- Date posted
- 7y
- Date posted
- 7y
I’ve actually used this to make progress in my recovery. I was sick of avoiding things and not doing things because my OCD would get in the way. I’ve made a strong point to not allow OCD to have any effect over decisions I make in life. I do the things I love to do regardless of OCD coming along for the ride or not.
- Date posted
- 7y
For sure! Make sure to stay in control of OCD, not the other way around!
- Date posted
- 7y
Yes, it’s very possible that OCD can cause this. Is there a specific fear that keeps you from doing the things you loved? Or, possibly, there’s some underlying depression involved too. Anxiety and depression go hand and hand more frequently than not, so chances are, it’s most likely you’re experiencing some anxiety-related depression as well. Overall, there’s not enough information about your OCD, fears and overall feelings.
- Date posted
- 7y
I definitely relate, Lizzie. Maybe if you try self exposure therapy, it’ll help you realize nothing bad will happen when you do things you enjoy. Like, practice reading for 5 or 10 minutes a day (or every other day) until you start feeling more comfortable. Gradually (and I do mean GRADUALLY) increase the time spent reading or painting. You can start by doing this exercise as little as 2 or 3 days a week (recommended) or every day for a week at a time. You can give yourself a week break in between. So you’d be doing this exercise bi weekly to start with. Then move to 3 weeks a month, then every week.
- Date posted
- 7y
@Skarlettrose That is definitely a great way to do it!! I am doing exposure for some of the smaller things I enjoy doing and I find that this app really helps keep me on track! I definitely have to force myself to do it regularly like you said!! Increasing it gradually is a good idea as well!! Thank you! :)
- Date posted
- 7y
Yeah, I used to love going to my friends house in France but I can’t go anymore :/
- Date posted
- 7y
I suffer a lot more from hygiene ocd now but my last episode was all about obsessions and compulsions that I had to fulfill in order to not throw up. Reading was such a chore because I had to read it the “right” way... which was just when it felt right. So id re read and re read and re read. It was particularly hard when reading philosophy books for college!! I also had to connect everything and write the write way so college was just a huge struggle in general. I would also not wear certain clothes because I felt sick if I wore them. And the bus was a big no no. I totally relate because my whole life was centred around making sure I did not throw up. The ironic part is that I never threw up once.... all that worrying :(
- Date posted
- 7y
@Skarlettrose My OCD causes me to create associations between doing things I enjoy and something bad happening and avoiding these things I enjoy is a compulsion. (For example I have intrusive thoughts that if I do a certain hobby then the fears I obsess about will come true.) I avoid all of these things because of my obsessions and I think avoidance has become a compulsion.
- Date posted
- 7y
I can definitely relate
- Date posted
- 7y
@PetShopBoysrock That is great!!! It definitely takes a lot of courage and hard work to do and I hope I will be able to if I keep working on my exposure!!
- Date posted
- 7y
@xxEmilyxx I’m really sorry to hear that!! I know that I we’ll be able to fight are OCD and do the things we love again!!
- Date posted
- 7y
@Aliceisdirty I understand how you feel!! It must have been so tiring!! I used to obsess over throwing up as well, it was one of my first obsessions. I bet that made college very difficult!! I understand how you felt with difficulty wearing certain clothes, that is something I am struggling with now! Thank you for sharing your story, it’s so nice to know that you can relate!
- Date posted
- 7y
*compulsion.
Related posts
- Date posted
- 25w
Idk if this is OCD per se, it feels more like perfectionism than anything. but I was wondering if anyone can relate. I’m a girl approaching the age of 20 and there are certain things I really want to be able to enjoy and pamper myself with, like getting my nails done, or getting a lash lift. But I’ve discovered that doing either brings me a lot of stress. For example, I just bought some nice press on nails last week and I put them on last night (which took me soooo long) and I’ve been so stressed about them since. I keep worrying that they’re going to fall off right away and I keep checking them and pushing on them to see, so much so that I worry I’m going to make them loose. I already had one looking like it was starting to lift, and instead of leaving it I pulled it off entirely cuz I’d rather start over and redo it than have it fall off, and now I’m worried my other nails are gonna fall off and that I should just pull them off now before they do. I keep pushing on one nail that feels loose to me. But it hasn’t lifted, but I’ve pushed it so much now that I want to rip it off. And another example, when I get a lash lift I worry so much because I start obsessing over the evenness of the curl on both sides. It always feels like one side is more curled than the other. Or that one side looks more fuller (more lashes) than the other and it makes me stressed. And I also obsess over those pesky lashes that just didn’t want to curl and I try pulling them out sometimes to make it look for even. It’s just little things like that which make these experiences unenjoyable for me, even tho I so badly want to enjoy them. I spent money on these nails and I want them to last and I’m so worried that I did them wrong and ruined it. I just don’t want them to fall off. But they’re caused me a lot of stress in the last 24hrs and I’ve been hyperfixating on them so much.
- Date posted
- 24w
My ocd gets so loud in the silence and right before bed when there’s no distractions. I always struggled with anxiety since my teens and guided meditation used to help… until OCD. First time trying guided meditation with OCD I had an intrusive thought of “what if you actually lose control and can’t follow these instructions?” And got even more anxious 🫠🫠🫠 had to stop, and haven’t tried to meditate ever since. Just curious to know. Sometimes I feel like I have the worst type of OCD. It will latch onto anything to make me anxious!
- Date posted
- 23w
The things that used to make me happy? The things that used to make me sad? I don't know how to connect with those anymore. I used to be happy just looking at the sunset and nature, I loved being present in the moment but now being present in the moment is scary because now I'm faced with my thoughts and new potential ones so I'd rather distract myself. I love kballads and I used to listen to them and just cry and be happy because they sound so beautiful but now I can't embrace these things that feel like beauty because I feel like the exact opposite. The only things I can enjoy are K-drama's! But I can't watch things with kids in it. So yah that's tricky! And the things that make me sad?! Well I used to be sad and terrified about loosing my loved ones but now it's a different kind of sad. I used to be sad because of miss them and all that but now I'm scared of facing now messed up my emotions have become. I'm scared of loosing someone I love and then not being able to feel sad because I'm just numb, or even worse...if it becomes something I'm okay with or what if OCD convinces me that I'm happy about it because honestly it would be weird moving around the world with such emotions. So not only has OCD made it hard for me to enjoy the good things but also hard for me to feel sad about the sad things or just to put it short...to experience emotions normally.
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