Can Depression worsen OCD and vice versa?

Easier said than done, unfortunately. Just feels like I'm always anxious over the slightest hint of a trigger, which only increases stress.

@Anonymous Everything is “easier said than done” in a sense but it needs to be said so you know what/what not to do to feel and get better.

I feel like something like that has happened to me. Like I don't even know who I am or what I like anymore. From there, OCD fills in the blanks. I hate it.

@Anonymous Yep exactly the same mate. I think it’s a case of we have been doing this for so long, letting fear and anxiety fill the blanks for so long, that it blurs our idea of self. From what I’ve read with regards to recovery stories. They all have similar things: 1) they say ERP is the key. 2) they say it’s incredibly hard and have set backs 3) once they realise they make progress, their normal self returns slowly. It’s a compulsion for me thinking this way, but it makes me feel better knowing.

@gp I'm trying to refine how I perform ERP, so it's definitely a process. I only try to perform it once a day at a set time to prevent it from becoming a compulsion for reassurance. Again, it's a process.

At least I know I'm not alone in this. Any tips on how to deal with it?

@Anonymous What are your main struggles?

@KMOR Whenever I see a child or child-like character in a video game/movie/etc, I get anxious because I feel like I am "attracted" to them, especially if they have a design/trait that I like or have a "mature" design to them. That would be the biggest one I'm trying to tackle right now.

@Anonymous So you have pedophilia ocd ?

@KMOR Yeah, that and what I believe to be "Pure" OCD, as I am constantly trying to argue away intrusive thoughts or otherwise hoping they become "acceptable". There are others, but that's the big one for me right now.

@Anonymous I know so many mamas that struggle with this. Are you a parent at all? The best way into this exposure is sort of realizing our brains take a minute to realize what we’re looking at whether it be in real life or virtual

@KMOR I'm actually a male, and although I don't have any kids of my own, I do have three nieces and a nephew which my intrusive thoughts like targeting (especially my oldest niece). My triggers mostly come from video games (namely Zelda and Pokémon), which I play a lot on my free time, so triggers are constant. That's the part that I'm confused about, since shouldn't seeing triggers more often make me accustomed to them, not more sensitive to them?

@Anonymous Depends ! So genuinely your therapist will start therapy off by showing you homework of triggers then get heavier triggers towards the end as you improve . You don’t dive into a pool of water instantly until you know you can at least stand in it first without drowning

@KMOR Well, I mostly talk about what's bothering me at the time while working out ways to refine my therapy. Thing is I don't try to actively look for images of kids (too creepy), especially since they come up naturally as is whether it be video games, TV, or movies. However, I feel like I may try to avoid or simply ignore these characters as much as possible, which probably makes it worse when I do see them. But at the same time, I don't want to keep looking at them and letting my OCD run rampant; that feels like something highly unethical and immoral.

@Anonymous That’s understandable so do you work with a therapist now?

@KMOR Yes I am. When I started over a year ago, I was meeting with her once a week. Now it's once a month. I want to try and handle this on my own. But now it feels like every time I see/hear of a child or child-like character my mind races and I become super conscious about my body. And if I react in a way that I deem "inappropriate" or "immoral", I linger in it to try and get a better answer.