Confused

I was diagnosed with OCD about a month ago and have only done 2 full sessions of ERP. This new OCD diagnosis is confusing to me and it is impacting my sleep like no other feeling like I cannot turn off my brain from my repetitive thoughts. I feel like all of my thoughts are OCD related thoughts right now and I am having a hard time disconnecting myself from them. I truly want to feel better, but having a hard time figuring out how to move forward with my life with this new diagnosis. Any tips for a newbie looking for some hope?

Username: MichelleVMichelleV

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 31w ago

I’m sorry it’s been harder to sleep. Try taking this diagnosis one day at a time. It is a new reality for you, and it can be jarring to have your life before your diagnosis, and your life now with your diagnosis. Something that helps me at night, when my thoughts are racing, is to listen to sleep meditations. Listening to someone else talk helps me get out of my head a little bit, and focusing on deep breathing helps me relax. I promise this will get easier. The ERP work is hard to adjust to at first, but you’re going to keep developing your skills and you’ll learn to not engage with the thoughts, and they’ll become less stressful. Don’t pressure yourself to feel better right away. Do small things to ease your stress. Try to do hobbies, keep your sleeping space clean, maybe get off your phone an hour before bed (for me, this really helps). I also highly recommend the NOCD support groups. And practice being kind to yourself. You’re on a new journey, and ERP is tough. But you’re doing wonderful work by doing your sessions and learning. You got this.

Username: ListenToTheWindListenToTheWind

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 31w ago

I remember this stage You will get out and the ‘ocd thoughts’ will dissipate from what feels like 100 to very little. To get reprieve, try something that requires focus. Like a puzzle, knitting, a video game. You’ll start to feel a break in the thoughts. You’ll reconnect with that. That feeling will start to come more and more. Maybe even do that right before bed. Like try to focus on a puzzle for 30 minutes.

Username: AnonymousAnonymous

Date posted: 31w ago

If you slept fine before the diagnosis I would try to change your opinion about what this diagnosis means in your life. You had OCD both b4 and after the diagnosis nothing has changed except your perception about yourself.

Username: gixmogixmo

Date posted: 30w ago

I had the same reaction. It was daunting, then it was something that explained so much. Both required a shift in my thinking. But I feel I am integrating it into my new experience that is better than before I was working it through. Congratulations on the beginning. Take care.

Username: Honeyshark Honeyshark

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 31w ago

It’ll get better with more ERP practice. I remember when I was trying to manage OCD on my own and the lack of sleep (I’d have to exercise for 6 hours a day to be able to sleep at all). Meds might be worth talking to your therapist about. They helped me a lot.

Username: Ken!

Date posted: 1y ago

Newly Diagnosed

Hi friends, I have recently been diagnosed with OCD these past few weeks. It all can feel really all encompassing and overwhelming. And almost like I’m completely at the bottom of the mountain and still realizing so many things I have dealt with were actually OCD. Does anyone have any advice or things they wish they knew in the beginning of starting treatment? I appreciate you all and the community. 🖤😊

Username: Ellie4

Date posted: 45w ago

New diagnosis

How did others do after first getting diagnosed? Did the diagnosis cause you to spiral initially? It feels like all the symptoms have become so much worse since, maybe because I am noticing them and focusing on them. I have been stuck on looking back through my whole life but now through an OCD lens and it’s been incredibly overwhelming realizing how much OCD has impacted me my whole life. I had previously assumed all the symptoms were part of my having ADHD and Autism, but I am now realizing a lot of my struggling was actually OCD. I’m 45 and I was diagnosed with severe OCD a week ago. Tomorrow I start ERP and I’m quite anxious about it. I feel pretty unfixable at this point, but I’m trying to be hopeful. I have my doubts that I will be strong enough to do this.

Username: Knockonwood3

Date posted: 26w ago

Recently diagnosed and trying to find community ❤️‍🩹

Hello. This is my first post and it’s going to be a confession of sorts… I was recently diagnosed with OCD and it has been really clarifying, scary, and confusing to navigate alone. I am also going through a lot of changes in my personal life. I recently graduated college and I am currently healing from a very difficult break up with my partner of 4 years. I don’t handle uncertainty or change very well so this period of my life has been super stressful and uncomfortable. My recent diagnosis and break up have taught me a lot about myself. I first realized I might have OCD because my mental health and— what I now know to be compulsions— became so destructive to my physical and emotional wellbeing that I actually began googling questions about repetitive self mutilation. The first result was something about the link between OCD and self harm. There were some examples of what compulsive self mutilation can look like, and it strongly resembled the things I have struggled with my entire life. For me, self mutilation is the compulsion I struggle with most. At times it has been incredibly debilitating. From there, I became obsessed with reading into OCD (I find this pretty ironic and funny). The more I research about it the more it resembles the things I have struggled with for as long as I can remember. I realized that the overwhelming guilt, shame, and anxiety I feel constantly are not the consequences of being a bad person, but rather the symptoms of OCD. It feels super validating to learn that the inner turmoil I’ve struggled with my entire life is something other people experience and is actually treatable. I started working with a psychiatrist who specializes in OCD and ended up getting formally diagnosed with moderate to severe OCD. Since learning this, I am beginning to understand myself in an entirely new light. It has in no way been easy. I hit rock bottom and— just when I thought it couldn’t possibly get any worse — I hit an even lower rock bottom. I’m not saying this out of self pity or to try to fish for sympathy, I’m just hoping that I can make someone struggling with a recent diagnosis feel less alone. I have felt very alone in this journey even as I learn that many people struggle with similar things. I still have a lot of learning and growing to do, but I am actively seeking treatment and I’m doing what I can to manage my OCD. I’m really grateful for this platform and I am relieved to know that things can actually get better. I think the next step for me is to start ERP therapy, but right now that sounds really scary and exhausting. Even so, I’m quickly warming up to this form of treatment as I research about its effectiveness. Everyday I discover more ways my life has been impacted by OCD. It’s very painful to realize that the overwhelming shame I feel about my obsessions and compulsions has actually been the reason I’ve lived the first 23 years of my life undiagnosed. My diagnosis has also shed new light on my past relationship and has helped me sort through some of my emotions in this healing process. … To anybody who actually read this whole thing: thank you. If nobody read it then at least I got this off my chest. I would really appreciate any advice on navigating a recent diagnosis and seeking treatment.

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