- Date posted
- 6y
- Date posted
- 6y
Hi Laelia, from my experience, I would say that other illnesses and issues do arise from OCD such as depression and anxiety as well as eating disorders. OCD isn’t ‘curable’ so I think a main part is accepting that this is something that we have to live with and learn to cope with (this isn’t always an easy thing to accept). In my case I had very mixed reactions. My relatives (mainly my parents) weren’t accepting at all to being with and thought that I was making it up for attention; this was very upsetting and challenging. My friends and form tutor were much more understanding and willing to help. My parents only came on board once I saw a doctor. In terms of CBT I wouldn’t know much about it as I am only in the very early stages of it. I was diagnosed at 14 (I’m now 15) but I reckon it’s something I’ve had for my whole life. I can link back my main obsession (heath concern along with contamination) to the age of 8. In terms of clichés to avoid I would say that it would be more unique and interesting if your characters main obsessions didn’t focus around contamination OCD, but of course it’s up to you and what you find easiest to write about . Hope this helps and if you have any more questions I’m definitely up for answering them. ?
- Date posted
- 6y
Thank you so much this detailed answer is going to be useful to me :) Yes I was also thinking about avoiding contamination OCD
- Date posted
- 6y
I'd also like to know if you can identify reasons / background / starting point for your OCD
- Date posted
- 6y
As an avid writer myself, I’d be interested in helping.
- Date posted
- 6y
Thank you MillieB
- Date posted
- 6y
Is there anything in particular that you’d like to know?
- Date posted
- 6y
Let me think about it... For the moment I have no plot nor character ha ha For my research phase, I'm just trying to add more diversity than my own small experience of OCD. I try to browse legit resources but I guess nothing is better than actual testimony I love developing my characters and I was wondering if many people can identify background for their OCD. I know I have one for anxiety and I know which, but again my own experience is not enough I'd also like to know if people tend to cumulate symptoms, such as eating disorders, along with it. From what I ve seen here many suffer from insomnia, for instance Also would like to know if CBT truly helps, I've seen everything and its contrary about this topic I need also to get a grasp of how it feels in the body and mind, again I know for myself but it's not sufficient Do people tend to "live with it", "cure it", "get rid of it"? What's their attitude towards that? How do relatives react? Does make it hard to maintain a relationship? Finally, when I write about these kinds of issues I'm wondering what's offensive or not, which clichés to avoid and so on Sorry very long text, I'm just trying to cast a maximum of ideas so that if at least one question is answered, that would be good ?
Related posts
- Date posted
- 14w
Hello everyone! This is my first post since downloading the NOCD app and wanted to share a little about my life with OCD. I was first diagnosed when I was 17 but truly started noticing there was something going on with me as early as 10. To summarize: I have the repetitive ritualistic type of OCD. Basically, I have a fear of becoming other people. I believe that if I perform an action, like turning off the sink or closing a door, or even breathing in and out while thinking about somebody, especially someone that I dislike, that eventually I will become just like that person or experience something they've been through that is negative; like health issues, personality issues, or social status decline. Simple example: I know this one dude named Richard, I worked with him in retail, and he told me about how his brother died at a young age. Now, it’s nighttime, and with that new information known about Richard, I believe, that If I take my contact out while thinking of Richard, or an image of him appears in my head while I’m taking out my contact, I believe that MY brother is going to eventually die too. What’s the solution?: I worked with another kid in retail. His name is Mikey, he was decently put together, and his brother didn’t die. So that means: Now with my contact still on my finger, I put it to my eyeball, and keep tapping at my eyeball with my contact while trying to get an image of Mikey perfectly timed, so that I can cancel out the image of Richard and save my brothers life. This is a challenge because the image of Richard, or I should say, the fear that my brother could die from this thought, is strong, and often times I have to think of other people (from other life experiences) along with Mikey just to feel confident that I got the image cancelled enough to move forward. Every day, I complete many actions and with every action comes a thought or image of some person I’ve encountered in my life that I’m either afraid of becoming or obtaining the same negative life experiences, which therefore means I also have all the othet people in my mind, at the ready, that cancel them out too. Every day I cancel people out and repeat actions disguised to the public. Sometimes it’s noticeable, but knowing how to cover your ugly side while making sure you don’t mess up your future with the wrong thought is just what I call life. I’m a man with a thousand people in his head and its been an EXHAUSTING journey. But through therapy and acceptance of myself, I have found a way to love with it. Like anything else, there are horrible days and okay days, but this is apart of me forever and im lucky to share it all with you! Can anyone relate?? Feel free to comment or reach out! - Matt
- Date posted
- 11w
Anyone willing to share there health ocd story with me? I’m really struggling with mine and would like to relate to someone and maybe talk about it. Thanks in advance. I’m new here.
