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- OCD Conqueror
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Being super anxious that family or friends were mad at me with little or no evidence
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YESSSSSS!!!! And looking for reassurance.
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- OCD Conqueror
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@Misstama65 Omg yes still struggle with this one!
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@LynetteK But... It's better?
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
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@Misstama65 Yes, I have to work at it though.
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Oh... Didn't know that was OCD, I have that. Thanks for sharing.
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100% agreed!!!
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Debilitating, constant guilt from replaying of events in the past, questioning how good or bad of a person I am on a daily basis
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- 1y
@Anonymous Same! It blew my mind (and still difficult to fully embrace this fact) that guilt and mental self bludgeoning is a compulsion. I’m sorry you have this too, my friend. Know you’re not alone ❤️
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- OCD Conqueror
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@Anonymous Thank you for your kind words! ❤️
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@Anonymous I understand that you are not alone 💓it’s so rough any tips they helped u❤️
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@Anonymous Argh I feel this too
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Oh yes, I forget this is part of OCD, thanks for reminding me
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A lot of people don't understand how debilitating OCD can be. Thank you for sharing!
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Ruminating.
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
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@Kim Calder Same!
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- OCD Conqueror
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- 1y
Tips for conquering this?
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- OCD Conqueror
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@Misstama65 I have to use avoidance or a less strong compulsion or I will keep ruminating and start to spiral with my ocd. I have use a smaller compulsion like avoiding or I will ruminate all day and my ocd will get a lot worse. Some times with ocd you have do a smaller/steppingstone compulsion to stop doing a bigger compulsions specially mental ones they’re very hard to stop doing.
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- 1y
@Brooke cookie Good point
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Ruminating is the worst. You are so much stronger than it though!!
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
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@Brenna - NOCD Team Member I do this a lot. I could really use tips for reducing it
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
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Rumination, mental checking, body checking, mental rituals
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You're definitely not alone!!!
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
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Ruminating and avoiding. I used to think I was SO smart for being able to identify every possible risk associated with ANYTHING. Now I realize I was just making myself miserable!
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Hindsight is 20/20!!
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
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Uh all of them. Depression and anxiety from the non stop looping. Oh and thinking I'm lying all the time as in " I don't really have OCD, I'm making it all up and I'm lying I really have something else. That one thing caused me to take two weeks till I accepted I did have OCD, even though I knew I had OCD.
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- 1y
@Anonymous It’s a relief to hear that someone else struggled with the “I’m making up that I have OCD” thoughts. That was a struggle for me too
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
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@Anonymous Same...
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Thank you for sharing!! You're making people feel less alone.
- User type
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Skin picking!
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- OCD Conqueror
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@nicgig I wonder if nail biting is one too. I constantly bite my nails to the nubs.
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
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- 1y
@Kim Calder I’m sure it is!
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There's tons of hope for recovery!!
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Bringing up resolved conflicts with girlfriend and friends to make sure everything was okay
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- 1y
I feel this!
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
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Speaking reassurance from others (sometimes strangers)
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Same. Even clients 😬
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Reassurance is a very common compulsion.. you're not alone!
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Looking for worst case scenario outcomes, especially in health situations of people I love
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Oooo this is a good one. I've been here!!
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- OCD Conqueror
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People pleasing
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- 1y
Oh, is that OCD? Hmm ok well I guess I do that too
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
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@JessieJoy Yea, my therapist told me it was!
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This is a big one!!
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- OCD Conqueror
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the time i spent feeding into my thoughts by trying to reassure myself that i didn’t want the thoughts
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- 1y
I've also been here. You're not alone and you're much stronger than OCD!
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
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- 1y
Ruminating!!!
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- 1y
Yes!!
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
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Rumination. BIG TIME.
- User type
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- 1y
Yes...
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
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Giving meaning to an irrational thought along with ruminating and trying to outrun the thought.
- User type
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What a great explanation. Thanks for sharing this!!
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
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- 1y
Ruminating, catastrophizing and mental checking. Okay, that’s three…but I had no idea how badly they were impacting my life before ERP!
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- 1y
YES!! ERP puts things into perspective.
