- Date posted
- 1y
Why do I need a title for a basic question?
I want to “beat OCD” because it deeply affects my daily life and the lives of those I care about.
I want to “beat OCD” because it deeply affects my daily life and the lives of those I care about.
It’s the worst ever. I’m with you!!
Go for it! What would be your goal. What's the ideal target you want to set yourself?
@Invalid I just want to be functional again. I’ve always struggled with ADHD but the OCD part was well-managed for a few years. I used to have a good career and then was self-employed and had a good enough balance to live, then to exist. Things have gotten worse over the past few years, especially the last two years. I can’t handle my own life, let alone some major stressors, and very recently I’ve been left by my partner of almost ten years. I have felt like I’m a month away from homelessness for several months, and I’ve experienced excess and extreme guilt and shame for most of my life. I’ve been seeing counselors and doctors for my entire adult life and am now supposed to go out-of-state and out-of-pocket for the help I need, so at this point it’s really hard to see a way forward in life.
@oldin The feeling on the edge of homelessness with self employment is so relatable sometimes 😩 as for the relationship, I'm sorry to hear about that. What do you in your therapy sessions? What kind of therapy was it if you don't mind me asking?
@Wolfram I’m sorry for the late reply. Thanks for your response and kind words. I’m sorry that you find that relatable, too! I have *really* struggled with that lately, and as days tick by I have gotten less done with finding more work 😬. Regarding my therapy, I’ve never had insurance cover ERP like this app promotes. I have done a mixture of CBT and mostly talk therapy to be honest. Most of the other therapists I’ve met with have no training in OCD and I have ended up feeling worse, so I’ve mostly stuck with talking to my psych once a week or so for the past two years. As far as I know it’s unstructured, but she probably has specific ways she goes about responding to me.
@oldin Cbt can work for ocd as it did for me before but it didn't give me the understanding to be self sufficient when managing it. I hope youre starting to feel a little better and if not now, soon.
@Wolfram Thank you sincerely. I hope I do soon too. Been going through a whole lot the last 2 mo. I felt similarly with CBT, it helped with depression and some other things but not very much with OCD or avoidance. Did you end up doing another type of therapy that helped more?
@oldin Did cbt before but when life got stressful again it came back and didn't have the coping mechanisms I learned in ERP to get me back on my feet. I did only a few sessions of emdr regarding trauma and that was amazing. Then did 12 sessions of ERP for ocd and I hit remission or whatever they call it within 3 months (quicker than stats would indicate) without meds too. Once you know how to deal with it, run with it and know you will make mistakes, but mistakes are just learning curves
@Wolfram Thanks for sharing. I’m glad you found help with those. Do you mind if I ask, did your insurance cover those types of sessions?
@oldin I'm in the UK. Got covered by our health system the NHS. Didn't pay a thing
@Wolfram Ha, I could have guessed. My apologies for assuming you were in the US. I have state health coverage which isn’t too bad, but in my city (which is pretty big) there’s only one institution that focuses on OCD and they don’t take private or public insurance. The few therapists listed who are trained for EMDR or ERP don’t take public insurance either, of course, because with the lack of competition they can charge $200-300/hr and still fill their schedules.
I should mention that when I installed this app I was greeted with the question, “Why do you want to beat OCD?” - I had no idea it was going to be a post. :/
Oh that's weird. Either way I'll do what I can
What is a common family joke. OCD is hereditary on my father's side. However I also live with complex PTSD, and ADHD. I didn't learn till recently how severe my OCD is and the intensity gets amplified if the though goes to either of the other two. It's a loop I've identified recently... just little too late. I've lived with OCD for years not really addressing it till I see that's the very reason I cause damage to loved ones. I'm married, 33, a vet. My marriage is not in the best place now. I have a son who's 4 and already showing signs of OCD. Currently my marriage is at a point where we are working on ourselves. It's discovered that my wife's issues are reflections of my own. I understand fully now that I am the center of the issues but also the solution. I need help for me. What happens with my relationships depends on me showing that I am better and able to process thoughts and emotions better. Journaling helps alot. Trying to do hobbies or this that and 3rd but. I'm willing to try anything. Things are on a line. I'm open to any and all POV and ideas. I'm not out crying. I'm taking a big step for me. Something 25 years over due. Thank you for reading this. As I tell myself now. You'll best this and be better
Someone I care about has OCD, he often gets worried to answer certain things in fear that he might be wrong or gets anxious in times when certain conversations such as dealing with negative emotions come into play and in the event something goes wrong even though we deal with the issue it takes him a long time to put himself back together. Often times worried about his image, hyper focused on being a good person etc etc. I believe I’m doing my best but as someone who doesn’t struggle with OCD I cant fully comprehend him and i wish to learn more about it, not just read it off of google. Any advice would be appreciate it. -Thank you!
In 2023, as I was finally getting sober from harder substances, I found myself in one of the scariest mental spaces I'd ever known. I was still smoking daily, my relationship was rocky, and one night—it all hit me. It felt like I had slipped into a video game. Nothing felt real… or maybe everything felt too real. The world around me was distorted. I had always dealt with anxiety, but this? This was something else. I was spiraling—drenched in guilt over everything I'd ever done, every person I thought I hurt, every wrong I tried to make right all at once. It was suffocating. At 23, I tried checking myself into a mental hospital—something I hadn’t done since I was 17. I was desperate to understand what was happening. My relationship took a hit as I spilled every ounce of guilt I carried to my partner, unable to stop the cycle. It wasn’t just anxiety. It was OCD. And while the diagnosis was terrifying at first, it was also reassuring. I finally had a name for the storm inside me. I wasn’t alone. People I admire—like Jenna Ortega—deal with this too. It’s not just me. It’s real, it’s hard, but it’s also something I can face. Since then, I’ve made big changes. I stopped smoking—realizing it only made the noise in my head louder. I started therapy. My partner didn’t understand at first, but as we both learned more about OCD together, we grew stronger. We’re now engaged, and I’m happier than I’ve ever been. But now it’s time to reconnect—with myself. I want to find the me before everything. The creative, passionate, connected me. I want to start streaming games again and hopefully rebuild the following I lost. I want to connect with people again—I don’t have many friends left, but I’m determined to find my people again. I’m also diving back into my art. Journaling. Sketching—even when I don’t like it. Because it’s the act of creating that heals, not just the end result. I won’t let OCD run my life. I will prevail.
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