hi! im doing very well. I struggled with HOCD for about a year and a half, and I believe a bit of other forms of ocd I am not comfy sharing, but hocd was my main struggle and I feel that’s important to note for anyone who’s struggling with that specifically- but this post is for anyone who could benefit. OCD is a mental disorder, it doesn’t just “go away” but it can be managed to where it feels like it has went away some days. But then your mind is like “what if I made up my OCD?!” And then you realize yeah i definitely still have it.. lmao. Anyway, here’s some advice from someone who has made MANY strides. 1.) if you can, get a GOOD therapist who you feel comfy with. CBT is the type of therapy I had. I know some may not have access, I suggest 7cups app which I did for one month over the summer last year when I was gone from my normal therapist. It’s 150$. The power to overcome is already inside of you- but the benefit of therapy is having someone to keep you on track and to teach you coping methods, but keeping you on track and reminding you of how far you have come is the best benefit. 2.) do not give into your compulsions. If you can’t get a therapist, this is the best advice I can give. Yes, the obsessions are bad, but the compulsions fuel them. At the beginning, I did this thing called a worry box, I would allow myself to worry for 5 minutes then after 5 minutes pack it all back up. Journaling helps too. 3.) to help with #2, something I started asking myself was: do I really wanna go down this road?, bc we all know how compulsions go. They only elongate the anxiety. 4.) count the baby steps- never let yourself forget how far you’ve come. 5.) don’t expect ocd to ever fully go away, accept it as a part of yourself and something you work around. At this point for me, it’s only annoying and no longer debilitating. 6.) each time you fight the urge to do a compulsion, it counts. even if you give in later that day. It’s something that takes practice. 7.) When obsessions arise, ask yourself if it has anything at all to do with this moment you are living in right now? It probably doesn’t. Be present. 8.) asking for reassurance is a compulsion - know this. — I’m sure I could think of some more, but this is what I felt what most helped me. I spent roughly 16 hours of everyday debilitated during my worst periods, maybe 3-5 hours a day when it started to get better, and now about 2-3 hours a day (but only the obsessions, I rarely give into compulsions now but please refer to #5... I gave into a compulsion about a month ago. But again to #4, it doesn’t take away any of my progress.) Sorry this is long, hope it helped. I’ll try and answer any questions below!