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
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Listing every physical symptom to friends family and anyone who would listen just to get reassurance !
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Yep.. I feel like I would ask for reassurance without even realizing it was reassurance too.
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
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RUMINATION GOOD LORD!!! Still catching myself doing it but so so grateful for the knowledge of it now 🙌🏻🙌🏻
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Agreed.. knowing what rumination is and having some tools to not let it take over your life is so important!!
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Rarely feeling safe and secure.
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OCD can wreck havoc on how it feels to be mentally safe.. I've been there!
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That i lived in constant stress and anxiety i didn’t know what life without it was like. It felt “normal” to be in it as opposed to not. My shoulders were always shrugged and my head hunched.
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- 1y
I can relate to this.
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- 1y
Thought replacing
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Thought replacing can sneak up on you!!
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Skin picking, ruminating, over apologizing, over confessing. 🤦🏻♀️
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- 1y
There's a TON of hope that these things won't take over your life!
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
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I didn’t realize how much I disliked myself!
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
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The idea that someone was contaminating me with their energy
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Hmm
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Thanks for sharing this!
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- OCD Conqueror
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Anticipatory anxiety (ruminating)!
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100%
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the immediate down spiral one small thing can send me into
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@clownkitty I hate when that happens to me too
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OCD can feel so urgent and scary.. you're stronger than it though!
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- OCD Conqueror
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Rumination and doubt
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Obsessing over my morality
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- 1y
So much rumination. Mental checking. Physical checking. Talking with others about my thoughts over and over again. Feeling a need to confess.
- User type
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- 1y
Talking about OCD with people is very common.. you're not alone!
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Over responsibility and guilt!
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Agreed!!
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- OCD Conqueror
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Sneaky compulsions that I didn’t realize were compulsions!
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@MegD6615 Yes!!!!!!
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GREAT example. Compulsions can come in and be challenging to spot!!
- User type
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ruminating and constantly replaying moments and conversations in my head until I felt better
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Replaying until it "feels right" is so common
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
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Reassuring myself, rumination
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These are big ones!!
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- OCD Conqueror
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Reassurance, confessing, repeating a script I had to memorize her and over before I could do anything else.
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OCD truly is the worst.
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@Brenna - NOCD Team Member It really is🙁 but we can still enjoy life!
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@Beevs - Yes, absolutely! We can live the life we want to live, not how OCD wants us to live our lives.
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@Brenna - NOCD Team Member 100%! It's definitely easier said than done but with the work of ERP, it is possible to retain our lives.
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
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My imposter syndrome
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See for me it's do I really want to do that or am I just following people. It makes me think I'm an Impostor because ocd is a fucking lying drama queen.
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OCD's such a liar!
- User type
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Ruminating, feeling like a bad person all the time, feeling like everyone hates me, constantly trying to predict other people’s behaviors & opinions & how situations will unfold, worrying about the future
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Oh wow yes
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You're stronger than OCD!!
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Ruminating
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Yes!!
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- OCD Conqueror
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Confessing and storytelling.
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You're not alone with these!
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How terrified I am that something bad will happen
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Yes.. that urgent fear!
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Being super anxious around people and being hyperaware of my every move
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100%
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Not knowing if I’m feeling physical symptoms or I made them up and they’re psychosomatic
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Relatable!!!
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
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when i was a little kid, i was scared that my mom was replaced by an alien?? so i made some password between us so i could tell if she was human lol. I was like six at the time. if she didn’t say the password i freaked out 💀💀💀
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@meepers Omg I love this! What creative ocd you have 🙂
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- OCD Conqueror
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@Anonymous lol
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Besides the ones that a lot of people have mentioned, recently it has been realizing my superstitions are more so OCD related. Like for example that if I were to intentionally kill a bee it wouldn’t affect the odds of another bee stinging me (because it would break my agreed upon pact with the bees) Hello Magical Thinking!
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I have superstitions too I didn't know it was related to ocd
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ooo GREAT one! Thanks for bringing awareness to this!!
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@Brenna - NOCD Team Member Thank you!
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Reverse rumination
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Distraction as a means of not focusing on my thoughts.
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Yes.. OCD makes us think we cannot sit with our thoughts.
