- Username
- Kerry Osborn
- User type
- Therapist
- Date posted
- 1y ago
What brought you here?
What made you personally download the NOCD app? Curious what brought you here - was it for the therapy, the community, the resources, or all?
What made you personally download the NOCD app? Curious what brought you here - was it for the therapy, the community, the resources, or all?
Therapy. I previously thought I was just a hypochondriac, but then I got horrible harm intrusive thoughts and felt like I couldn't go anywhere, slowly working my way out! Everything here extra has been great - the community is so helpful
That's so incredible to hear! Keep digging, you will find your way out more than you ever thought possible!
@A person 1 So relatable!
Finally finding an answer to my terrible intrusive thoughts and groin response. I have sadly been dealing with them since I was 13; I truly believed I was a broken person, that I was doomed and deserved nothing. I had a massive flare up back in December of this year, to where I couldn’t see anyone or be out anymore. I cried all day, and locked myself in my house. I found out about NOCD by sharing an article with my mother, hoping to show her what I’ve been struggling with all this time, and she recommended I make the free call. Since then, I’ve found a lovely community and therapist who understand my struggles. It is so relieving to know I wasn’t insane or losing my mind.
Wow, this is so awesome to read. What an inspiration you are for your vulnerability - this will help so many people.
To find a therapist that does ERP
I first heard about NOCD in a Youtube video of psychologist Kathy D’Ath. Recently I found out the NOCD-app. I am not from a country in which English is the official language, so I don’t think I can afford therapy offered by nocd or get insurence. But I do get a lot of support out of the reading/sometimes answering the stories/messages people struggle with. I feel less alone in all this OCD related stuff and sometimes I feel I can be helpfull (I hope), comforted and empowered by the community. Plus I really like the weekly Q&A with Patrick McGrath. So cool that he does that! Thanks for facilitating these kind of things for people with OCD 👍
Hi Maddy! Thanks so much for sharing this. What country do you live in? I ask to see if you already talked with our intake team to make sure!
Therapy, but use this daily for the community and inspiration.
That's so cool to hear. Thank you for sharing!
The resources and the community
Nice! What are your favorite resources? Do you enjoy the YouTube Lives? I love them!
@ I find the q&a on Youtube valuable.
The therapy. I was in absolutely dire straights mentally, and was losing grip of reality, being psychotic with fears I couldn't possibly reveal to others. My therapist here created a safe environment for me and referred me to a very competent prescribing nurse. My care team has saved me from complete implosion, and I can't express how grateful I am to have found this service.
Thank you so much for sharing this. Finding a safe environment is KEY.
im so tired of my intrusive thoughts controlling my entire life and destroying my sexual life to what it feels like no return
It's exhausting. I love your username! It gives me hope, too!
My car was stolen in part due to my OCD. For years I had been “testing” the universe in unsafe ways (walking alone late at night, leaving my keys in the car, etc) to see if I really deserved the car, safety, whatever. It ended up being very expensive and stressful and forced me to contend with how much OCD was taking from me. I asked about ERP in my OCD support group and several people mentioned NOCD. I’m glad they did. ERP is not by any means easy, but I have a great therapist and I’m feeling optimistic.
Wow, this story sounds similar to a lot of the compulsions I used to do. Not being able to lock my car, leaving valuables to "test" it as well. This was part of my magical thinking, and it was the worst. One time my OCD was ADAMANT that I leave my dorm room for a whole weekend with my valuables inside and leave the door unlocked the entire time. I spent the whole weekend away shivering in fear of what would be stolen. I look back now and can't believe I allowed my OCD to rule me in that way.
It was for everything! I didn’t know why I was having these thoughts & I wanted resolution and answers as to why for the first time in my 28 years of existence it was happening. I also feel like through community we can help each other better and more.
Honestly not sure. I know I have issues, even my wife has commented on them, I feel a lot of them are brought on by anxiety. Honestly, I have no idea what I hoped to gain from this.
