- Username
- spaceo
- Date posted
- 1y ago
Has anyone else isolated themselves
And if so what does that look like to you. I think i may have and I can't figure out if I have or not.
And if so what does that look like to you. I think i may have and I can't figure out if I have or not.
I certainly have but I'm trying very hard to break out of that. Isolating for me is not taking anyone up on offers to spend time together, not seeing my family, not engaging with coworkers. But isolating for me is also hiding from myself and the things I enjoy. For example I have stopped my hobbies and anything else that I like. All of this is due to my irrational ocd fears. Essentially I have no time for anyone BUT my OCD. I'm trying very hard to turn that around
I hope you do break that cycle, you got this.
With my rocd, I find myself refusing to do certain hobbies because I’m afraid I’ll lose control and start having horrible thoughts.
I've had experiences like that.
Yes. It made me worse. When I was 10 my family moved from the town where its busy and my friends are all around, to the country side with one neighbour and fields surrounding us. I used to go out to the local park every day but that instantly changed. I have a little brother and he'd kick and scream to go see his friends to the point where my mum would cry. Due to my moral scrupolosity, I didn't want my mum to cry and kept my mouth shut regarding my needs. I started playing video games and shut myself away in my room because that's all I felt I could do to be sane. My school attendance dropped to about 60-70%. My anxiety went up. I became withdrawn and people told me I never smiled. I was outgoing before, shy but outgoing. Mental health issues kept coming in including audible hallucinations with ocd. I struggled to sleep for years with the berating demands of my very vocal ocd. I ended up sleeping at school when I could. I went from a straight A student to getting Ds and Fs. I didn't do homework because I was so tired all the time and saw detention as a chance to rest. I then began to drink energy drinks to keep me awake during the day and became dependent or addicted. That did not help with anxiety at alllll. To shorten the story, I isolated myself for almost 10 years like this. It took a full family mental breakdown for this to change. Plus, getting my driving licence and a car helped a lot because of no local transport 😅 My habits and diet were awful. I love my parents but I had a huge go at them 2 years ago about how they completely neglected my needs as a teenager. I called them every name under the sun and said the worst stuff possible. I meant everything apart from one comment which I took back. Couldn't speak prolifor days because I don't think I've ever screamed that much in my entire life. So yes, I isolated and it felt like I was being a martyr for my OCDs values and gave up an important part of my life for nothing.
Dang man sorry that I made you have bring that up
@spaceo I'm good now dw. 🤣
@spaceo Sharing this stuff helps others. Shared stories form other users helper me get better. I hope this helped you
Wow! Speechless! Which as you know is a miracle for me. 😉. I am truly sorry you had to go through it all. I am also truly happy that you have moved on and are strong enough to share that and help other people. Big hug.
@NODA It was what it was. We put parents on a pedestal naturally when we are younger but as we grow up we slowly figure out they're just winging it like everyone else. It's disappointing and funny at the same time 🤣
Speak for days *
I watched a utube video by an ocd expert and he said that on 9-11 he had patients come in and talk to him about their themes and they seemed barely concerned about what was happening. I have noticed this in myself and feel so bad and selfish when I am sooo focused on my own fears that I am not really connecting to loved ones and their needs like I used to. I know it's not how I used to be and I hate it
If you can relate, I would appreciate your comments. Lately I've been feeling rather awkward and out of place. It's not uncommon for me, honestly. You know those situations where you feel like you really don't fit in anywhere? Well, I'm just feeling like despite my efforts to engage with others, I never fully get the satisfaction of genuine belonging. If I try to talk to people or form social circles, even just for the purpose of creating a study group, no one really seems interested. I've been a loner pretty much my entire life, so you'd think at this point I'd be used to it. However, sadly I still get that feeling in the pit of my stomach that everyone is judging or scrutinizing me, as though I am this foreign creature. Having OCD doesn't help. It can just feel like a very lonely place sometimes.
I think that basically the thought right now is a fear of being alone both physically/literally and philosophically. It feels like an excess of awareness that I am an individual, I am me and only her, always and forever. And who am I? Can I trust myself? Am I 'trapped' inside myself? Anyway, a lot of thoughts about self-worth and identity. Then I get scared of not being able to trust myself, of depending on myself to do things from the most basic like brushing my teeth to, I don't know, working and supporting myself, controlling myself, etc... and then I feel scared of going crazy because I don't think these thoughts are normal and that makes me feel even more alone, even less connected to others.
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