- Date posted
- 2y
Mental Health OCD story
Hi, I’ve been struggling with OCD since last year after a really bad trip i had from smoking weed and since then new themes have come up, but the most distressing one has been Schizophrenia OCD or Mental Health OCD. My brother had an episode in 2019 and I have severe trauma and possible PTSD from the situation. He was diagnosed with Schizophrenia. Last year I started to get a really bad obsession that I am going to end up like him and develop Schizophrenia. I did the worst thing possible and looked it up and found that you have a higher chance of developing it if someone in your family has it. I also have a grandpa who has it as well. I kept thinking “what if I end up just like my brother” or “what if that thought or action i just did means i’m showing early signs of it.” This has caused deep distress and started a bunch of compulsions like avoiding being near my brother, avoiding drinking after him or going in his room, or sitting in a spot he did. I kept thinking if I did those things then I would possibly end up just like him. When my mom or siblings would compare me to him in anyway even if it was positive it gave me so much anxiety and rumination. I started therapy in August of last year and it has helped tremendously, but this week my brother had another episode and it triggered a huge OCD flare up. It’s especially bad right now as I’m typing this, but my mind keeps saying “what if you’re just like him but yours may be worse” or “what if you sympathizing with him means you have some similar symptoms.” I’ve been crying a lot and super anxious. It seems like anytime I think “oh it’s just OCD” or “i’ve dealt with this before I know how to handle it,” something doesn’t allow me to accept that, and instead I start thinking that I’m going to develop it too. I have a therapy appointment soon but I just feel so isolated right now in my thoughts and it’s especially hard to explain it to my family. If anyone has any tips I would love that!