i cheated, I was anxious and tho I was prepared for that exam, Ocd caught me like crazy the day before and I just couldn't focus, so I got next to a friend. Now I just feel awful because I don't deserve that grade yes I have worked hard but that wasnt me what should I do
You made what you feel is a mistake. You felt overwhelmed and although cheating isn’t ideal for you long-term - you made a short term decision and did the best you could. Remind yourself this does not define you and you usually do not cheat. You are a good person! You made one mistake. You did the best you could for the time. Maybe you feel pressured by yourself and others to be perfect academically and that’s something you may want to acknowledge if you feel like you have to be perfect in school- remind yourself that it is okay to be an average student. When you feel ready make a general plan for how to avoid accidentally cheating in the future if you can. Such as making a study guide a few days in advance or when you feel overwhelmed calling a classmate or watching fun youtubes on the subject to re-interest yourself. Remind yourself that it is okay to mess up and if you accidentally cheat again- that’s okay too! Just do the best you can do- you can even talk to your teachers to see if they have any way to help. You’ve got this- take a breath- and say this upsets me but i have learned and will continue forward
thank you, genna! Your answer calmed me a lot I hope you are ok. Thanks for the non judgement 🫂
Hi there! I am sorry to hear that you had a bad OCD day and now are anxious about cheating. Sometimes we have to give ourselves compassion and move forward. Have you had the chance to talk to a therapist who specializes in OCD?
i couldn't take this anymore. maybe i'll just let ocd win this time. it's too hard to not have a clear conscience everytime i'm with my bf cuz my mind is telling me i'm unfaithful and don't deserve to be happy. i feel like i'll never get better anymore. i already told myself many times to stop attracting attention from other people especially to people i'm having false attraction to. but i did it again yesterday, right after i smiled a little extra in front of that girl i might be attracted to i could feel the massive anxiety in my chest. already decided last week that i might be actually attracted to her so it's best to fully avoid her. i avoided her with the best i could, but we're in the same classroom and i saw her in my peripheral vision looking at us (my bf and i) whispered to myself not to make any mistake i'll regret, but then i felt like i lose control and laugh a little extra. i searched micro cheating and it says there "trying to impress someone you're attracted to" and now i want to break up with my bf. the guilt is too strong. i couldn't sleep at night.
So i play in a band, and we were having practice, and my girlfriend was there listening to us, then this girl around our age walks in, and my head tells me to cheat on my girlfriend with her. I know i would never do such a thing. And it bothered me for days. And i ended up telling my girlfriend, and tried to explain my ocd. It hurt her and she believes that the instrusive thoughts, are my thoughts so in that, i must feel something behind them. And she feels hurt because i explained to her the obsessive part of ocd and how this thought wouldnt leave my head. And she got upset knowing that i was constantly thinking about cheating on her. I cant help but feel its all my fault. And now that she doesnt understand i feel really guilty for my thoughts and they are coming more often and worse. When i was fine for months, but my ocd always acts up right as i get in relationships, then i usually tell my spouse and tell them i cant feel guilt for my thoughts or they will get worse. And they usually just accepted it and it was easy. But with her it seems she just cant seem to understand, ive tried to explain it to her countless times, she isnt willing to do research with me to help better understand it or anything. Maybe for my first ocd issue telling her that wasnt the best idea.
I was doing fine today until I asked ChatGPT if i cheated and they said it could count as emotional cheating if you are engaging in intense daydreams and looking someone up on social media to feed a fantasy about them. My partner and I already spoke about me fantasizing about this person and he said it was totally fine since it happened in my head and he has had crushes and fantasies on coworkers too. However I feel absolutely devastated and wrecked with guilt and anxiety and panic right now. I genuinely feel like a horrible horrible horrible cheater. I don’t know what to do. I have therapy scheduled for later this week but I really really need some advice right now!!! I feel like it could count as cheating since it did happen during a few weeks where i felt a bit distant from my partner and I feel like the daydreaming was excessive. I am so so scared. Do I confess? Do I tell him I cheated? He already told me once that cheating is a physical interaction (and I literally have not interacted with this person outside of surface level responses in a group server that my partner is also a part of). Do I have a moral obligation to tell him I cheated? I need to know.
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