Username: DanieNYC

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 39w ago

Can OCD obsess about depression?

Anyone experienced something like this? I was never diagnosed with depression. However lately idk if my ocd is trying to latch on another theme but its questioning whether or not im depressed. Im scared of depression. The feeling in my stomach makes me think its depression. But the same feeling in my stomach is also one I feel with OCD flare ups. I did research symptoms of depression and was self checking. Anyone else experienced this?

Username: VGHVGH

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 39w ago

Over the years I’ve learned we can obsess and do compulsions about anything and everything 🤦‍♀️. I usually default to “this is most likely OCD, I will allow this to be here while I live my value-driven life”. Then I will allow all the thoughts, feelings and sensations and not engage. Because with ocd there is always an urgency to figure it out, and we know figuring it out is a compulsion, allowing time to pass gives me an opportunity to do some ERP. I can always readdress something that is bothering me, but I try to never react right away to any thought that is demanding an answer. Hope this helps

Username: Anais VAnais V

Date posted: 16w ago

@VGH These are such great tips! Was there a way you could recognize the fear of depression kicking in. Sometimes I don’t catch it in time and we will be doing something super fun, then suddenly I am emotional and in legit imaginary land where I trick my mind into thinking it’s depressed!

Username: VGHVGH

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 16w ago

@Anais V I so relate to this! My therapist used to call it “fear of fear” or “fear of depression, anxiety, feeling distress, etc”. I would be looking forward to an event, special day, vacation or I’d be involved in one of those events and my brain would offer a depressive, worrisome, what if thought and zap the joy out of my day. Sometimes I would try and prevent this from happening (compulsions) or worry that it would happen (again rumination) which makes it all worse. I learned to expect, accept and embrace that OCD would show up during important moments and I adopted an attitude of “nope, ocd, you’ve taken enough from me, you don’t get this day too”. It gets easier over time. When I feel my joy getting sucked away by ocd, I stick with my activity with an attitude I described. Definitely takes practice, but it isn’t as difficult as you may think. It’s actually a feeling of freedom to stop trying to control everything.

Username: Anais VAnais V

Date posted: 16w ago

@VGH Thank you this is so amazing! And so relatable!! Yes the zap is so true, it takes you out of your most exciting part of the day! I will use this advice, and practice it whenever it comes on. Sometimes I can’t spot when it comes on and it leads to like tears and crying and fear of depression and self harm, even when I know those are not my feelings. Thank you again I really appreciate it!

Username: S!!S!!

Date posted: 39w ago

Absolutely, I’m currently in this theme at the moment. It makes me question so much which one it really is. I have constantly been self checking and my mind is tricking me into saying “you must be so tired of this” “you’re so so sad” “you must be depressed” but all of these thoughts bring me great distress and anxiety as it’s a fear of mine becoming depressed as well. It’s so so hard to distinguish. I stand with you and we can do this. What brings me a little peace is that because it causes so much anxiety it’s possibly an unwanted thought.

Username: DanieNYC DanieNYC

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 39w ago

@S!! That’s true. Like I researched symptoms and the only thing I have in common with the symptoms is feeling empty. Like something is missing. I am happily married, with a lovely teen daughter, im healthy and finance are stable… could always be better lol. But i feel like something is missing and idk what it is… I am currently bored with my job and not fulfilled. Im aways looking to do something because I am afraid of being by myself with these thoughts and feelings in my stomach. Come to think of it, as I am writing this… sounds like OCD. … but then is it? 🙄

Username: marcygirl23marcygirl23

Date posted: 13w ago

@S!! How are you doing?

Username: AnonymousAnonymous

Date posted: 39w ago

Oh 100000%! I go in and out of it. It's related to harm ocd for me

Username: DanieNYC DanieNYC

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 39w ago

@Anonymous Sammeeee related to Harm as well

Username: brittc41886brittc41886

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 39w ago

@Anonymous Same here!!! I worry I’m slipping in to depression then my brain says well depressed people can harm themselves

Username: DanieNYC DanieNYC

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 39w ago

@brittc41886 Omg so relatable

Username: Who_knows?Who_knows?

Date posted: 9w ago

@brittc41886 Hi! How are you doing ? This is currently my theme both the fear of depression and “s” ocd . I don’t like typing it out … just wanted to see if you overcame this …

Username: Joe87Joe87

Date posted: 39w ago

I'm not sure if this is helpful at all but in my personal experience I don't understand how it's possible for someone to have ocd and not have depression. Perhaps it comes down to how severe or debilitating your ocd is or perhaps it is possible to have really strong ocd and not have depression alongside it. I hope I'm not going too far off track here but the way I'm trying to start seeing it is at the end of the day OCD, depression and anxiety are all just made up words to describe the way that someone is feeling or a mental disorder/illness. For example I think there is a chance that I have adhd so I am currently on the waiting list to be assessed. When I discussed this with my therapist she said something really profound to me and that was that yes maybe I do have adhd and then of course if I do then perhaps medication could help me with that but there is also a chance that medication might not help. Rather than worry too much about what I have she wanted me to focus on the things I can do here and now and daily to improve how I feel and I really think that is where we should try and put our attention

Username: DanieNYC DanieNYC

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 39w ago

@Joe87 That is true! And makes sense. Thanks for sharing

Username: Joe87Joe87

Date posted: 39w ago

@DanieNYC No worries. Can I ask how you get an ocd conqueror badge? Is it issues by your erp therapist on here?

