OCD, mental illness

I was talking with my friends and one of them called me mentally ill(it was a joke and she immediately apologized) That didn't hurt me at all but I realized that I really do have a mental illness which is OCD. And I hate that. Obviously I hate having OCD but I think I hate the fact that I have a mental illness even more. I hate people looking down on me, thinking I'm worse or not capable of something and that's exactly how others treat people with mental illnesses because of stereotypes. I know I'm not less in anyway because of OCD and I also don't want anyone to think that. Having OCD is hard enough.

OCDisHell

Date posted: 1y

Also to put this into perspective as to where we are with mental illness in America, ill share a personal experience. I'm 39 and I can remember as a child having terrible OCD, which at that time (1992) not too many people understood or knew even what it was, including me. The adults would say "just let it go", "suck it up", or "you need to toughen up", but that's how adults at that time were raised when they were growing up. You didn't outwardly talk about mental illness. I can remember going to school and the other kids would say "what's wrong with you?" or "you're weird". The teacher would say I was a disruption but I couldn't do anything about it because my brain isn't wired correctly. I remember finally being diagnosed and put on Prozac. At that time in school if the other kids knew you were on "meds" you were ostracized so I kept it a secret for years. Now as an adult I feel the more open we are about any subject especially mental illness the more awareness and treatments become available. Also it was even worse for generations before me where they would just send people to state hospitals and call them insane.

Pija

Date posted: 1y

@OCDisHell I'm so sorry you had time go through that. I'm glad you got the treatment you needed. But yeah mental illnesses are so misunderstood and stereotyped. We really do need to bring awareness and talk about this stuff more. They should definitely teach about this stuff in schools. People don't deserve to feel shame or get bullied for something out of their control especially when they are suffering.

OCDisHell

Date posted: 1y

@Pija 100%

Dee C

Date posted: 1y

Knowing that you are dealing/dealt with it, sometimes those not having mental health issues will come to you seeking help for themselves or love ones. To help break the stigma, gladly welcome them and pay it forward :)

FairyMan

Date posted: 1y

Yeah doesn't sound like much of a friend imo

Pija

Date posted: 1y

@FairyMan She said it as a joke and only after remembered that I have OCD. She doesn't treat me like less because of it. It was a joke and that's how I took it. It just made me think honestly

FairyMan

Date posted: 1y

@Pija Fair enough

OCDEB

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 1y

It is a stimga for sure - because it is widely understood. This is my so many delay seeking treatment. I thought I read the average is waiting like 15 years after diagnosis to get treatment. In my case, it's 25. I

OCDisHell

Date posted: 1y

Ocd is a mental illness and can be severe. I for one am open to discussing it with people because I think the more people that know about the struggle the more people will understand and being accepting and if they're not then their loss.

m1p3

Date posted: 25w

Social Implications of OCD

Has anyone experienced their reputation affected or misunderstood because of a societally taboo OCD theme? Others catching wind of your obsessions and misinterpreting it, assuming the worst? I’m intentionally keeping it vague because I don’t want my specific situation to get reassured, but it’s been a real tough pill to swallow knowing that people close to me (and anyone else they might talk to) think of me differently. I’m unwilling to share about my OCD because I feel pretty confident it will be taken as an excuse or denial, and feels compulsive and reassurance seeking. Let me know if anyone here has experienced anything like it, how they handled it, exposures you did.

Aprilshowers...

Date posted: 18w

My OCD

Please if someone can reply! I really just need someone to talk to. I don’t even know how to control my OCD. It honestly feels like it’s controlling me. Everyday my mind focuses on every bodily sensation I have and it’s like a broken record player, I have horrible health anxiety and my OCD just makes it worst just thinking about it everyday. It feels like everyone who I explain it to looks at me like I’m stupid/crazy. I use to be much more tame with my OCD, I use to eat things without worry, now I can’t even touch things I use to eat without worrying that I’ll get an allergic reaction (despite eating them BEFORE,,,but my mind tells me otherwise) and omg worrying about heart attacks, pulmonary issues..and I couldn’t even enjoy my own child’s birth because my mind was on high alert thinking I would hemorrhage any second or develop pre-E (complications of postpartum) I was miserable for the first couple of months of my baby’s life and I didn’t know what to do. And now, I’m pregnant with my second (4wks) and all the OCD thoughts and anxiety is coming back at me and I have no one to talk to, I feel lonely. And even if I considered taking a pill, I’d worry about being allergic to it and refusing to take it. I ruin everything for everyone. I remember I ate out one night and I started to think “you’re gonna pass out! You’re gonna pass out! (Without ever passing out before) and I had to leave! I feel like I ruin the mood for everyone when I don’t even try to, and I hate it.

Anonymous

Date posted: 14w

A quick Vent here

I'm sry if this may make people worry or feel uncomfortable in advance! Hello everyone as u can see I struggle with ocd and I HATE IT WITH MY LIFE , it started in 2020 covid obv contamination ocd started here , I used to carry alcohol everywhere and used to wash my hands so much that it bled ( had to wear gloves to cover it so friends or family won't see it ) and everything else started since then , harm ocd with myself or friends I couldn't hold a knife..it was really hard..and I have unwanted sexual thoughts ocd , I have panic attacks bc of this..I sometimes cannot look people into their eyes and its so random and so scary..thoughts about.. 🍇..whether it's me or I'm gonna harm someone else uk..I sometimes cannot function properly.. unfortunately friends don't understand it rather think it's about " perfectionism "..I wrote those thoughts and stuff in a journal in more details ofc and doodle ( I'm scared someone will find it ) I hate myself tbh and I don't think someone will read this... I suspect I have ADHD with all this but ocd is " ur faking it " even though lots of people have hinted about it , I thought I actually killed someone for 2 years a girl..until I realized what HOCD is , I thought I faked my ocd too in fact , I have perfectionism ocd too it's bad and I HATE PURE O it's so DRAINING uk.. also idk if this has caused a problem for anyone but if y'all know the Truman show ( basically if u don't know the main character is being filmed and his life is fake and he doesn't know it ) THAT MOVIE HAS HARMED ME SO BADLY FOR YEARS that until today I have to check in the bathroom if there are cameras cuz like ocd makes me think I'm living in a fake world , I used to think people around me , everyone was like a Ai model or smth.. everytime until today I have to clean the toilet seat bc it may be dirty..I have been taking up to 5 showers a day cuz maybe I'm dirty..that's it for today tysm if u read this till the end I'd like to know ur thoughts if u got tips or have similar experiences ! 🤗 U get a chocolate bar 🍫 bc u earned it bc ik how ocd is so frustrating ( I also noticed everyone who has ocd is so nice right 😆! )

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OCD, mental illness

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