I do really feel like personifying my OCD really helped relieve a lot of the anxiety. That and finding a community of people who are having similar thoughts! Being able to take a step back and name a thought as OCD helped me so much. The anxiety is there as MUCH as it was along with the thoughts but knowing that they’re not MY thoughts helped me with direction on where to go from there. I can now get a thought and tell myself it’s ocd because I know it is even when I’m doubting it. I can say to myself even when I’m doubting the ocd that it’s called the doubting disorder for a reason and feel better. I grew up always feeling ~different~ because of my thoughts but never knew they were ocd related and knowing that felt like putting the last piece of a 600 piece puzzle in its place. It helped me put a name to my problems and be like “wow, that explains sooo much” like honestly a weight has been lifted. For that reason,I know I can get through this gross and horrifying disorder.

I’m not sure honestly, I guess it’s always been in my nature to find answers so like growing up id spend hours online. It wasn’t any different when it came to HOCD so like I knew something was off and once I found out that this was an actual condition, i read sooo many articles, listened to podcasts, watched all of Christie’s and Aly Greyhounds videos and once it stuck in my head that every single thought that I’ve been thinking even the ones doubting my actual ocd, were thoughts that people suffering ocd has thought, I kind of just started to separate the thoughts from my normal ones. Chrissie talks about whenever she felt her ocd creeping in, there were patterns. Once I started to notice my own patterns I could start to stop the thoughts (I would make myself laugh really loud in my head whenever I’d start to have a bad thought) (it usually was louder than the thoughts and helped just to cut them off before they started. I’d get anxious in my chest and throat area, I’d spend hours doing research, etc. so whenever I notice these thoughts and actions I could step back and be like hey that’s my anxiety and ocd talking, let’s do or think about something else. (Sorry I hoped that helped, I’m all over the place)

Basically 1. Name it 2. Notice your patterns 3. Reroute your brain whenever you can feel your patterns happening

Just know you aren't ur OCD

It's like a different person ocd

like a person u hate,not u

Sorry it wasn’t suppose to be a trigger warning!!!

But exactly, I HATE when my ocd thoughts pop in because it’s like my happy bubbly self just totally shuts off and I’m just sitting there feeling like I’m drowning, I get so depressed but the only thing that brings me back to being myself is knowing that it’s ocd making me feel like that. Some days are really hard don’t get me wrong but they’ve gotten so much better after knowing that they’re not MY thoughts, they’re a disorder that I’ve always suffered with but was diagnosed with

Exactly what helped you to personify the OCD and as a demon to be eradicated? That would probably help me a lot, to be perfectly honest...

Thank you!