Are there any moms out there who are struggling with pocd? I wanted a child my whole life since I was a little girl but pocd is ruining everything. Can anyone share their story?
I understand how you feel because I’ve always wanted to settle down and have a kid eventually with my partner but now I feel like I don’t deserve any of that and feel so scared about it now. I read a story on here about a mom who had POCD with a couple of kids and reading her story did make me feel a bit better about the whole thing
i don’t have a story but for the longest time i wanted to be a mother soooo bad, i wanted a big family and would have happily got pregnant anytime, it was the one thing i wanted most in the world. and then pocd came and it completely made me not want kids because i’m so scared of hurting them :(. but then i realised that i shouldn’t let ocd dictate my life. one day i will have kids, it will be hard, but i’ll be able to do it. and so will you ❤️ don’t let pocd take away your dreams. you can do it lovely, and you’ll be an amazing mum and will love that child so much. you’re stronger than what your pocd says xx
@PoWarrior This honestly made me emotional, thank you so much for this❤️.
Hi! I’m a mom who has pocd. It’s very hard I’ve always cared for kids and I never had bad thoughts about them but starting 2020 I started having terrible thoughts surrounding kids I remember the first thought I had I was terrified I was saying to myself omg no and it gradually got worse I even told my mom I need to get help for these thoughts and I never specified what the thoughts were because I was ashamed i eventually told my husband about my thoughts and they lessened for awhile then once I had a baby almost 7 months ago he’s the best he’s an awesome baby but I started having terrible thoughts and images about him and I’ve struggled to change his diaper or give him a bath unbuckle the bottom clasp of his seatbelt it’s been so hard to take care of him because it gives me so much anxiety because I always feel like I’m doing something wrong I genuinely think I’m just a normal mom who has ocd and it has really attacked who I am as a person because I care about kids and I’ve always wanted a baby this subset of ocd is very stigmatized people I wouldn’t wish this on anyone. I just try to make it through the day but i believe I’ll be fully recovered one day. I hope this helped ! You’ll be fine when you have a baby but I do recommend therapy before having a baby. Sorry if my reply is kinda all over the place wishing you luck in recovery
@Feeling sad like I should How are you doing now??
Please read this. I’ve had ocd pretty much a lot of my life but never knew what it was until my senior year of highschool. I’m 21 with 2 kids and i believe i’ve had pocd a little bit before my daughter was born (which was 8 months ago). It made me start looking at all kids differently and i hate it. But it really started triggering me about 3 months ago. I’ve been thinking if i’d intentionally touched or harmed my kids the wrong way, or any kids for that matter. This started giving me false memories (or at least hope they are). I’ve been having panic attacks, yelling at myself, punching walls, praying, and even thoughts of ending my own life. I grew up in a severe toxic household throughout my childhood and teenage life. I’ve never wished that on my kids since i became a dad. I wanna give them the life i never got. I look back my photos of my children and i feel like i’m a complete fraud of a dad. I cannot look at my kids or be around them a lot of times. I can’t hold my daughter right. I can’t change their diaper when they need it. Even my son came and was hugging on me the other night while i was watching tv and i acted like a stranger to him. I can very little do this stuff sometimes because it’s either i get relief or i push my thoughts as far back as i can. I get scared if i did something to not just my kids, but any other kids in the past. I have such a a great life and such a beautiful family. It was hard and stressful at first being young with a family but i couldn’t be more thankful at all for them. I’m just so lost and stressed right now that i just don’t know what to do anymore
Hi everyone, I’m Cayla. I’m a mom that’s lived with OCD since childhood, but my breaking point came more recently after having my son. I was consumed by terrifying thoughts—What if I hurt him? What if I did something awful without realizing it? I was so afraid of my own mind that I couldn’t be alone with him. The shame and exhaustion were unbearable, and I convinced myself I was broken. In 2024, I finally sought help. ERP therapy at NOCD was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but it saved my life. Even now, I have tough days, but I know I don’t have to be ruled by OCD. When my 12 year old daughter began showing signs of OCD, I felt overwhelmed with guilt. I never wanted her to go through what I had, but I knew what to do. I told her that I have OCD too and made sure she knew it wasn’t her fault—and that she wasn’t alone. One of the hardest parts of this journey was trusting someone else with my daughter’s OCD. I knew how vulnerable it feels to share intrusive thoughts, and I wanted her to feel safe. Her NOCD therapist was able to establish trust and genuine empathy from the start, and that relationship gave her the confidence to face ERP head-on. Seeing her build that trust made me certain she was in the right hands. ERP has helped both of us reclaim our lives, and it is beautiful to see my daughter managing her condition and making visible progress. Parenting with OCD while raising a child with OCD isn’t talked about enough, but I know so many parents are struggling with these same challenges. If you have questions about managing OCD while parenting, helping your child through ERP, or breaking cycles of guilt, drop them below—I’d love to share what I’ve learned. I’ll be answering all of the questions I receive in real-time today 4-5pm ET.
Hey all, This is so strange to share this, and I have been judged by others and misdiagnosed many times. About a year ago I worked with an OCD therapist and it was really triggering. For me my thoughts are mainly about suicidal ocd and harm ocd centered around my children of all things. Fear that I could or would want to hurt them, then feeling so horrible that I believe I’m suicidal then I go back and forth on that. After reading a few of your posts, it makes me truly have a bit of hope that I can overcome this.
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond
