The worst is when ocd latches on to your children. I’ve been having intrusive thoughts about my daughter that have me so depressed. I know none of it is true but the ocd really tries to convince me that it is. Any other parents experience this??
Look how brave we all are for sharing our worst fears here. I completely relate and it's horrible. I struggle too and find that saying it out loud and hearing others experience this too makes me feel like I'm not alone. Infact we are kind, caring people who have to remember ocd attaches to what you care about most. I struggle with POCD theme and harm. It's hell but I'm hopeful erp is going to help. It already has and I haven't been doing it very long. The physical response sucks. I totally get it. I have a child and it definitely has been tough. I also work with kids and it has made me want to quit my job. I have powered through but it's been so incredibly difficult. I never had this theme before until I got this job and it's been so difficult.
1000000% you are not alone
You are not alone. It's absolutely the worst. I definitely understand.
Not children, but I've had it concerning my wife, which is absolutely terrifying to me. I've learned that a thought is a thought is a thought, and not a threat or an action. I've also learned that OCD will latch on to who and what you value, and fear. Finally, I've learned that "we all have thoughts that would shame hell." (Samuel Johnson) My therapist taught me that it's not the content of the thought that's important, it's how we react to it. If we become indifferent to them, no matter how vile and disgusting the thoughts, it takes away OCD's mojo and the episodes begin to dissipate. Do you have a trained OCD therapist who uses ERP? Plenty of great ones through the NOCD website. That's where I found mine. Hope this helps.
Yup. This is me 🫠 im finding it really hard to move past the “groinal response” it one thing for the thoughts its another for physical sensations. Its like another layer of guilt and shame.
I struggle with the thoughts of am I holding my daughter too long…I can feel her crotch….Always being aware of where she is in the room and being terrified she will run up to me and bump into my crotch
I think the problem is id say everyone knows deep down theyre not doing anything wrong, but when you struggle with focusing on these thoughts/sensations regardless if youre not doing something wrong in reality… it feels like you are because this is what youre thinking about while around them. Truly it just sucks . ive dealt with themes sexual in nature when i was young , before kids, same sensations and worries. They passed . For years nothing, now 30…Kids of my own , it feels back with a vengeance. I kinda thought id be able to kick it since ive been through it before but maybe because its much more personal now its like a new battle. Anywho. Im not sure how to go about this through the app but if everyone responding here wants to keep a chat going here regarding this topic and all the Bs that comes with it, i know id be grateful. Love to hear what everyone has to say. Even if its just to vent ❤️
I am always questions my intentions with the smallest things and feel like it’s driving me crazy. Do I just get to the point that my ultimate intentions are good?
I work with kids too! For me i feel on one hand its good ERP! On the other, i can get sucked back into the spiral because im bothered its even happening in the first place !Especially since before this flare up i wasnt experiencing this at all, so you have the thought like “i wish it could go back to how it was before this episode “ but then the ocd is like “ but this must just be who you truly are” , no winning with ocd 💩
Hows everyone feeling? I’m finding myself just constantly mentally reviewing, ruminating… you know the usual lol but i feel part of the reason i keep getting pulled into the cycle is the “guilt/shame” factor. Does anyone have any words to deal with this aspect? Brief example -Has a groinal response - goes thru mental compulsions to understand the groinal response ( sometimes arrives at acceptance of ocd) - still feels guilty about it anyways 🫠
I feel so drained, I’ve been having sexually intrusive thoughts about my daughter. I keep telling myself what if I did this or that and it makes me think I did do something harmful towards her when I know I haven’t. Ugh I hate my ocd it’s always playing with my mind and makes me feel like a bad mom :(
Hi everyone had a question I am 42 years old until about 7 months ago my ocd has become so bad almost debilitating. I think I have had ocd since my mid 20s but it was barely there and it would sometimes almost be non existent and I didn’t even know it was ocd until I was diagnosed four months ago It was always my family getting hurt especially at night I was convinced that someone would break in the house and murder us. Or a fire would start but j would just check the doors and stove appliances a few times before bed nothing to time consuming and I never had panic attacks or the physical symptoms of anxiety, I did do weird rituals like I blessed things that fell on the floor because I thought something bad may happen to my kids which seems strange and I would put clothes away a certain way or again something bad would happen and I hated the number 6 so the volume can never be on 6 things like that. When I type if I didn’t get the word right the first time I’d have to erase the whole word and start over sometimes the whole sentence which was super annoying! But since I had my daughter 4 years ago I would have this weird fear with knifes like only I could wash them and put them away or someone may accidentally stab themselves or someone else, and I began to get intrusive images of someone trying to hurt my daughter or someone would kidnap her or she would stop breathing at night but it all was pretty tolerable until out of the blue I had a really bad intrusive images of me hitting her in the head with my phone it’s scared me so bad I had a panic attack and started questioning why would I think that?! Then a week went by and another intrusive image of me hurting her and then eventually it was anything and everything in my house could be weapon to hurt her i was terrified I googled it and realized it was intrusive thoughts and it was harm ocd 😞I have been really struggling since and that was 6 months ago I try to tell myself that they are just thoughts and it’s just my brain being hyper vigilant to protect her but I fear that the more I have them I will do them in my sleep And the physical sensations of anxiety and panic attacks are unbelievable sometimes Can anyone relate to their ocd becoming worse almost overnight later on in life I want my life back I’m so sad I’m scared to sleep at night I just want this all to go away Any tips it’s hard not to react to the thoughts when it is about harming your own child who I love soooo much And please tell me this is ocd
Having ocd makes me always think the worst. I have had 2 incidents that have made my life miserable. I guess they are real events. When my son was little he would crawl into bed with me sometimes. One morning I got up and went about my day. When he woke up I said good morning and told him to come with me and get breakfast like I always did and when he got out of bed he didn’t have his underwear on. I yelled at him asking why he didn’t have them on but he was 2 or 3 so he didn’t like being yelled at and didn’t have a clear answer and pointed at me . My ocd immediately kicked in and made me think the worst that I must have done something horrible. The other was years later when my daughter was younger she used to crawl into bed with me at night alot. One night I woke up to her saying “mommy” and I was really tired so I just remember saying “sorry” and moving back and going back to sleep. I know it was probably nothing more than I just rolled over on her or something like that but my ocd keeps telling me I must have done something horrible. I don’t want to live thinking I could have done something horrible in my sleep. It had made my life so hard to live. Anyone without ocd probably wouldn’t think much about these little weird quirks that happen in life and parenthood but my ocd makes the worst possible scenario out of everything and makes me hate myself and living. 😞
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