Username: DanieNYC DanieNYC

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 39w ago

@Joe87 - Yes I completed ERP last year. But I am still doing ERP at this time as well with another therapist since my previous therapist left the platform.

Username: Joe87Joe87

Date posted: 39w ago

@DanieNYC Oh that's good I hope it's going well for you? Is your eventual aim to get to the stage where you can just practice the erp excercises on your own without the support of a therapist? I ask that as I had erp with a therapist from this app and whilst she was lovely, really helpful and taught me the exercices that I need to do. I eventually found that I was just paying a lot of money to do these very same exercises only in front of her rather than on my own if that makes sense?

Username: DanieNYC DanieNYC

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 39w ago

@Joe87 - I can understand that. So i rejoined this year because I felt like I didn't do it for long. When I had a flare up at the beginning of the year... I felt like it was a relapse. I decided to rejoin because I feel like when I talk to the therapist, I realize that I do things that i never that was OCD related. So I am trying to build awareness. But I again I totally get that. Yes my goal is to become my own therapist.

Username: Joe87Joe87

Date posted: 39w ago

@DanieNYC I totally get it and well done for going back to erp. I think when you've had ocd or experienced ocd for quite a while then the lines can get blurred between what behaviours are ocd and what ones aren't ocd if that makes sense?? Initially that can feel like it creates a whole new problem because now we can now spend hours and hours ruminating about that and of course we still wont feel fully satisfied because ocd doesn't want that. It wants a certainty that doesn't exist. It wants a perfection that doesn't exist and then when we do things that are good for us and our recovery it will say ' hey are you sure that was good for you' etc etc. does that make sense Do you ever feel like you know exactly what you need to do to eradicate your symptoms as much as you possibly can and that it's just ocd holding you back from doing them things? That's exactly where I am with it but I feel like I'm beginning to push through

Username: DanieNYC DanieNYC

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 39w ago

@Joe87 Yeah you are right! And Yes I guess sometimes I think

Username: AnonymousAnonymous

Date posted: 18w ago

Girl!!! This is literally how I’ve been feeling!

Username: AnonymousAnonymous

Date posted: 19w ago

Omg I litreally have this right now

Username: Anais VAnais V

Date posted: 16w ago

This is exactly the feeling that comes on! Even though I’m not depressed, and I know I’m not because I still wanna be involved in life and be active etc. My mind legit tries to make me feel/become a depressed person even though I’m not! So much are you depressed questioning and sometimes it takes over completely. Like my mind suddenly tries to see all the negative stuff, even when that’s not at all what or how I really feel! This lead to the harm ocd and extreme fear of depression. I always get the intrusive “what if one day I don’t like life anymore and I hurt myself” (because I become depressed)! My mind is doing the same questioning yourself and it makes you feel like you are even though you’re not. It looks like you wrote this a while back. Do you have any coping that worked to get you out of this mindset?!

Username: marcygirl23marcygirl23

Date posted: 13w ago

@Anais V How are you doing?

Username: marcygirl23marcygirl23

Date posted: 13w ago

How are you doing? Really struggling with this today.

Username: Francis

Date posted: 5y ago

Does anybody have OCD about being depressed, even though you’re not? Like you’re scared of being depressed?

Harm OCD

Username: notfortalk

Date posted: 5y ago

I need to know if someone else experience this because I think this may be the root of some of my ocd themes. So basically even when I don't really have a theme going on I get intrusive thoughts of different topics. For example if I'm reading an article about a person with ADHD my mind tells that maybe I have adhd and because if I had I'd be different, and it feels like I want to even though I don't do because I know how destressing it is to live with such disorders and who would ever want to develop a disorder like that. I get intrusive thoughts like about illnesses, identities and other things and my mind says that I have to have those things because they would make me different and my mind wanted me to be different in that way. And it felt like I wanted those things even tho I know how terrible they affect people and didn't really wanted to have them. Now it tells me the same thing about gender and sexuality that I have to be different in that way while I don't and it's causing me hocd right now. I guess this is my final answer but I wanted to know if somebody else experienced something like this. Like sometimes I get depressive episodes because of my anxiety and ocd but once I became obsessed with the idea of having chronic severe depression and I got so anxious but then felt relieved when I didn't but then my intrusive thoughts would pop up here and there

Username: Anonymousesti

Date posted: 43w ago

Scared of being depressed

Heyy guys, question out of the blue… is being scared of becoming depressed a thing? And therefor su*c*dal? Like I had su*c*dal ocd but it comes and goes but today I’m sick so I had to stay at home in bed and I just feel very tired ans my brain automatically linked that to depression… is preventing depression a thing? My OCD is manifesting in a lot of ways nowayds its sooo strange

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Can OCD obsess about depression?

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