How open are you all about your ocd? Do you ever tell anyone? Right now everyone at work thinks I’m perfectly happy and that everything in my world is great. When in reality everything is falling apart and I’m depressed. It’s so hard when someone makes a comment like “you’re so perfect” or “you’ve got your life so together” when they don’t know what you’re going through and what mental battles you have to fight literally every minute of every day. This is why I want to tell the people around me, but I’m also worried they won’t understand. Can anyone relate to this?

I have a question for anyone that’s been going through HOCD or any mental illness. If any when they were about to tell their loved ones that they were dealing with ocd did it kind of feel like they were actually like coming out of the closet or something? Because like you know you aren’t gay you know you just want to tell people about your ocd, but for some reason it feels like you might be coming out as gay when that is not the case.

Has anyone told their s/o about their soocd or rocd? I don't really want to tell my boyfriend details about what I struggle with because I don't want him to feel insecure or inadequate but I also know he is curious about what I mean when I have OCD because he knows I'm not a very organized/clean person which most people think OCD is. We are open with me taking health and I don't want to withhold how I feel but I can't outright tell him my struggles. Any advice?

Has anyone else had trouble telling people about their OCD? I would like to help break the stigma about mental health and be a part of the change. But it is such an exhausting thing to even think about. Not only would it be difficult to tell people (even people I trust), but it would be even more difficult to have to explain to people what OCD really is (not just the stereotypes they have seen on TV). On top of that I keep thinking how do I even begin to explain the subtypes that I have experienced? I suppose I don't have to, but it helps to give some real depth for them to sink their teeth into; to really understand the difference between OCPD and OCD. I keep thinking if I can get through ERP (which I have recently done), then I can certainly share my disorder with others (well I cant be 100% certain...see what I did there?). I know I don't have to tell others about my OCD and I respect people who want to keep it private. I have for years. I just think that I would like to be confident, own it, and help others who are still figuring out about their own mental health struggles. I know many of my family and friends will be surprised to hear that I have OCD. So if you have any suggestions or anecdotes you would be willing to share that would be great. Thanks!