Why does my ocd seem to be geared towards my older son? He’s a great son, ect, love him With my life, why does it seem I think stuff about him the most, and he’s named after me, I don’t get it?
I am sorry that you are having a hard time. Ocd is distressful and it takes all that we have that is dear to us and tries to destroy it. Since you clearly cherish your son, ocd will definitely attack him. If you didn’t value your son, ocd would not choose him to go after. It sucks but keep in mind OCD is a liar. Period.
Yes true, my saving Grace is it comes and goes, o know it’s not true, and GOD knows the real me , thank you for the reply
I’m sorry your OCD is latching onto your son. You are definitely not alone. It’s so tough when our obsessions surround our loved ones…it may help to remember that there’s often no rhyme or reason to our obsessions, beyond what Jeffrey said about OCD attacking our values/things that are important to us. This is just OCD’s way of trying to get your attention! The more we obsess about “why” this is and try to resist the thoughts, the more distress we’ll feel in the long run. The best thing we can do in these moments is to remember that that’s just the name of the game with OCD, and the fears themselves aren’t the issue. How we respond is the issue. We can respond with non-engagement no matter what the content of the fears! Are you working with an ERP therapist already?
Killian, thanks for the response, I’ve never been to a doctor about OCD, maybe I just have weird brain circuits, lol, but I’m pretty sure it’s OCD. I’ve always had tics since I was a kid, I’m 60, those little things are no big deal, but thoughts eat me up, especially knowing they’re the opposite of who I really am. They come and go, and I can feel when they’re here, and when gone… just strange …I’m very lucky my wife is great, she’s the most understanding one in this world , that’s all I have for now lol
Trying not to seek reassurance, but rather connect the dots on my OCD and possible reasons as to why I am the way I am. I have severe OCD (or at least I hope I do) mainly surrounding POCD. I've had symptoms of OCD the majority of my life but this theme has come up more recently. When I was a kid, and i'm talking 6-7, I was first exposed to some really gross adult content online. It was introduced to me by a friend of mine around the same age of me. I saw some really disgusting things that a 6-7 year old should definitely not see. This was not a one time occurrence, as I had been exposed to taboo topics online years to come after that, such as the same friend introducing me to Omegle... And i'm sure you can imagine how that went, theres a lot of genuinely disgusting human beings on there. Coming back to the reason for making this post; is it possible to early exposure to this content could be one of the reasons I struggle with POCD? It genuinely scares me to death because you hear that real p*dos dealt with simular situations when they were kids, so thats kind of making me feel that this could be more than OCD, and I could be a genuinely bad person. My POCD feels so real, that at times i'm fully convinced its not OCD. Sometimes I can't even distinguish the feelings of attraction between a younger person and an older person, except for the feeling of anxiety and fear. Its really hard to explain without going into detail, but it just feels so real. Some feedback on this would be great, thank you all.
Hi everyone, I’m Cayla. I’m a mom that’s lived with OCD since childhood, but my breaking point came more recently after having my son. I was consumed by terrifying thoughts—What if I hurt him? What if I did something awful without realizing it? I was so afraid of my own mind that I couldn’t be alone with him. The shame and exhaustion were unbearable, and I convinced myself I was broken. In 2024, I finally sought help. ERP therapy at NOCD was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but it saved my life. Even now, I have tough days, but I know I don’t have to be ruled by OCD. When my 12 year old daughter began showing signs of OCD, I felt overwhelmed with guilt. I never wanted her to go through what I had, but I knew what to do. I told her that I have OCD too and made sure she knew it wasn’t her fault—and that she wasn’t alone. One of the hardest parts of this journey was trusting someone else with my daughter’s OCD. I knew how vulnerable it feels to share intrusive thoughts, and I wanted her to feel safe. Her NOCD therapist was able to establish trust and genuine empathy from the start, and that relationship gave her the confidence to face ERP head-on. Seeing her build that trust made me certain she was in the right hands. ERP has helped both of us reclaim our lives, and it is beautiful to see my daughter managing her condition and making visible progress. Parenting with OCD while raising a child with OCD isn’t talked about enough, but I know so many parents are struggling with these same challenges. If you have questions about managing OCD while parenting, helping your child through ERP, or breaking cycles of guilt, drop them below—I’d love to share what I’ve learned. I’ll be answering all of the questions I receive in real-time today 4-5pm ET.
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