- Date posted
- 2y ago
Support
Do you have many people to talk to about your OCD? I wish my husband was more understanding about it. Does anyone else feel like they can't talk to their spouse about it?
Do you have many people to talk to about your OCD? I wish my husband was more understanding about it. Does anyone else feel like they can't talk to their spouse about it?
My husband is so done with my OCD. He just wants to know that I’m in treatment but no details. If you have a therapist they can do a family session with your husband so he can get an understanding of your OCD and his role in supporting but not reassuring you.
My therapist and fiancé mostly, and also my mom but not too much because she lives far away.
I only share about 30% of my OCD with my husband and he is so annoyed by that much. And although he thinks I’m nuts, he also doesn’t think my meds or therapy are helpful so he’s not super supportive of that, either. I can tell you both help a ton but I will likely never be cured so in his mind it’s a waste. I’m sorry your husband isn’t supportive, mine isn’t, either. On the plus side, I don’t have to worry about him providing reassurance…
0 and I prefer it that way. It’s too much to have to deal with peoples reaction to it / inability to understand yet not make it worse, one’s expectation of support etc etc.
I can relate because I've had the same issue with my husband. My contamination OCD has been hard on him and he has gotten angry with me a lot. He thinks I should be able to just stop. Things have gotten better since he has gotten more of an understanding of what OCD us. Maybe you can try sharing some articles from NOCD or elsewhere with your husband. Like Erin suggested, a therapist can also help him get a better understanding. I know how hard it is to feel like you don't have support and understanding from your spouse. I hope that gets better. This is a great place for sharing what you're going through with other people who get it, and there are also forums on Reddit.
I feel like a lot of people don't understand me. They'll say things like, "You're being dramatic," "Just stop and calm down," "Your OCD is so exhausting for other people." It makes me super sad. I would say to join a support group on here. There are tons!
Specifically how can my fiance best support me without offering reassurance? I'm trying to encourage myself to grow and keep trying ERP, but I'm not sure how I can include my partner in a healthy way. I plan on talking to my therapist about it soon, but I wanted to hear thoughts from people who have been dealing with it themselves.
Last night I had a fucked up intrusive thought/urge about harming my partner and I'm spinning out today. I let them know I had an intrusive thought and was struggling with compulsions around it and future repercussions, but did not tell them exactly what the thought/urge was, which they accepted. Do y'all share details with your partners about harm ocd? How can we healthily ask for support from people we are having horrible thoughts about?
Has anyone experienced their reputation affected or misunderstood because of a societally taboo OCD theme? Others catching wind of your obsessions and misinterpreting it, assuming the worst? I’m intentionally keeping it vague because I don’t want my specific situation to get reassured, but it’s been a real tough pill to swallow knowing that people close to me (and anyone else they might talk to) think of me differently. I’m unwilling to share about my OCD because I feel pretty confident it will be taken as an excuse or denial, and feels compulsive and reassurance seeking. Let me know if anyone here has experienced anything like it, how they handled it, exposures you did.
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