- Date posted
- 5y
- Date posted
- 5y
You should join him in therapy if he goes to an ocd specialist. The specialist will help you to understand better what he’s dealing with and how you can actively help and speed his recovery. Watch for more insight on how to help if you haven’t already seen this video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NLr04CEURdg
- Date posted
- 5y
Thank you very much!
- Date posted
- 5y
First of all, you deserve a ton of praise for doing your homework, researching OCD, and reaching out to find ways to support him. Props to you, he’s lucky to have a supportive partner like you. Second, I would maybe suggest reading some things written by people who have ROCD about managing the disorder while being in relationships. It might help to give you a better sense of his thoughts, especially since it might be hard for him to articulate exactly what’s going through his head to you, as you are his partner. If he’s not already seeing a psychologist/psychiatrist, I think it would be really helpful if you could support him in seeking one out, or if he is seeing one, see if you could attend a session with him, or perhaps attend the first 15 minutes or so of several sessions? When my OCD was centered around family relationships, my mother would join my therapist and I for the first 15 minutes of each session, and it was helpful to be able to discuss how OCD was affecting us and our relationship with a psychiatrist there to mediate and offer explanations and solutions. The last suggestion I have is to ask your partner what you can do to support him. For example, my family and I have a ‘panic protocol’ for when my OCD spirals into full-on panic attacks: I may need to be alone or I may want to have someone to talk to, but I will dictate which; don’t touch me during a panic attack; help me to a more secluded or quiet place so I can ‘take a break’ from people, etc. I also have an understanding with my best friend that if I ask her to ‘drown my brain out,’ I’m spiraling and need her to give me a distraction to help me break out of the spiral. These exact scenarios may or may not apply to you and your partner, but I wanted to give them as examples of ways you can set up support systems so that they’re ready to go in case you need them.
- Date posted
- 5y
Thank you so much, that’s very helpful!!
- Date posted
- 5y
I love the idea of having a panic protocol. I think I need to come up with one of these for myself/my bf. Thank you for the idea
- Date posted
- 5y
You are very nice person and I’m hope you deal with it, OCD is hard thing but if you love him, you help to him a lot with just understanding what happening with him. It’s really hard and sometimes scary to listen some thoughts but OCD thoughts are just thoughts. He scared of them same as you and even more, thats is why he share them with you, just for lowering anxiety level. English was very bad level so hope you’re understand ?
- Date posted
- 5y
Thank you Tomm!!
- Date posted
- 5y
Whew, sorry that got so long! Hope it’s helpful. Again, kudos to you for reaching out and finding ways to support your partner through this.
Related posts
- Date posted
- 18w
Hi everyone — just reaching out for a bit of support, perspective, and maybe some guidance. I was in a relationship with someone who had untreated ROCD, and I’m trying to process it all now that we’re apart. I’ve written my experience below, not to vent, but to better understand what happened and how to handle it with compassion (for both of us). I was in a relationship with someone who struggled deeply with OCD and ROCD, though they weren’t in treatment at the time. From the outside, things looked fine. But behind closed doors, I witnessed spirals, dissociation, identity shifts, panic, and emotional instability that few people ever saw. We both knew about the disorder. It wasn’t hidden. They even spoke about ROCD through awareness posts online. We knew what it was — we named it together — but knowing wasn’t enough to stop it. And unfortunately, the people around them didn’t fully understand OCD, ROCD, or just how powerful and persuasive this disorder can be. There was real love between us. Deep, honest, complicated love. And a connection that existed long before we ever became a couple — a connection I still believe in. But fear and doubt — the kind only OCD can generate — made everything feel unsafe. The anxiety got so loud that eventually, breaking up felt like the only option. Despite OCD or not, I’ve respected their decision and given them the space I know they needed and were entitled to. They shared a lot with me — things I won’t repeat here, because they’re theirs. But they were raw. Honest. Human. I was the one who sat through the “I don’t know” spirals. The doubts over feelings, attraction, and more. I was their rock — the one who understood. And they told me that, more than once. Now I’m sitting in the quiet. I’m seeing the avoidance play out: the nights out, the thriving energy, maybe even someone new. It’s hard — hard to witness such a visible shift in someone I was once so close to. But I’ve also seen the cracks. The internal conflict starting to show again. I know how this pattern works. I’ve lived it, too. The relief never lasts forever. Eventually, when it fades, the absence lingers longer. And when it does, OCD doesn’t stay silent for long — it latches onto the very things you tried to run from and reshapes itself. I know that if I reach out too soon — or say the wrong thing at the wrong time — I might push them even deeper into avoidance. Deeper into the version of themselves for now. So I’m careful. That’s why even this post is written with thought. Because I care. I really care. And in the meantime, I’m working on myself — even if part of me still wants to fight for something that felt real. But I also know I can’t fight alone. I’m not shutting the door — just stepping into another room for now. A room where I can grow and heal. But the door is still open. I’d appreciate any guidance or advice on how to approach this in the kindest, most thoughtful way — with as little hurt for either of us as possible. Thank you all so much and I wish all of you are keeping well. Lots of love ❤️
- Date posted
- 16w
I’ve been really struggling with Relationship OCD since I got married, and 3 years later, I’m afraid I’ve lost the love of my life. Between the Relationship OCD, the Religious OCD, and the Sexuality OCD, she couldn’t handle it anymore. Now that she left, the fog of doubt has faded, and I’m realizing how much I truly loved her all along. I just don’t understand how our minds can play such sabotaging tricks on us. And why? I don’t know what to do. I hope and pray we eventually get back together, but I know I need help. I want to do whatever I can to return to a place where she can feel loved by me, the way she did before ROCD took over. Is anyone here going through something similar? Has anyone overcome ROCD? Were you able to repair your relationship? I’d really appreciate any insight or advice. Thank you.
- Perfectionism OCD
- Mid-life adults with OCD
- Sexual Orientation OCD
- Religion & Spirituality OCD
- Relationship OCD
- LGBTQ+ with OCD
- Young adults with OCD
- Date posted
- 13w
I am at a very difficult spot in my relationship. My boyfriend and I have been together for 6 years, and I have a history of cheating that for years we’ve been trying to work through. To me, it makes a lot of sense that my OCD has attached itself to this and for the last few years I’ve experienced intrusive sexual thoughts of others and relationship ocd. I have been open to him about the content of my thoughts and now, with a proper diagnosis of an anxiety disorder, I am able to reframe them and work through them with ERP so that my brain will *hopefully* get bored and stop sending them. But, things have not been easy. As a result of this and everything in our past, he has become anxious about all the scenarios where I could be having sexualized thoughts about other people. To him, if I am thinking something utterly different than what I am telling him or acting like to him, he can’t fully trust it. And of course, I can imagine how difficult it is to know your life partner is sexualizing others in her brain and to be able find a way to dismiss them as unthreatening, especially when past mistakes say otherwise. Is there anyone that has gone through this with a partner? And other than repeatedly explaining the egodystonic nature of my thoughts and providing reassurance, what are some things you did that helped them? Any advice helps! Thank you
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