- Date posted
- 2y ago
What's the difference between living with OCD and
Living just with the intrusive thoughts that makes you uncomfortable and anxious Does OCD have to be severe to have it?
Living just with the intrusive thoughts that makes you uncomfortable and anxious Does OCD have to be severe to have it?
OCD, like any other disorder or illness can have differing impacts on the people it affects. Everything is sort of on a spectrum, right? We know that often times people who have OCD report times in their lives where it ebbs and flows, so it makes sense that there are times when people may feel like it is completely gone or times when it seems to be ever present. I think that living in recovery means that you recognize what OCD is, you have the tools to fight it, and you live your life in spite of what OCD says.https://www.treatmyocd.com/blog/im-living-in-recovery-from-ocd-heres-what-that-means
Well, to my understanding the repetitiveness and anxiety comes from the compulsions feeding the obsessions and the cyclic nature of OCD. Ex.) I see a knife, I have an intrusive thought (obsession), I tell myself it’s okay (compulsion). I’ve learned I can’t handle it without my compulsion.
Wait, calming myself and convincing myself that my thoughts are not what I really think can be a compulsion?
@bluesapphire As counterintuitive as that seems, yes! Let me send a resource.
@John E Great article!!
Hey thank you guys so much for your answers! I'm just really struggling understanding what did I went through this year. It was like really crazy for me. I had horrible intrusive thoughts that made my life just unbearable. I'm in a much better place since I've learned how to cope and about OCD in general. The thing is that I didn't want to a psychiatrist so I don't really know rather I have OCD or not and it makes me really to doubt myself even though I've been through hell living like this
This list by ai gives a good summary of my symptoms. Does it resemble OCD or is it something else? 1. Compulsions (OCD-specific behaviors): • Feeling the need to flex or contract muscles an even number of times, equally on both sides of your body. • Needing to reverse actions (for example, if you roll your eyes or trace a line with your finger, you feel compelled to do it again in the exact opposite way). 2. Intrusive Thoughts (OCD-specific ruminations): • Daydreaming about people you care about getting hurt (e.g., school shooting, injury, or kidnapping). • Sometimes feeling like you might want something bad to happen to someone you find attractive—possibly because of a desire to help or save them, though it’s confusing. • These thoughts can sometimes provide a twisted sense of relief while remaining distressing and confusing. 3. Sexual Orientation OCD: • Experiencing confusion or doubt about your sexual orientation. 4. Contamination Thoughts: • Feeling like things are contaminated, especially after touching something gross. 5. Sensory Compulsions: • Feeling the need to smell your hand after touching areas like your ear or hair. 6. ADHD-like Symptoms / Additional Observations: • Fidgeting or moving your legs when standing or sitting.
OCD is so much more than just being 'neat' or 'organized'—it’s relentless, exhausting, and often deeply misunderstood. The intrusive thoughts, the compulsions, the anxiety—it can feel like a never-ending cycle that others just don’t seem to get. Many of us have had experiences where even therapists didn’t fully grasp the depth of our struggles. I myself faced difficulty being misdiagnosed and my talk therapist not understanding the full extent of what I was going through until I found NOCD. So many prior therapists wrote off my symptoms as general anxiety, not realizing it was actually OCD all along. If you could sit down with a therapist who truly wanted to understand, what do you wish they knew about OCD?
How to know if you actually have it or if I’m just making up the symptoms? I have a lot of intrusive thoughts constantly and even have a “theme” but it really surged after I search up what I was experiencing, but then again I search up a lot of what I experience and constantly have to recheck things. My parents say I’m normal but I know I’m not, (both of my siblings have adhd) I find it immensely hard to focus from turning 17-18. Please let me know what you think l! Thanks!
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