brave the hard stuff. Practically, my life has also completely changed because I can do sooo many things now that I didn’t do before. Trust that this feeling of desperation will pass. You can get through this, and we are all rooting for you in this community! 💜
@Killian Thank you for sharing
Hi! I would love to share! I was diagnosed with OCD and ADHD at age 7 after the school decided to run a bunch of test. When I was younger I struggled with contamination and organizational OCD. Getting older My OCD spread to just about all themes. I got so bad in 2021 I was suicidal for most of the year. I then decided to start ERP. I have been in therapy for years and had seen some small improvements not anything significant. With my current ERP therapist I have gotten to a place I didn't know was possible. I never knew I could be in control of my OCD and not have it run my life. It took some scary exposure but now as the intrusive thoughts come in I am not even shaken by them. I just see them as thoughts. Going through ERP has given me a distance and freedom from OCD. It takes hard work but it is work that is so worth it. As someone who was convinced I could never recover believe me when I say anything is possible. You got this! You can do hard things!
Hi everyone, I’m reaching out here because I know this community understands the daily battles of living with OCD. Recently, I hit a really dark place and tried to take my own life. It’s been hard to admit, but I’m still here, and I’m trying to find a way forward. OCD feels relentless sometimes—the intrusive thoughts, the constant doubt, the cycles that never seem to end. It became so overwhelming that I didn’t see a way out. I know I need help, and I’m working on reaching out to professionals, but I also wanted to connect here. To those who’ve been in a similar place: What helped you keep going? How do you manage the darkest moments when OCD takes over? I feel like I’m holding on by a thread, but I’m holding on. Any advice, words of encouragement, or personal experiences would mean so much to me right now. Thank you for reading this, and for being part of a space where we can be honest about our struggles.
I think I’m going through the hardest depression right now. I’ve never felt so compelled to just stop getting up and stop living. I know it’s hard to hear, I just really feel bad. Right now I even feel like an attention seeker. I just wanted to know, are there any tips to raise me from this hole im in? Has anyone else felt like this an pulled themselves out?
back in october i made my first post about my specific type of ocd, how it mixes in with my day to day and how i “deal” with it. i talked about the starting point, how it gradually got worse, and then how it was going just a few months ago. i always think it’s insane how much can change in just the course of a small to a large amount of time. right now, i honestly feel like garbage. to be quite sincere i really want to give up, i’m barely holding on by a thread. and if i cut that thread, i really doubt anyone would care. i’ve never considered myself to be a suicidal person, and i still don’t consider myself that right now. it just gets to a point where it’s just, a lot to deal with. i don’t really enjoy things a lot nowadays. sure i have good days like everyone does, like today, when i was just enjoying my day without worries. but then it all comes crawling back twice as bad the following days. i take online college so i’m usually just stuck at home most of the time. but, when i do decide to actually go out and leave my house, my ocd just explodes because i have this whole routine i need to do or else i feel like i’ll contaminate wherever i end up going. i’m not going to go really deep into my compulsions because it’s hard enough to live with them, much more having to type them all out in detail. but when i go out my compulsions go from wiping down all my stuff i’m going to use after showering, to washing my clothes/cleaning the washer + dryer. i also have separate things (or two of the same thing) i use specifically in my house, and items i use when going out. such as shampoo/body wash, deodorant, lotion, hair curler, etc. as if that’s not draining enough, i also feel the need to fast a couple days prior to any plan i make because i’ve forced myself to believe i need to feel empty in order to be clean. i’m not sure if that’s my past eating disorder talking, or my ocd, but my brain can’t help but think any food in my house is utterly and completely contaminated. i’m so tired of this feeling, feeling like nothing will ever be clean again. feeling like my ocd is trapped in my childhood home. feeling that wave of diseases rushing through my veins the moment i step foot into what’s supposed to be “home”. and i’m so scared of therapy because what if i do get healed, and then everything comes rushing back the second i step into my room. i’m planning on moving somewhere far from my current house in this next coming year, so sometimes i feel like just waiting it out. but it’s insufferable when going to hangout with someone. i miss my friends, my family, and my partner. it’s crazy to me that i’m dealing with all this at the young age of 18 but, i’m sure lots of people have it way worse. i just want to find a way out, any possible way. but i keep pushing myself deeper and deeper that when i finally find a way, it will no longer exist.
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