Hi. I am in need of support. I'm having a hard time deciphering between what is really dangerous and what is OCD trying to call the shots. I am scheduled to fly across the country for my friends wedding on Tuesday and I've been overwhelmed with my health the last month after I lost my new counseling job( yes I'm an LPC/art therapist). First it was a Lyme scare, then my liver enzymes were high, then my back pulled out, then I sprained my ankle last week and now it feels like my old knee injury from last year has flared up from trying to keep weight off my sprain. I've been stuck in doors for two weeks due to the doxycycline I was on. Luckily I'm done with that med. anyways, now I'm having problems with my knee and I'm afraid it will escalate my already difficult to manage intrusive thoughts that will likely be triggered when I am back in a situation that I was in 2 years ago that will feel similar. My ERP therapist thinks I need to face my fears (this was prior to my knee issue). I've been hiding out in my parents house for 2 years, struggling to find steady work, and completely drained from my life revolving around therapy. I just want myself back. Before OCD shattered my life 2 years ago I was adventurous and enjoyed life. I can't tell if it's my rational mind telling me I shouldn't go to my friends wedding because I lost my job and now my knee is flaring up. Or if it's just OCD being clever and trying to find convincing reasons why I should continue avoiding facing my fears. Im so health concerned I'm afraid to move my body in fear of further damaging my injury. Thanks!

Hey all! I just joined this app and wanted to ask for your thoughts and encouragement on something I’ve been experiencing lately. (*long post ahead*) I’ve had an OCD diagnosis for about 2 years now, along with generalized anxiety, depersonalization symptoms, and depression diagnoses since my teens (I’m 24). Been lucky to have great family and healthcare that have helped me get out of some very dark places. I’m currently on a very high dose of Prozac, a smaller dose of Wellbutrin, and have been in therapy pretty consistently since my late teens. Life is pretty good....I’m in grad school and am doing well socially and academically. I am moving out to another part of the country to do an internship for 10 weeks, starting this Friday. But with all of this great and wonderful stuff in life, I have definitely noticed my OCD getting worse, despite my meds and self care. I’ve been having more obsessive fears and doing the rituals and compulsions to soothe those fears. It’s taking up much more of my mental space than it had for the past 2 years or so. I think part of it is the big change of moving to a new place temporarily, finishing my first year of grad school, and going from being insanely busy to having a month of downtime that is just now wrapping up. I’m getting scared that things are going to get really bad again — so far I’ve been managing with mindfulness and acceptance, and reading up on tactics for managing intrusive thoughts and accompanying compulsions. But I am so afraid that things will get to be into the dark and horrible place they were in 2 years ago. My OCD has been really mild the past few years, since I started the meds, and to feel it flare up again is really REALLY distressing. It makes me scared that the meds aren’t working, or that all the thoughts and fears are real. I know this isn’t the truth, logically, but my OCD and anxiety are running with it. I’m just wondering if anyone else has experienced this (change-related flare ups and the fears accompanied by them) and has tools to manage relapse or flare ups. Thanks in advance :) :)

Hi I’m currently suppressing the urge to vomit and hide in some hole and never come out 😃😃 so, I’m traveling technically today since it’s 1am right now, and I have to go on an airplane, and it’s not even just the airplane that triggers my ocd, it’s the airport itself, it’s so official and security stuff scares me bc like, theres a reason they have security. I’m really tempted to start googling “how likely is it for a plane to crash” or “how to survive a plane crash” and the urge to tell my dad that I love him and to take care of my pets if I don’t come back. Why is my mind like this. Wtf. I want to enjoy my vacation, I also don’t want to have a panic attack in an airport, which has happened before lol. I’m traveling with my mom and my sister, my mom understands ocd and has some knowledge on how to handle it, my sister does not at all. How do I calm myself without it being a compulsion?? I mean, is it okay if I calm myself with prescribed medication and like trying to tune everything out, or is that feeding into the ocd? Because my usual compulsions would be to repeat “it’s okay it’s okay it’s okay” over and over again in my head, and “I’m safe I’m safe I’m safe, nothing is going to happen” and I try not to do that anymore, or just simply not go because of the fear, BUT I’m going because I’m not gonna let ocd take away anymore of my life. I’m just scared and I don’t really know how to cope with this, any advice?

for the last several months, OCD has had an absolute chokehold on my career as a self employed artist. Just constant new subtypes and intrusive thoughts popping up one right after the other, all boiling down to the fear of me potentially losing my career. I'm not currently in therapy (nOCD does not take my insurance) but currently waiting to hear back from a therapist and OCD specialist while taking advice from OCD resources in the meantime. I've been doing everything I possibly can to keep my life going and working through my OCD, but it is so exhausting. I'll be working on a project and when intrusive thoughts pop into my head, I do my best to do some self ERP and tell myself the usual "well, maybe!", or "oh well!" ect, ect. but the anxiety will still linger and i will experience such extreme anxiety symptoms like sweating, dizziness, disassociation, and nausea to the point i will start gagging while I'm still trying to get my work done. It's become physically debilitating to deal with, it takes so much longer for me to finish work, and I don't even enjoy what I've created once it's done. I decided in a few weeks I'm going to take a short hiatus from my art account, so I can take a break from having to deal with the constant physical symptoms ontop of dealing with social media/algorithms which have also been frustrating me. I even plan to wipe my page so I can come back to a clean slate when I decide I'm ready to post again. But now my OCD has taken a hold of me wanting to take a step back. 'What if you don't recover when you come back?' 'What are you hiding/running from?' 'Maybe OCD is just telling you to take a break?' I am so tired lol. I don't know what the right choice is for me right now. But I do want to take a step back from work to work on my mental and physical health. So I think I'm at least going to listen to what my body and brain needs. if anyone has some advice or words of encouragement (not reassurance) pleaaase drop it here bc I'm gunna need it!!