- Date posted
- 5w
OCD has been in my life since 2019, and I have no idea how to get rid of it. Everything started when I was 14. I had just started high school, and when I walked into the classroom, I was trying to figure out the atmosphere there. I was a very quiet kid in high school. I usually hated my skin, so I would wear my cardigan in a way that covered my hands and listened to lessons with my hand on my face. A few weeks later, people started insulting me, hitting me, and verbally harassing me. The bullying got worse, and from then on, I started bottling everything up. At that time, I cared too much about what people thought, and I began to believe others would harm me. Because of these thoughts and fears, I failed around 8–9 classes. In 2020, when the pandemic started, classes went online. I hated it, but I was happy because I wouldn’t have to see those people again—at least until I lost my grandmother. She passed away due to COVID, and that pushed me really far down. Back then, I had an edit account on Instagram. I loved making edits and I had friends I really liked. Talking with them made me so happy, but over time, their behavior toward me changed. They turned into completely different people I no longer recognized. They became horrible, and all of this happened just because I replied late to their messages. I wasn’t always online—I’m human too. They added me to groups, threatened me, and sent me awful messages. I began to hate myself more and more. Around that time, I also started becoming paranoid about people. When I met someone new, I approached them with fear, and this dragged me down further. For almost a year and a half, both online and in real life, I developed prejudice against people. This prejudice was mostly fear—fear and prejudice made me antisocial. When the pandemic ended, in 2022–2023, I had to do an internship in a place and a job I absolutely hated and couldn’t manage. The people there constantly mocked me, which pushed me down even more. I didn’t know how to deal with these situations because I was alone. I did the internship for about two and a half months, and when 2023 came, all the traumas and obsessions echoed in my mind. I felt terrible because of the disgusting events I had experienced. It felt like my brain had completely shut down. By January 2023, I was in an unbearable state. When I walked into the classroom, my teacher noticed something was wrong and started asking me questions. I immediately burst into tears and told her, “I hate myself.” At that time, the students in the back were making a lot of noise, so they couldn’t hear me. My teacher said, “Don’t turn around so they won’t see—come with me,” and took me to the teachers’ room. I told her everything, and I think I respect myself for that. But at the same time, my orientation felt like a burden on my shoulders, because I felt pressure from my family—as if I was supposed to meet a girl and start a relationship. I explained all the pressures, my obsessions, everything from beginning to end. She guided me and supported me. Almost all of my teachers supported me, and my prejudice toward people completely disappeared. Back then, I really thought I had beaten OCD. But in the following years, it came back stronger. I started hating my body. I took too many showers. The traumas replayed in my mind over and over. The more I tried to erase them, the more I thought about them—and I wasn’t the one controlling it. I couldn’t. When I do something, I often repeat it 4 or 5 times. I can’t pass through doors. I can’t touch certain objects. Even when I play games on my phone, I feel like I have to choose a character, but I keep choosing and canceling again and again. It repeats endlessly, and I can’t stop it. It feels like everything that once made me happy just disappears in front of my eyes, and I’m still fighting this. My family, my sister, my aunts, and my past teachers have supported me, but I feel like I’m disappointing them. That makes me feel terrible. On this site, I see so many people sharing their struggles with OCD, and knowing I’m not alone makes me both sad and, at the same time, a little happy. I just wanted to express myself this way. There are still things I couldn’t write—I really want to—but my thoughts exhaust me so much that I can’t.
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