- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
Has Anyone Beat OCD?
Hi friends! Has anyone actually beat this disease once and for all? What’s your best hack or secret? ❤️
Hi friends! Has anyone actually beat this disease once and for all? What’s your best hack or secret? ❤️
What do you mean by beating it once and for all? Because there’s no cure for it.
@Nica As Thal17 said down below…the intrusive thoughts stop scaring the 💩 out of you. The relapses or spirals stop coming as often. It has improved significantly, don’t get me wrong. But, I run into my main trigger three days ago and 💥 I’m back to Red Alert DEFCON 4. I really dislike this, but I wish I could learn to love it. Maybe that’s the only way to take its power. Thank it for making me want to cry and hide…it’s trying to keep me safe, right? 😖
@Joey_867 Have you spoken to your therapist about this? You sound like you need more coping mechanisms, possibly curbing mental compulsions as well. And maybe lots of life style changes.
@Nica Agreed. I will definitely speak to my therapist about this. I do need more coping mechanisms and absolutely need to curb mental compulsions. Do you have any suggestions? Distraction? Music? Is that what you mean? Choose to disengage from the thoughts? I’ll say this, the frequency of the relapses has improved. My OCD is locked on an ex associate of mine who is sick and dangerous. I fear they’ll ruin my life because I’ve cut ties… I know, my OCD thinks it’s different and unique. I saw the person for the first time in 6 months the other day on the street. It sent me spiraling. I’m not sure what type of lifestyle changes you’d recommend? I was exercising, saw them and💥. If I could move, I would. My spouse, family, and therapist say that you can’t move from OCD and it would just find something else.
@Joey_867 Okay, here we go… it’s a lot 😆 and some things might work and other won’t so you have to try it out and see how it goes: -Drink more water/stay hydrated, -Cut back and eventually all the at once mental compulsions, -Minimum 7 hours of sleep per night, -Get on a daily and nightly routine (as in you have a schedule and you go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time unless you’re sick or on holiday), -Cut back on sugar and carbs and focus more on protein, healthy fats, and veggies, -Go outside for at least 30 minutes a day, -Exercise every day or every other day. This includes weight lifting, cardio, and stretching, -Pick up a hobby or two (or more!) that can be done with others and by yourself, -Check out Yoga with Adriene on YouTube for free yoga content, -Check out either the Calm app or Insight Timer app for meditations (20 minutes per day as the end goal but start with 5 minutes and work your way up. It WILL take time), -Practice mindfulness all day, every day. And this is a life long process, -Seek out therapy (also for life), -Medication if it works for you, -Look into grounding techniques for when things get hard, -Spend more time with loved ones (it does not have to be blood related if you have abusive family members).
@Nica Thank you!!!!!
I don’t think it will ever go, but you learn to manage it, you don’t let it overcome you, when those intrusive thoughts and feelings fill you, you know it’s just your OCD so you get on with it, it doesn’t consume you like it once did. But you won’t ever get rid of it completely, that doesn’t mean you can’t live a happy, fulfilling, peaceful life :)
@thal17 This…this is all I want. What has helped you the most?
@Joey_867 Realising that it’s OCD and no matter how real it feels, it’s just not. You have to be stronger than your mind otherwise you fall victim to it each time. Recovery is the way, you have to be committed to your recovery/ healing journey, once you learn more and more on your type of theme etc you can notice it as just that, a theme. Nothing more nothing less. And don’t half ass anything, don’t work on your bigger compulsions or obsessions and forget the little ones that don’t bother you so much because that’s your gateway back into a deep spiral.
@thal17 Thank you!
I had a remission for years. Almost 0% OCD thoughts. I felt "normal". Living life and doing most things OCD wouldn't usually let me do. Unfortunately I had a relapse. And here I am. So you can go years without any OCD impacting your life. It's definitely possible. I can confirm that. But as for it going for good? I'm not sure. I'd love to think so though!
