What helps you with mental compulsions?

I’ve been feeling so Bad™️ lately. I know I’m anxious because my chest feels tight and it’s hard to breathe. I can’t focus and my head just hurts. I know I’m depressed too because the only relief I get is when I sleep, I can’t get up in the morning, and I delay starting work. My obsessions and compulsions are largely why I’m so distracted, and I’m exhausted. I feel like my OCD is yelling at me all the time to ruminate and analyze and throws urges and feelings irrelevant to any given moment where im sitting at my laptop at the dining room table trying to get anything done. Because my compulsions largely feed off of my personality, which is to analyze, I’m having a hard time catching when things go off the rails. My therapist wants me to avoid analyzing, so if I do catch myself I’ve tried to say, “maybe, maybe not,” but the anxiety doesn’t seem to go away in a reasonable amount of time. If anything, it makes it even easier to fall for OCDs lies each time after that to the point that I feel like I’m the one living the lie. I’m new to this, and I’m fighting habits built over 13+ years, so I can appreciate that this will take some time. But what am I supposed to do if I can’t work, as much as I want to (and need to)? Has anyone else felt this paralyzed in the process of ending compulsions? Do you have advise or perspective to offer to get through?

Jeffrey

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 2y

I am so sorry ocd is giving you such a hard time. I have definitely been there where I could not function as I needed to and that is frustrating. I work in the legal field where analyzing is part of my work, so I get how that can put into our ocd. It does take a lot of practice, but with ERP I am now able to let the thoughts be there as I go on with my day. I do use maybe/maybe not, but lately I have said to the ocd - whatever- I don’t care what you say I am not interested. Now my anxiety is still high but over time I am able ti let the thoughts be there without having to figure it out - because there is nothing to figure out - ocd is a false alarm and telling us there is danger ⛔️ where there is no ⛔️. But ocd wants certainty and we can’t have it unfortunately. I have been dealing with ocd for over 40 years and I can tell you with LOTS of practice it will get better. And we are here for you. Also, be kind to yourself. This is a challenging disorder. We are in this together

doinghardthings

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 2y

@Jeffrey Your comment is very kind ❤️ thank you for sharing your experience. I had suggested to my therapist maybe I try something like saying to myself “I don’t know, I’ll deal with it later,” and then I never deal with it later, I (hopefully) just get used to it being there. She said it was okay for now.

Jeffrey

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 2y

@doinghardthings You’re welcome. I found this community to be supportive. We are in this together and although we have different experiences we share the common bond of OCD. And remember we try our best and sometimes we will compulse and that is okay - once we catch it we stop.

Cassie:)

Date posted: 2y

Coloring books with tv on. Coloring helps me so much, it really quiets my mind

doinghardthings

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 2y

@ccas6 I do find some relief at night when I can crochet or do a puzzle.

Wes01

Date posted: 2y

Do you have short term disability coverage? OCD interfering with work especially on a new diagnosis should qualify you for short term disability if you have that available to you while you get a handle on this.

doinghardthings

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 2y

@Wes01 I might look into it, but unfortunately I’m employed as a consultant for a very tiny company

trinii

Date posted: 25w

How do I navigate my new diagnosis?

So after my ocd has become more prominent, it gets harder to fight through these compulsion’s everyday. I don’t go to therapy or take any medications and to be honest I am very lost in my journey on how to navigate life with ocd. I don’t want it to take over my life. I want to be able to feel like I can live without a weight on my chest and to finally feel like I can breathe. Any suggestions or words of advice is more than welcome.

Anonymous

Date posted: 21w

Advice on getting by?

Hi! I’m new to the NOCD community, but I’ve been dealing with OCD since I was 12. I’m almost 29 now, and my biggest issue is health anxiety. It’s gotten to the point where getting work done is nearly impossible because i can’t stop spiraling. I’m lucky that i work remotely, but also makes it easier to be in my own head… Asking for advice - how do you all deal with the intense anxiety and are able to make it through a 9-5 work day? Any suggestions on how I can actually be productive? Thank you!

uncertain_Aly

Date posted: 21w

Does OCD impact your ability to get to work?

Often times I find myself spiraling out in the morning about all sorts of things. When I try and catch myself and figure out what I am obsessing over it’s like it goes away. I haven’t moved. I have been sitting frozen on the floor because I can’t go to work because I am behind on work and I hate being late and I hate being messy but I am frequently late and my room is cluttered and full of stuff. I want to be good and move and go to work but I don’t know what is coming today and I hate my job so I know I will get bored and when I have nothing to keep me busy and engaged I like start thinking and taking an inventory of what is going on and then I will feel a sensation and what is the sensation? How did it happen? And I know that I will pick up the bad emotions in the office and get contaminated, I was really worried about things like this as a kid too I cried because I had to touch dirt in kindergarten. I know I am this way and I have been this way for a while but at the same time I think I might just be normal and like I don’t know why I get stuck in thinking like this. Then I begin to doubt that OCD is real because everyone has a brain with wiring and everyone gets stuck in thought sometimes. I feel disabled from whatever this is because I am stuck. I literally cannot move because I don’t know what’s wrong and I know I have to go to work even though I feel like every moment I spend there is making everything worse because other people are so stressed and I get it from them. And I don’t feel ready because I just feel off and something is wrong and I just don’t know what to do because if it’s OCD or not OCD everything anyone knows about me is coming from me and I worry that I am often masking all the thinking I’m doing because thinking all the time is rude and inconsiderate and inconvenient for those around me, but I can’t stop. I just don’t feel right, right now - and I want to know WHY?? Why is everything off all the time? How do I even know that I am not making up the experience of OCD in my head to cover up something really wrong with me and now I am taking on the symptoms of OCD like an actress, because this could be something that I can latch onto as a final hope for explaining why I am stuck. So stuck so deeply and terribly stuck sitting on my floor next to my bed just scrolling to avoid thinking because any time I start thinking I am left with no answers or help or anything just this swirly feeling. I know I am trying, maybe not my best, but as much as I possibly can. I want to be a Special Education Teacher but I have so much so so so much doubt and uncertainty about every decision I make and everything I know that I can’t get there right now. I can’t do anything right now until it feels ok and then I will. It never feels ok. I know I have to be ok not feeling ok about it. I can be unsure and still be ok. I know it’s just my thinking and my body but I just can’t get past this feeling. And then I know that because I can calm myself and be ok even though I spent 2 hours of my life today already feeling stuck and spinning around and around and around in my head - I don’t feel sure about my OCD and I think it’s a bit of a scam made up by people to cultivate pathology around deep human thought because one day I might figure it out and we all think a lot.

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What helps you with mental compulsions?

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