Anyone else struggling with their ocd at work? For some people works a distraction. For me it’s where my main focus of overthinking is at the moment. I’m ruminating a lot and can’t see it getting better.
Totally, I get it at work all the time and it can pull me right out of what I’m doing. I find that if I do a quick uncertainty statement in my mind, “I’m feeling anxious about ——, I can’t be 100% certain that won’t happen, I’m willing to live with that uncertainty happily.” It seems to help bring me back into the moment!
@Anon. That for me is the hardest part. It’s the not knowing. Like sure you can go back and check and do the very compulsion your mind is telling you to do but that isn’t going to help in the long run because the next day it’ll be something new. I just need to be able to live with the uncertainty
@.Anonymous I’ve found for me living with uncertainty is like working out a muscle at the gym. I’m not going to go bench press 300lb the first time at the gym, it takes practice. Same with uncertainty - I get better at embracing it the more I practice it. One small thing that helps me with this is embracing the uncertainty with small OCD things. I have a lot of different OCD types, so when I embrace the uncertainty for less anxiety provoking OCD types for me, the more anxiety producing OCD types become less powerful. Also, I found that by embracing the uncertainty and not giving into compulsions for the FIRST OCD symptom/type I experience in a day helps set the tone for my OCD and my willingness the rest of the day.
@Anon. Hey thanks for this! It’s deffo something to try as I’m running out of options lol. I was having an okay day today until one thought. I haven’t given into that compulsion today even though I want to
yes!!! out of nowhere a month or two ago, i starred really struggling at work with panic attacks and OCD symptoms
@sabm Ah that’s the same with me! I’ve had OCD for a while now and it even left me unable to work for a year. However I started this new job in April and was completely fine to a certain degree then bam out of nowhere last month I started questioning everything I was doing. Am I doing this wrong? Have I put the wrong information on this form? What if I’ve sent this to someone else’s email? Today seems the first day in over a month I’m alright. I don’t want to be alright though, I want to just enjoy my life without the what ifs.
@sabm Me too!
@Anonymous Ah it’s horrible right? How are you getting on with it at the moment?
@.Anonymous I’m glad you’re having a good day! Thanks for asking! I feel like I’m turning a corner with this thanks to a combo of therapy and being fortunate to have a supportive boss who was very compassionate and understanding when I told her ocd symptoms were affecting my ability to hit deadlines. It sucks, especially because my ocd symptoms flair up when I CARE about a project 😅 and sometimes compilations make it feel impossible to hit send on an email (or this message!!!) but we have figure out a way through this before and we’ll figure it out again!!!!
i feel like work is so unbearable honestly. like the last four years work has not been a trigger for me (ive been a barista the whole time) and didnt even really experience agoraphobia until a month and a half ago i got promoted to be a manager and all of a sudden out of NOWHERE work got so terrifying like the hardest thing ive ever had to do. all of a sudden im terrified to have social interactions and get out of bed even though ive never struggled with that part of OCD
@sabm I’m so sorry your going through that! I used to work as a barista as well so I can understand to a certain degree. I have another therapy session tonight so hopefully that will make me feel more positive
@.Anonymous do you see a therapist through NOCD? if so, has it been helpful for you?
@sabm Hey! So I’m not seeing a therapist through here. I was going to but I live in the UK and the price was a little high for me financially. I am seeing an old therapist again as I’m starting therapy through the NHS again. Are you currently looking for a therapist?
@.Anonymous im seeing a therapist, but want to see a NOCD specialist as well
Sorry to hear about the changes to your OCD at work. Do you think the added pressure may have triggered it? Im experiencing something similar with a new position at my job. I was fine doing more work at a different position. Now Im doing less work at a higher position and my anxiety is crazy. I dont know why. Its telework, and in my own home, but ocd is ridiculous now. It shouldnt feel like you barely survived a day each day. I dont even want to wake up to move a few feet to go to work. I am at the point where Im ready to leave less than a month in. I hope you find some mental peace soon!
