Hey everyone, I’ve already asked this previously but no one answered so I’m giving this another shot! I think I may suffer from ocd but I’m scared to reach out for help for various reasons. This is a question for people suffering from pure O, do you have to tell your therapist what your intrusive thoughts/images are? I am really scared of my intrusive thoughts and I can’t say anything for now but I really need help.

Well if you want an accurate diagnosis you need to answer anything and everything with honesty. Almost positive that they will ask about what intrusive thoughts you have, because again, that can help them give you an accurate diagnosis and treatment. It can be hard, I know. I didn’t disclose all my intrusive thoughts/obsessions and rituals/compulsions to my psychiatrist, so I got an inaccurate diagnosis and was not getting the treatment I needed. It took me seven months to finally tell my psychiatrist and therapist what was actually happening and only after that was I getting the treatment I needed, and now I’m actually getting better. So be completely honest. I hope this helped and you can get the help you need

@Syd Thank you so much for your answer, it really helps. I’ll try to be as honest as I can be for the time being. We’ll see how it goes. Glad to hear you’re getting better!

@Nia Seeing an understanding and helpful therapist is necessary. Like Syd said, you should be honest but it doesn’t mean you have to say everything in one shot! Let’s gather our courage and get on the path of recovery. It will be hard but hey, we’re not alone.

Thank you Fernando. It seems we have similar symptoms, and I’ll keep what you say in mind. The thing is I’m not sure my therapist is familiar with this kind of ocd so I’m a bit scared to tell her all of this. I live in France and we aren’t as advanced as let’s say the USA when it comes to psychiatry, so it’s even harder for me to take The Big Step. And there’s always the fear that she confirms all my fears. I’ll try to find an ocd specialist!

To add on to my previous post. I was also so afraid to say what my thoughts were, because I was afraid that by saying them they would come true, so I completely understand.

I'm going through the same thing, when my mom says that I can go to see a therapist I say no because I don't want to say all of my intrusive thoughts/ images. ?

@lilye yes you are right!

I completely understand - I went through the same. My thoughts were particularly disgusting. So, initially you don't have to give her any details. You can just say stuff like "I am having intrusive thoughts about harming my pet, my child, etc." You can tell her they are sexual in nature id that's the case. I told my therapist that mine involved the 'f' word but I didn't say the actual thought. Depending on your therapist, when you do ERP with them, they will tell you to write down or repeat the thought outloud. In some cases I never showed the thought to my therapist in some others I did. OCD specialist will NEVER be scared or alarmed by any type of thoughts. Why? Because they know that people with OCD are the complete opposite of them. That's why they are intrusive.