I need advice really badly

You don’t have to tell him details. Just give him an overview of OCD and give him examples of better-known subtypes, like checking locks, contamination OCD, driving OCD, etc.

Hey not sure if this helps at all, but I just want to let you know that you are not alone when it comes to embarrassing yourself by talking about your OCD. For the past 3 weeks, I have been seized by a debilitating obsession that convinced me that I had cheated on my partner with a mutual friend. It got to the point where I was physically unwell and unable to function normally. I finally caved and sent this person a huge paragraph explaining my OCD and asked if anything ever happened between us. Luckily he was understanding, but I feel so humiliated now. That obsession has completely disappeared, but as expected, another one took hold almost immediately. I know seeking reassurance is bad, but sometimes you feel like you absolutely need to or else you will just go insane or be unable to function normally. It is not ideal, but i just want to say there is no shame in caving sometimes. It’s not a proud moment but at times you are desperate and out of options. Just keep in mind it may not help as much as you think it might :/

Hello @Drusch, First, I am so sorry to hear that you are struggling with your OCD. You are not alone. OCD can try to convince you that you are alone in this, but you aren't. Your anger is justified, but misdirected. Be angry with OCD for the hoops it makes you jump through! You did not cause any part of your OCD. The definition of an intrusive thought is an unwanted thought that just shows up. You are not doing anything to make them happen. In regards to the situation with your uncle, if they are someone you trust we have to just accept that we cannot predict how they will respond. However, let me caution you against seeking certainty. I know OCD is convincing you that you cannot live with the uncertainty, but the reality is that OCD cannot live with uncertainty...you can! You do not need OCD's permission to live your life. If you are not engaged in therapy here at NOCD please contact a member of our care team. If you are receiving therapy here please reach out to your assigned therapist for further support.

You should tell him. The reason your so anxious and is feels like it's not letting up is because your fighting it. Getting better from OCD is all about resistance. Let go of resistance and do exposers and OCD will attack itself. Once you do this you will see the first time in which it let's you go.

I had the exact same experience. The feeling your having right now I felt the same way but the only thing that makes it better is to stop resisting. Stop trying to hold it or control it or tell you brain what is wrong to think. Maybe what your thinking is wrong. Maybe what your thinking is right. Maybe it will happen. Maybe it won't. When you let go of the thoughts they let go of you.

Look at the difference between encouragement and reassurance. Facts and white lies. Encouragement is fine as it leaves the possibility of uncertainty and failure but is still positive. If a fact is by chance reassuring then that's fine as long as you're not obsessively checking to find it out.

Sometimes you have to open up to someone you trust. But that person may not understand OCD or they may have experienced OCD (especially family members as ocd can be genetic) at some point in their life but don't realize it has a name or that it's a disorder. I sought reassurance from family so much and so often that it became a nuisance. I was desperate for help. And once I got reassurance, what I thought I needed, the obsession either came back in another way/angle or it would pick apart the reassurance I had just received. One night, I sat in my chair I was so exhausted, I refused to seek reassurance or do anything about the fear, intrusive thoughts, images, urges, feelings, etc. I refused to ruminate or think up ways to combat the thoughts. I refused to engage with it. I sat with the horribly uncomfortable feelings of guilt of not fighting back. It was awful but took a fairly short time before I felt the obsession lessen. And piece by piece, rock by rock, boulder by boulder, the ocd mountain began to crumble. OCD can and likely will come back in other ways, other themes across our life span. But as we gain more experience with it, we recognize it's tactics, and we learn to not engage each time. Because engaging with it, makes it worse, we go into obsessively compulsive spiral each time. You win the ocd game by not playing at all.