@Raider916 Hey! I’m sorry your experiencing that. I completely understand that feeling of barely surviving a day. It’s like when it hits your end time a weight gets lifted off of my shoulders and I feel like I can breathe again
Kinda. I would look information on ocd when my doubt about having ocd would kick in. I have not been diagnosed with ocd, at least not yet.
I just started a new job, and im also struggling to focus at work. Ocd and anxiety feels worse. I dont want to not work because i think its worse to have idle time, but there are days where i dont want to work with ocd.
@Raider916 I completely understand. It seems like work is so hard to do at the moment. And your right, not to work you will have more time on your hands. I went off sick due to my OCD for a year back in 2020. It was good for me as I needed to address the fact I had ocd and I wasn’t getting the correct help. However now, two years later I’m starting to get the what ifs again. And like yourself I’m in a new job. I started in April and up until a month ago I was alright. All I want to do is hand my notice in and not work. It’s becoming unbearable
I'm wondering if this is a common OCD experience: does anyone else find that when you have idle time, your mind just spirals into endless rumination on negative "what ifs" & intrusive thoughts? It's been happening to me for the past three years, which coincides with starting a really high-stress job. Weekends used to be my time to relax, but now I dread weekends...I only feel relief when I'm sleeping because it's the only time my mind seems to quiet down. It's honestly so depressing to lose that enjoyment. Does anyone else relate to this, and if so, what helps you cope?
Does anyone have OCD regarding always feeling like you are not good enough at your job? I'm 58 years old now I've had OCD since childhood. Every job I've been at I never felt as good as my colleagues. I am a nurse but I worked at that for 15 years I had a breakdown of sorts in 2017 and went on disability. I now work part time as a a swim instructor for kids. I always was afraid of killing someone when I was a nurse. Then I tried dog grooming but I was afraid I would do it wrong and hurt the dogs. At least now the stakes are lower. But my OCD is the same. I work with colleagues who are about 40 years younger than I am . I am afraid of teaching certain classes bc I feel like I wouldn't do as good a job as someone else. I know I can do it but it's like I have a fear of not giving them their money's worth. I've been at my current job for 2 years . I've gotten very positive comments from my managers but I can't seem to believe them. I feel a lot of shame bc I lost a lot of my life to OCD and I am at an age where people are starting to retire after long and successful careers and here I am working at an entry level job. I'm planning on trying to get out of my comfort zone and teaching some of the classes I'm afraid of .it's really hard. I'm always scared what if I lose my benefits and had to work again as a nurse how would I do it.
I've been having a really tough time lately with a recent workplace interaction that occurrd today, and my mind just keeps replaying the events over and over. It feels like an endless loop, and I'm finding it incredibly hard to let go. I'm trying to figure out if this intense replaying is more about my OCD, or if it's a typical reaction to a stressful situation that's being amplified by my OCD tendencies. The specific details of the incident involve a colleague engaging in a racially insensitive discussion that I tried to disengage from. Despite my attempts to steer the conversation away and remove myself, the situation escalated with direct confrontation and accusations. This led to significant emotional distress for me. Later in the day, the same colleague misunderstood another conversation, making baseless accusations and publicly confronting me in a very aggressive way. I kept quiet throughout, just a bit of muttering. The emotional toll of these interactions has been immense. Now, my mind is stuck. I can't seem to stop dwelling on every word, every gesture, and every imagined alternative outcome. Hoping I'm not viewed as the "angry black woman" which is such an affair narrative why can't I state grievances of racism, without this narrative. * how do you manage the relentless replaying of stressful workplace interactions? What are your go-to coping mechanisms when your mind gets "stuck" on these loops? * Have you found any specific strategies helpful for navigating interpersonal conflicts at work when your OCD makes it difficult to process and move past them? * When you're feeling emotionally vulnerable due to work stress, what helps you prevent these situations from turning into prolonged rumination cycles? Any advice or shared experiences would be incredibly helpful. I'll be so grateful for any assistance. I just feel like I'm not good at life.
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