It's okay to feel this way - it can feel like such a loss when you aren't even sure what help you need. I felt this way too. A lot of times, OCD is the root of other comorbidities, and getting a diagnosis and treatment plan for OCD can help in other areas as well. Have you by chance had a session with an OCD Specialist ever?
@ I have not. The VA had me talk to a therapist for my rating and he told me I had anxiety driven depression. But that's all I know as of yet
I was a major memory hoarder. I googled “ What is it called when I feel the need to remember everything “ it said it was OCD so then I googled OCD therapist in my area and NOCD came up
Therapy but the postings are very helpful.
I downloaded it because it sounded like a good way to deal with my ocd.
More for therapy but I’m glad there is a community. I’m constantly struggle with thoughts about how I look, how my hair looks, and my weight. I compare my body to others and I struggle to have confidence (today I’m really struggling and it’s 6 am) and I also have BDD to which doesn’t help things. I really want to be thin and have a flat stomach and I don’t see that when I look in the mirror and constantly need validation. And I don’t have a partner and I feel like I’m hideous and I’m not attractive cuz I have a little loose skin on my stomach.
I relate so much to all of this. It's so hard to have OCD and comorbidities of any kind, but one surrounding your appearance is so very hard. I relate to needing the validation as well!
I was losing control of all the facets of my life. My personal and work life were suffering. I still have not been diagnosed with what I am. Adam Brickell
Hi Adam! I sure relate to losing control of all areas of life. Have you ever seen an OCD Specialist?
Heard about the app and therapy resources in the podcast OCD Stories.
Owning it, compulsive buying & a tad amount of hoarding
The therapy! I have postpartum contamination OCD and after 6 months of things continuing to only get worse not better I realized it was something I had to get help with and can’t just overcome by myself no matter how much I research/try.
So glad you are here, Robbin! I love the vulnerability of acknowledging the need to reach out for help after trying on our own for so long!
To finally tackle what I believe is ROCD. I have intrusive thoughts constantly about my amazing secure partner and I feel like it’s more than just ordinary doubt. I am trying to be positive and excited to start therapy.
I am so excited for you. I struggle with ROCD too, and I needed help desperately, as it got in the way of my last relationship badly. This is so exciting for both you and your partner!
@ Thank you!! I really am hopeful this will let me see things clearly and the work will pay off . So tired of letting my mind throw bad thoughts 24/7 and get the best of me.
Instagram ad right when I needed it lol
I first heard about the app from the “OCD Stories” podcast. I came here for the support groups and the community. They all have been great on my road to recovery!
Hey everyone, my name is Stephen Smith and I’m the Founder and CEO of NOCD. I also have OCD, which is why I founded the platform. Specifically, I have “intrusive thoughts OCD”- relationship-based, sexual, and religious thoughts that made me at one point question many fundamental elements of my character. Although google searching for answers to my thoughts was my most noticeable compulsion, my compulsions were mainly mental, where I would reassure myself, mentally review past events, pray, and even check my body for different sensations. Since I didn’t suffer with the “standard symptoms”, I ended up getting misdiagnosed 5 times which caused me to get really severe, drop out of school, and become housebound. While housebound, I started searching my thoughts online which led me to realize that I had OCD. Then, when searching for evidence-based OCD treatment, I stumbled upon exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy. Although ERP is extremely effective (about 80% of people with OCD see a significant reduction in symptoms after going through treatment), there was only one therapist in my area who specialized in it. She had a 7 month wait list and charged $250 per session- making the care pretty much inaccessible for me. I got lucky though since my mom, who was desperate at the time to see me get better, found money from a family friend to pay for my treatment. She also called the clinician and begged her to get me off the waitlist. If it wasn’t for her, I probably wouldn’t be here today. After doing ERP with the provider for 12 weeks, I ended up getting better- so much to the point where I was able to go back to school, finish up my football career (I was a college quarterback) and eventually complete my degree. Because I managed the OCD fears by accepting the uncertainty behind them (a core principle behind response prevention), the anxiety over time went away, and the thoughts decreased in frequency as well as in severity (since they didn’t really matter to me anymore). After that happened, I ended up returning back to normal pretty much- feeling as good as I did before my severe OCD onset. That’s when I started pondering the question, “if OCD is so treatable with a good ERP therapist, then why isn’t treatment more accessible to people going through the condition?” It’s a question I’m sure many of you are currently asking or have asked before. Now to the good news....There is no more need to ask that question. Now inside of NOCD, you can do live, face-to-face therapy sessions with a licensed therapist who specializes in treating OCD using exposure and response prevention (ERP). After signing up, all you need to do is open up your phone or laptop and start the session with the ERP therapist. It’s all video-conferencing. It’s the solution that I always wanted when I was going through treatment, so I hope you can find value in it if you are suffering- especially those who are stuck on the waitlist or who live hours from care. Anyways- if you have questions about doing ERP therapy with a NOCD telehealth provider or with another therapist feel free to ask them here. I will definitely give you the pros and cons. Much love!