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
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Saying no to a thought.
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- OCD Conqueror
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@Anonymous Sometimes when I was alone, and my thoughts were really bad, I would literally shout the F word
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
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@theali-est Haha yeah I definitely would do that sometimes. Once I learned that is a compulsion it helped a lot
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A very popular compulsion!!
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- 1y
Rereading the same email for an hour to make sure there's nothing wrong with it, be it misspelling or somehow attached a private photo or accidently called my boss stupid.
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- 1y
So incredibly familiar to me
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Yes!!
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
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Ruminating!!
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
People pleasing
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Thanks for sharing!!
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- 1y
Needing to make sure people understand what I’m saying in a conflict
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- 1y
Feeling guilty
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Guilt and shame can be common emotions with OCD.. you're not alone and so much stronger than OCD!!!
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I just found out this week a compulsion of mine is ruminating. I had no idea it was making me more anxious and that there was even a term for it. It seriously has changed my whole outlook on OCD and how to manage it!
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Knowledge is power!! Thanks for sharing!
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Ruminating and checking feelings and thoughts
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"Checking" is a super common compulsion! You're stronger than OCD!!
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I constantly used reddit as an outlet to soothe my compulsions, almost every time I had an intrusive thought especially when it came to my relationship i immediately searched it up on reddit for reassurance only to be met with horrible truths, and then believing the truths causing me even more harm, leading to me searching up other questions to get reassurance, constant negative thoughts, the same thoughts, it's just upsetting.
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- 1y
Ruminating
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- 1y
You're not alone!!
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
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Ruminating
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- Staff
- Date posted
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Definitely not alone!
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
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I didnt realize I was compulsively avoiding my oven. I thought I had completely rational reasons to think my oven would explode if I used it
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- 1y
Thank you for sharing.. you're making people feel less alone!
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- 1y
Constant shame and guilt
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- 1y
You're not alone with these emotions. There's tons of hope for recovery!!
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
Rumination!
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- 1y
Racing thoughts!
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Confessing! I didn't know it wasn't healthy to tell people things, especially since the issues we talk about are often times way bigger than they seem. The reassurance you get temporarily and the guilt you let go of only lasts for a little before you have another problem on your hands
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- 1y
I have that one too
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
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- 1y
Planning ahead! I still remember the "ah-ha" moment I had when I realized that always planning ahead for what to do if I had a panic attack was a compulsion keeping my brain stuck in the OCD cycle. I remember I had no idea, I was in a support group with Tia Wilson, that was a real turning point for me.
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- 1y
Rumination too, it just isn't healthy or helpful at all.
- Date posted
- 49w
Constantly confessing to my partner that I was afraid I didn’t “feel right” or “feel enough”
Related posts
- Date posted
- 25w
Hi, I’m new to this app and newly diagnosed. Question for you all, What things did you normalize and do without a second thought that when diagnosed, you realized was actually your OCD? Mine was how concerned with germs I am. I hold my breath when I open a door so the rush of wind doesn’t infect my lungs from whatever is in the room. I thought everyone was really careful and concerned like me. But Ive learned it’s not normal the lengths I go to. What was yours?
- Date posted
- 24w
I’ve been thinking a lot about how OCD changes the way we see ourselves, but I recently realized that I am not my thoughts. Just because a thought pops up doesn’t mean it’s true or that it defines me. I’ve started learning how to see OCD for what it is—just a disorder trying to trick me—and I’ve become stronger in dealing with it. Has anyone else here had a similar realization? How do you handle these thoughts when they show up?
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 23w
OCD is so much more than just being 'neat' or 'organized'—it’s relentless, exhausting, and often deeply misunderstood. The intrusive thoughts, the compulsions, the anxiety—it can feel like a never-ending cycle that others just don’t seem to get. Many of us have had experiences where even therapists didn’t fully grasp the depth of our struggles. I myself faced difficulty being misdiagnosed and my talk therapist not understanding the full extent of what I was going through until I found NOCD. So many prior therapists wrote off my symptoms as general anxiety, not realizing it was actually OCD all along. If you could sit down with a therapist who truly wanted to understand, what do you wish they knew about OCD?
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