Struggling with OCD and stress-induced sleep obsession—any tips?

I get how hard the intrusive thoughts are. For me it literally feels like I’m drowning. I try to distract myself from them by doing something I enjoy like listening to comforting music or taking a shower-I know from experience with intrusive thoughts that doing something I enjoy may not necessarily take away all my intrusive thoughts but at least I can focus on something positive. I will be praying for you ❤️💕

i had this about a year and a half ago before i realised i had ocd. i have some chronic illnesses and knew how important sleep was and started to find the more i thought about it, the less i could sleep. id be going nights with 2 hours of sleep and get really stressed and anxious due to not sleeping and health anxiety. all i can recommend is read or do something to distract yourself before going to bed and just drift off. if it doesn’t happen, get up and go get some water and sit in a different area then when you feel sleepy go back to bed.

I feel you sm! When I was little I suffered from night terrors and thats why I developed that kind of OCD, a fear of not sleeping. It would turn worse when I had a job that required a lot of mental work. For me what helped was to be in control with myself at the time I would go to bed, trying to neutralize any feeling and putting myself into a state of calm no matter what. Practicing that often helped me to learn I could be in control if I really wanted to. Also, I started to go to the roots of the fear, which actually was: I would end ill and would lose the job if I dont sleep. My brain would be affected. So I started to think: then what? If that happens, that happens. I know its horrible, but it doesn’t mean it will happen. I wont be this afraid of the worst anymore”. So as strange as it sounds, when you go to the roots of your deep fears and look them at the face it does something. When one recognizes the roots and adapts to the ideas It becomes less important. Besides I found sleeping pills to be a great helper if the anxiety could trick me one night. So for me it was the sense of being in control which helped me. I know is not easy and everybody needs different solutions. Hope that helps in some way

hey, i hear you and it sounds incredibly tough to deal with all that, especially when you're juggling autoimmune issues on top. it's really brave of you to share and to keep fighting the compulsions even when you're exhausted. 💪 i've been right where you are, and what made a difference for me was this free AI tool called "unstuck" (www.keepunstuck.com/try) that my ocd therapist recommended. it'll be especially helpful for you because it provides personalized, step-by-step support just like an OCD therapist when you're grappling with those intense worries about sleep and underlying stress. i hate when people promote stuff, but i really think it can help you because it's changed my life. lmk if you have Qs or just want to talk more! <3