I’ve been recently diagnosed with OCD but just wondering what jobs do you do or recommend to do with OCD? It’s pretty nerve racking for me and causes anxiety trying to find something I’m going to be comfortable doing with this condition. I just know I have a really big heart <3 Thank you
Don’t let ocd hold you back, it’s a part of you but not all of you. If you want to be a doctor, go do it. If you want to be a dentist, be a dentist. If you want to be a sales assistant, be a sales assistant. Do the job that you want to do lovely ♥️
@Embraceuncertainty2022 Thank you. Just been really rough trying to figure out what I’m good at now or what I can do. I’m 31 and everybody says I’m still young but I feel my time to go back to school or learn something has passed. It’s been pretty rough trying to cope with it all.
@Matthew25 A friend completely changed careers (lawyer to chemist) in his 30s and it worked out fine. So your time has not passed. My advice is to do erp therapy so your ocd is not in control and then figure out what you enjoy doing or are passionate about as a career.
@Erin P Thank you for the response it gives me hope that their is something out there for me that I’ll be passionate and happy with. I’ll just have to sit down and do some diving.
@Matthew25 🫶
I understand what you mean there are things and jobs id like to have but feel like i dont pursue them because of the fear of how my ocd will react. Im 30 and im looking into going back into something i liked doing which was digital design im going to build a portfolio and hopefully get a job. This whole time i just just been running from dead end job to dead end job. But we can't let our ocd dictate and make the options available for jobs less for us find a job that you actually find interesting and push for it dont let ocd bully you out of it. You not alone !
@Mr.ocd 👏
@Mr.ocd Thanks for helpful and motivating words my friend. I was so glad to get a diagnosis as fast as I did but now it’s trying to cope with it and not letting the pressure of this illness get the best of me.
@Matthew25 Good plan. 🫶
I’ve done groups on here with people go have been lawyers, fast food workers, doctors in training. Ocd doesn’t discriminate so don’t discriminate yourself. Realize though that stress can affect you more easily than others without ocd at times.
@artsygirl Thank you for the support. It’s been holding me back lately with all the negativity on the news and economic negativity surrounding the world right now.
The actual job won’t matter so much as the structure and flexibility. Having adequate sick days and time off may be more important than pay. The ability to work alone or with others (which ever is more comfortable for you) is important. The ability to work in something you feel skilled at (while passion is great, not all of us have the opportunity to work for things we’re passionate about, but feeling skilled and confident is important.) also the culture: I personally have a very low key friendly office. I don’t do well it highly competitive or cut throat places. Figure out what will make your work less stressful and afford you the time you need to and the environment you need to address this conditioning successfully. A wish list and red flag list may help.
Depending on your type of ocd (and perhaps all ocd) working in a group job like grocery where you have to deal with customers and coworkers is great to get you out of your own mind. In fact I imagine this is good for a perfectionist type ocd as a form of erp, just let the employer know you have a disability, employers are normally considerate and certainly confidential. Goodluck to you.
Hi everyone. First time here. I suffer from Contamination OCD. I have a good support group in friends, family, and my boyfriend, but I have not met anyone else with OCD and I needed to reach out to others to find help. I first got OCD when I was 17 (I am now 33) and was able to go into remission, but COVID brought it back. I was struggling at work (which was outside with the public). I found a therapist and she wrote me a doctor’s note suggesting I be allowed to work from home. My work was not accommodating at all and only offered me FMLA leave, so I took it as my only option and eventually got on Short Term Disability. The whole process took forever and was incredibly stressful. My leave was supposed to be a time of healing and it just made my OCD symptoms worse. My employer basically treated me as though I was trying to get out of work and proved to me that though they talk about the importance of mental health, they don’t take mental health seriously. I ended up having to leave my job “involuntarily due to health reasons” as they would not grant an extension nor let me return with any restrictions/accommodations. My therapist seemed good at first, but it became clear that she wasn’t really helping me. She would often use our sessions to vent about the insurance company and in one session, she basically called me a hopeless case and kept saying “I don’t know. I am concerned. I don’t know how you are going to be able to function” and threw out the word hospitalization, though she did backtrack on that one. I struggle everyday. I am worried that something from outside of the home touched something clean and is now contaminated. I need help working through this. I am constantly looking for reassurance, question if things are clean, wash my hands, use too many disinfectant wipes, and take showers upwards of 50-60 mins. I feel like my mind is being taken over by my OCD, I’m losing time, and it’s straining my relationship. For anyone who is struggling with contamination OCD brought on by COVID - any tips? My therapist never gave me anything specific to work on with this - to help me focus on something else. I am in the process of finding another therapist, but until then - any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Hi friends, I have recently been diagnosed with OCD these past few weeks. It all can feel really all encompassing and overwhelming. And almost like I’m completely at the bottom of the mountain and still realizing so many things I have dealt with were actually OCD. Does anyone have any advice or things they wish they knew in the beginning of starting treatment? I appreciate you all and the community. 🖤😊
I only recently was diagnosed with OCD and have started my journey which I am proud of, but am struggling with finding balance because of the dissonance between my work responsibilities and ERP. I have been attracted to the career I am in because I care about doing right by others, and I have a passion for helping leaders create a healthy environment for the people on their teams. I also of course like clear expectations, writing and following rules, so educating on policies and procedures is a strong suit. Unfortunately, I am just recently learning that a big theme for my OCD includes moral scrupulosity and it has opened my eyes to see why I have struggled so much mentally the past year. I work in HR as a team relations specialist which means I make recommendations on how managers should address issues with their teams, i investigate employee concerns or allegations, and also advocate for team members when they are being treated unfairly. Additionally my job involves doing nonstop documentation of the content of every call we have, every email received and sent to us etc. we then have to save them as files and write notes summarizing each file or piece of correspondence and key information from it. (There is very much the mindset of there being no such thing as too much documentation at my company) I have noticed that since taking this job a little over a year ago, I have not been ok. I love the work I do and the good moments where I feel like I helped someone. I also love that the company and managers put so much weight on doing the right things, but the expectations put on those of us in the roles also feeds my OCD and reinforces my compulsions like getting reassurance that my thinking is right, ruminating, or checking and rechecking. It also gives strength to the arguments OCD makes to me about needing to analyze excessively to make sure I am not missing anything, or that I am not mistakenly engaging in cognitive biases and factoring them into my recommendations. Since I have a large influence over how situations with team members are handled my OCD emphasizes this and convinces me that if I do not do my job adequately or make a compelling argument, I am doing a disservice to the team members I support.....but so does the HR leadership at the company. It is consistently emphasized that we are expected to be the ultimate moral voice in every circumstances and that we are responsible for remaining 100% objective in guiding leaders on what to do to ensure all risks are assessed, taken into account and avoided in addition to us making sure leaders are doing right by their teams. Many of the others in my role like myself also keep spreadsheets during investigations we conduct that documents all perspectives in situations of people we interviewed, track definitive evidence, and analyze all factors/ devils advocate arguments to ensure appropriate steps are taken to address and that every situation is handled fairly. I'm finding that even though I tend to be behind on work because of my just right struggles with documenting and investigations, I am seen as a star performer in my role because I am hyper-empathetic, scrupulous, and risk aversive. Unfortunately, those same qualities makes my OCD obsessions and compulsions stronger. Not sure if there is anything I can really do at this point because finding a new job isn't an option right now, I just needed to get this off my chest and see if anyone has experienced similar where they found themselves in a spot where their work responsibilities were at odds with their recovery or made it more challenging to use ERP tools.
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