WOW.. I thought I was alone.

To my dear OCD friends, I just want to take a moment to say how grateful I am to know each of you. Your courage, honesty, and support have meant more to me than you know. In the trenches of this struggle, it’s easy to feel alone, but then you all show up (raw, real, and brave) and remind me what strength truly looks like. Some days the emotions hit like a wave, or like a distressed baby crying out for comfort. And instead of pushing that pain away, we’ve learned to sit with it. To cradle it. To breathe with it. To say, “You’re allowed to be here, and I won’t run.” That is powerful. That is healing. Exposures are not just tools, they’re acts of defiance. Each time we step toward our core fears instead of away from them, we’re not just surviving… we’re becoming ocdemonslayers. We’re refusing to let a false alarm dictate our worth or our reality. That’s no small thing. Please remember: nothing in this life is worth ending it early. The storm feels so loud sometimes, but storms do pass. Life has seasons, and the darkest ones are often followed by the most beautiful dawns. Hold on. You are not your thoughts. You are not alone. God is good through it all; in the fear, in the doubt, in the healing, in the stillness. Even when we can’t feel it, His grace holds us steady. He sees the battle and walks it with us. I’m truly happy to know all of you. Thank you for being part of this fight with me. With love, Salad #ocdemonslayers

Hi everyone, my name is Patrick and I'm from Poland in Europe. I want to tell you that you are the most wonderful people in the world, empathetic, sensitive, and loving. I know that OCD is a difficult time for all of you, that it's hard for you to understand the nature of everything that's going on in your heads. I have harm and moral OCD myself, unconfirmed or confirmed—what does it matter? We're all made of different blood, each of us is different, but remember that these intrusive thoughts are simply lies—yes, lies, each of us is aware of it, and even though everything seems true, let's be honest, it isn't—there's a terrible fear within us, something alien, but let's be honest—life is beautiful, we have so many things to do, but you're wondering what's going on with our motivation? ANYTHING can be a motivation, I want to help you here because YOU ARE WORTH EVERYTHING, WE ARE NOT CURSED, WE ARE THE STRONGEST - BECAUSE WE FIGHT WITH IT EVERY DAY!!!

(This post discusses Religion/spirituality in regards to Christianity. And thus touches on some Christian themes. But you dont need to be christian to read it/ or even benefit from it. So whatever walk of life your from and if your willing to give it a shot I hope it brings you some comfort too.) Hello soldier, how goes the day? But really OCD can make everyday feel like an uphill battle, and even at the end of the day you don't really feel like you won. Wherever your at in your journey today, know your not alone. I'm here talk about something specific, and if you've read the tags, you can probably take a guess. I have Religious OCD and a lot of other ones that interconnect with it. It wasn't always this way, but it has been the heart of my OCD struggle for the last decade. The battle has waxed and waned for that time but it has been terrible for over a year. Today I have spent trying to connect with God despite my OCD, and all my other issues. (Dont misunderstand me, ocd is a big part of my struggle-and it only to serves to exacerbate my other questions and worries.) Today I've tried to understand that God can handle my dirt and shame. And won't walk away even when I stop believing im not a lost cause.-and hey if you ever struggle to believe that God hasn't given up on you, your not alone. But im here to talk about something I've found in the last while. If your on this website then you know now that OCD is not something your alone with-despite knowing this it can be very hard to believe somebody has the exact same issues as you- and the more shameful it is-the less people want to talk about it. But GOOD NEWS- some of the people on this journey happen to be very brave (maybe you and me aren't feeling very brave right now, but thats okay too.) So I took the time this evening to look up some things about Christians with religious OCD. Because it is one thing entirely to know that OCD affects people from all walks of life. It is another thing to hear your thoughts come from someone else's mouth. So im gonna touch on a couple things I learned/relearned a few minutes ago. 1. Does your OCD make you question your salvation? If so, your not alone-this is something that a lot of people struggle with-and it can feel very scary. 2. Do you struggle to stop your compulsions? I think this is something we all struggle with no matter your OCD subtype. I have often tried to stop my compulsions ot even just delay them for a bit....but the guilt/shame creeps up on me, and i give after a bit because it's like a bird pecking on the inside of my skull-and then I feel increased guilt for trying to delay in the first place-its that little voice that says 'why did you tarry on the way to repentance.' (Yeah that voice is fantastic, it can actively impede your recovery to a stuttering halt if you let it. ) 3. All of our doubts leading back to one question. 'What if it's not just OCD?' Again I think this is something we all struggle with, but it can be especially difficult to deal with when your subtype has less physical evidence to go off of. Here's an example: when I was between the ages 5-10 my ocd centered around getting sick. Due to an incorrect allergy test-it was thought I had a dairy allergy. For almost 5 years I was on a dairy free diet. But, like I said the allergy test was incorrect. Nevertheless reincorporating dairy into my diet was a struggle. But it was less of one because I could active progress. The first time I drank milk was terrifying, but each time after that was easier and easier as I saw nothing happened. As much as I wish I could apply that to this subtype of OCD it's very difficult when there's nothing I can really do to be certain I have not sinned. (And im sure some other subtypes have the same problem) and so the question arises "What if it's not just OCD?" The what ifs will kill you-tonight i read how it's one of OCD favorite and most effective ways to keeping us trapped. (Feel scared and unsure-me too) I wish I could explain it the way I read about it if only to try and help you all understand. But the bottom line is this is another way OCD has disguised itself to make it look like a real threat. In closing (Land sakes alive, this was a long post and im still not sure if I made my point or not) all that doubt and fear your feeling-yeah dont let OCD use that against you anymore than it already has. (For a long time I've kinda looked down on ERP. Even if it worked for others, I didn't think it would work for me because how could this every be less scary with no physical reassurence -or worse what if by getting rid of my fear I tore down the one thing protecting me from actually acting on those thoughts. Tonight I feel hopeful again, if only a little (maybe even hopeful enough to give ERP a try)....and if your as tired, ashamed,sad, and weary as I am. I wanted to try and give you a little hope too. And if your feeling as lost as I was a bit ago try looking up some blogs from someone people who have your subtype-it is strangely effective to hear someone talk about fighting with doubts and recovery when you dont always feel sure it's possible. Good night brave adventurers....I dont know if today had more victories or losses for you but we're still here so it's not over yet.