Does OCD worsen for others at night or in the dark?

@Mindilini do you ever have like the first few seconds of waking up in the morning where you don’t even know who you are where you are you’ve just woken up and then straight away your mind reminds you of all your intrusive thoughts and everything setting you up for an awful day of rumination

@dee Yes 100% it's so difficult. This was what was happening to me every day. I would gain clarity the evening before and then in the morning, straight away, the thoughts and fears would come

@Mindilini have you ever found anything that helped? when i ignore the thought i feel worse and when i ruminate on the thought i feel worse i can’t seem to find a way out

@dee Are you in therapy? If not, going to therapy would really help. Also, there are some great support groups here that can give at least guidance from personal experience and that might help. In my years of having OCD I've learned that ignoring the thought doesn't help and like you said, trying to figure it out and ruminating doesn't either. What I do when a thought comes up is I try to pretend I don't care, or that I don't know and I'm ok with that. So, instead of ignoring or ruminating or reassuring myself, etc... I'm saying "maybe that's true, maybe it's not" or "maybe that will happen, I can't be sure" or "yeah that will probably happen" or "wow this thought is boring" or "maybe that's true, I don't care" or " I love this thought!" These kinds of responses start to train your OCD that the thoughts aren't scary to you. Just remember, you'll still feel anxious even if you do these responses. But over time your OCD brain will start quieting down because you're teaching it that its scary thoughts aren't a big deal to you. You can also try yoga, going for a 10 minute walk, drinking chamomile tea, etc. to help your body while it's feeling anxious. I just had to try everything and keep trying every day. I highly recommend getting a therapist though ♥️

@Mindilini thankyou so much this is so helpful you’re an angel ❤️i really wish i was in therapy but i’m in the uk and the waiting lists for therapy on the nhs are years i’d have to go private and i’m only 18 and don’t have the money, i’ve been in and out of hospital and psychiatric wards but my therapy was never tailored around my ocd as it wasn’t as a big of a problem to me then

@dee I'm so sorry to hear that. I didn't know until I came to NOCD that is so bad in the UK. I'm so sorry for what you and other people in the UK have to go through. Please come to the support groups here if you don't already. You will feel less alone and learn about skills. I want to offer two really great podcasts to listen to: FearCast by Kevin Fost, and The OCD and Anxiety Show with Matt Codde. These two have been really helpful. An amazing YouTube show is "OCD and Anxiety" by Nathan Peterson. I watch him regularly. He has really good guidance for dealing with thoughts. A good book is "The Imp of the Mind". Keep in mind self care. It won't cure OCD but it will help you while you manage the thoughts. Eat protein and veggies and healthier foods. I chose to avoid sugar and caffeine recently. Have some calming things like chamomile tea regularly so you can help your nervous system. Drink lots of water. Exercise at least 10 minutes a day. Do yoga. Go outside. Call a friend. See a friend. Meditate. Those are tools I use and it doesn't make it suddenly go away, but it does help. ♥️