- Username
- Sarahš
- Date posted
- 1y ago
What is life like without OCD
Many times I wonder about this: what is life like without OCD? How would my life be if I wasn't dealing/struggling/suffering from OCD
Many times I wonder about this: what is life like without OCD? How would my life be if I wasn't dealing/struggling/suffering from OCD
well i can say with what i know before i had ocd, because i only started suffering when i turned 16 and was pretty much normal before that. itās basically SO MUCH more peaceful hahah, i remember i would think so much less and used to imagine up lots of funny scenarios in my head about people i knew and i was very creative, thinking about different concepts or daydreaming, not obsessively. i didnāt have to worry about thinking about anything cos i could make it stop at any time. i thoight about my future and what i wanted to do and did a lot more stuff because i had a lot more general ideas about things i wanted to do in the day like baking or making silly videos or trying something knew. now a lot of the time i kinda sit doing nothing ruminating haha- im trying to stop. itās also like i never thought if i was a bad person or had guilt or anything, i thought i was a pretty good person and i liked myself a lot more. i also wasnāt at all paranoid, i had some social anxiety that made me overthink but that was the only time i would overthink without being able to stop. and yeh it was pretty chill and i just kinda did whatever i wanted without being scared and never thought bad stuff would happen.
I think it's going to be really freeing. This is why I hope everyone struggling gets the help they need. Things will get better
I never doubted who I was and how I would act. I was very grounded in being me. I really donāt remember have many intrusive thoughts, I know they say everyone has them but mine were very few and far between. If one did come up I think āyuck that was a bad thoughtā and go about my day. When ocd happened it was like a light switch, it even mysteriously went away a few days later but then returned. That was ages ago before much was know about ocd. At least now we have more understanding.
I wonder this often
How does OCD get in the way of living your life? What are some things you can do to drop the worries?
So Iāve been getting treatment for about 3 months now and itās been slowly starting to work I think and days are slowly getting easier. There are still plenty of bad days and days where I just feel completely defeated but Iām gradually learning how to deal with these emotions. Part of me is really relieved and excited as OCD was absolutely awful and the worst thing Iāve ever experienced. It held me back from so many things and I felt so trapped and I never imagined Iād be in so much agonising discomfort everyday. However part of me is also really uneasy as OCD is what Iāve known for so many years and I donāt know life without it. Itās almost unsettling integrating back into the ānormalā way of life as part of me doesnāt know where to start and I feel like I lack foundation if that makes sense as I have been unable to do so much for so long. Iām also finishing school soon which makes things even harder as I donāt know what comes next, or who or what Iāll become and do with my life. I guess my question is, is life beyond OCD worth it and is it worth climbing out of this hell hole? I also know that Iāll probably always have OCD and there may always be bad days but itās just becoming less disabling and time consuming which is so exciting but sort of terrifying at the same time. I also am worried that Iāll live a boring and miserable life because at least dealing with OCD left me with something and made life more interesting, much more painful but It almost became my identity. But I guess there has to be something more beyond this life Iām living. Sorry this is long.
OCD hit me 12 years ago when I was in college, but I had no idea what was happening. I thought I might have been going crazy. I felt so lost, and I eventually fell into a deep depression. If you can relate to this, know that youāre not alone - I get it, and I can also tell you that thereās hope. Once you have the tools to manage OCD, things can become so much better! For me personally, getting effective treatment helped me get my life back, and still helps me manage OCD every day. From there, I began to find myself again. I felt like Allison again. I could start doing the things I love again. If you knew in 4 months from now you wouldnāt be as bothered by OCD, what would you do first?
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