Hey everyone, my name is Stephen Smith and I’m the Founder and CEO of NOCD. I also have OCD, which is why I founded the platform. Specifically, I have “intrusive thoughts OCD”- relationship-based, sexual, and religious thoughts that made me at one point question many fundamental elements of my character. Although google searching for answers to my thoughts was my most noticeable compulsion, my compulsions were mainly mental, where I would reassure myself, mentally review past events, pray, and even check my body for different sensations. Since I didn’t suffer with the “standard symptoms”, I ended up getting misdiagnosed 5 times which caused me to get really severe, drop out of school, and become housebound. While housebound, I started searching my thoughts online which led me to realize that I had OCD. Then, when searching for evidence-based OCD treatment, I stumbled upon exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy. Although ERP is extremely effective (about 80% of people with OCD see a significant reduction in symptoms after going through treatment), there was only one therapist in my area who specialized in it. She had a 7 month wait list and charged $250 per session- making the care pretty much inaccessible for me. I got lucky though since my mom, who was desperate at the time to see me get better, found money from a family friend to pay for my treatment. She also called the clinician and begged her to get me off the waitlist. If it wasn’t for her, I probably wouldn’t be here today. After doing ERP with the provider for 12 weeks, I ended up getting better- so much to the point where I was able to go back to school, finish up my football career (I was a college quarterback) and eventually complete my degree. Because I managed the OCD fears by accepting the uncertainty behind them (a core principle behind response prevention), the anxiety over time went away, and the thoughts decreased in frequency as well as in severity (since they didn’t really matter to me anymore). After that happened, I ended up returning back to normal pretty much- feeling as good as I did before my severe OCD onset. That’s when I started pondering the question, “if OCD is so treatable with a good ERP therapist, then why isn’t treatment more accessible to people going through the condition?” It’s a question I’m sure many of you are currently asking or have asked before. Now to the good news....There is no more need to ask that question. Now inside of NOCD, you can do live, face-to-face therapy sessions with a licensed therapist who specializes in treating OCD using exposure and response prevention (ERP). After signing up, all you need to do is open up your phone or laptop and start the session with the ERP therapist. It’s all video-conferencing. It’s the solution that I always wanted when I was going through treatment, so I hope you can find value in it if you are suffering- especially those who are stuck on the waitlist or who live hours from care. Anyways- if you have questions about doing ERP therapy with a NOCD telehealth provider or with another therapist feel free to ask them here. I will definitely give you the pros and cons. Much love!
Hi, my name is Casie and I'm a Member Advocate at NOCD! I started therapy with NOCD back in 2020 because I was at one of my lowest points and knew I needed help. I learned so much and was able to find how to help myself, something I never imagined I could do. I also love creating art! So for anyone new here, we would love to meet you. Tell us what brought you to NOCD, and something special about yourself!
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