@djkaz I am right with you. I had 10 beautiful, amazing, incredible years! I suffered with health OCD bad for three challenging years. Finally, I broke down and gave it…I accepted I was dying. Well, I am still here and very healthy. A year ago, I thought I didn’t need meds anymore. Wrong. I wish someone would have told me that I’d need it for the rest of my life.
@Joey_867 That's it. You don't know when it'll strike. I can also relate to that. I had bad Health OCD. Exact theme. I was dying. Guess what? I wasn't. Still here. And the thought of dying doesn't even phase me now. I'm already onto a new theme. But OCD was kind enough to give me a 3 year break before coming back stranger.
@djkaz That is it exact. Hey, I’m here if you need to talk! We got this. We can handle the hard stuff!!
@Joey_867 Thank you! I appreciate that. :)
Getting better
Looking back, I realize I’ve had OCD since I was 7. though I wasn’t diagnosed until I was 30. As a kid, I was consumed by fears I couldn’t explain: "What if God isn’t real? What happens when we die? How do I know I’m real?" These existential thoughts terrified me, and while everyone has them from time to time, I felt like they were consuming my life. By 12, I was having daily panic attacks about death and war, feeling untethered from reality as depersonalization and derealization set in. At 15, I turned to drinking, spending the next 15 years drunk, trying to escape my mind. I hated myself, struggled with my body, and my intrusive thoughts. Sobriety forced me to face it all head-on. In May 2022, I finally learned I had OCD. I remember the exact date: May 10th. Reading about it, I thought, "Oh my God, this is it. This explains everything." My main themes were existential OCD and self-harm intrusive thoughts. The self-harm fears were the hardest: "What if I kill myself? What if I lose control?" These thoughts terrified me because I didn’t want to die. ERP changed everything. At first, I thought, "You want me to confront my worst fears? Are you kidding me?" But ERP is gradual and done at your pace. My therapist taught me to lean into uncertainty instead of fighting it. She’d say, "Maybe you’ll kill yourself—who knows?" At first, it felt scary, but for OCD, it was freeing. Slowly, I realized my thoughts were just thoughts. ERP gave me my life back. I’m working again, I’m sober, and for the first time, I can imagine a future. If you’re scared to try ERP, I get it. But if you’re already living in fear, why not try a set of tools that can give you hope?
Looking for inspiration
Hi everyone, I’m Andrea and I am a member of the Intake Team here at NOCD. In junior high, I was known as the “aneurysm girl” because I was convinced any small headache meant I was dying. At just 12 years old, I read something that triggered my OCD, and from that moment on, my brain latched onto catastrophic health fears. Any strange sensation in my body felt like proof that something was seriously wrong. I constantly sought reassurance, avoided being alone, and felt trapped in an endless cycle of fear. Over time, my OCD shifted themes, but health anxiety was always there, lurking in the background. I turned to drinking to numb my mind, trying to escape the fear that never let up. Then, in 2016, everything spiraled. I was sitting at work, feeling completely fine, when suddenly my vision felt strange—something was “off.” My mind convinced me I was having a stroke. I called an ambulance, launching myself into one of the darkest periods of my life. I visited doctors multiple times a week, terrified I was dying, yet every test came back normal. The fear never loosened its grip. For years, I cycled in and out of therapy, desperately trying to find answers, but no one recognized what was really happening. I was always told I had anxiety or depression, but OCD was never mentioned. I was suicidal, believing I would never escape the torment of my mind. It wasn’t until 2022—after years of struggling, hitting rock bottom, and finally seeking specialized OCD treatment—that I got the right diagnosis. ERP therapy at NOCD was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it saved my life. Today, I’m 34, sober, and living a life I never thought was possible. Do I still have hard days? Absolutely. But I am no longer a prisoner to my fears. The thoughts still come, but they don’t control me anymore. They don’t dictate my every move. Life isn’t perfect, but it no longer knocks me off my feet. If you’re struggling with health OCD or somatic OCD, I see you. I know how terrifying and isolating it can be. But I also know that it can get better. If you have any questions about health & somatic OCD, ERP, and breaking the OCD cycle, I’d love to tell you what I’ve learned first hand. Drop your questions below, and I’ll answer all of them!
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond