I'm Donna Simons, a therapist here at NOCD. Ask Me Anything in the comments below!

Hi there, and thanks for visiting this post! I’m Donna Simons. New York City is my home town, and my dogs and I currently live in Virginia Beach, VA. I adore my two grown daughters, and favorite activities are family time, thrifting, decorating, reading, writing, doing all types of puzzles, taking road trips, crocheting, sewing, and being near the ocean. Helping others manage difficult thoughts, feelings, and behaviors has always been my calling, so after decades as a college writing instructor and vocational counselor, I went back to school to become a therapist. In time, I heard about NOCD, whose values around providing highly trained specialists to affordable and accessible care sat well with my ethics and morals, and so here I am! Like some of you reading this post, I am a member of the ACOA (adult children of alcoholics,) trauma survivor, and single mom clubs. The Members I work with appreciate the compassion, warmth, and humor that I employ to normalize reactions to life’s challenges. You are reading this post, which means you may be struggling with OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder.) Please know that you are not crazy. You are not a bad person. You did not commit any atrocities. You are probably not going to be killed by germs and you are highly unlikely to lose control and do something awful. These irrational thoughts are OCD symptoms. The brain of a person with OCD is highly activated and can make you believe such dangers are probable. But the brain is just another body part, and like any other organ in the body, it responds well to appropriate treatment! Feel free to respond with your questions and thoughts in the comments below!

Donna Simons, Licensed Therapist, MSW, LCSW

Trained in Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy. Licensed in New York, North Carolina, Virginia.

www.treatmyocd.com

Em2003

Date posted: 26d ago

Hi Donna! My question involves not being able to tell thoughts apart from normal curiosity and intrusive thoughts. Maybe I’m not supposed to, but I really wanted to know if it’s common or typical to see couples or sometimes even just a person and imagine what their intimate life may look like. In a more blunt way, imaging them having sexual relations or even imagining what their body may look like. My understanding is that these thoughts are common and usually fleeting and the OCD in me is what causes me to get stuck on them, replaying them, noticing them more. I often feel bad about wondering and having these thoughts. I love to read, I love romance and I’ve read my fair share of erotic chapters. I love daydreaming and imagining, but I feel like I am a bad person for imagining real life people in their intimate moments. Sometimes I really focus on it for a few seconds. It’s especially bad whenever it has to do with a family member or someone younger, like a teenager or sometimes even a child usually those come with the distress of an intrusive thought but sometimes they don’t, they feel very real and like my own. I really struggle with this because I feel like it means something about me to wonder these things and even form an answer in my head. I guess I’m asking for some insight in how OCD may be at play here if at all. Thank you so much for taking the time to share this post and answer questions :)

User type: Therapist

Date posted: 25d ago

Hi Em, we all have intrusive and unexpected thoughts that can feel unpleasant or inappropriate. With OCD, such thoughts get stuck and play over and over. It sounds like you ruminate about these things. This very well may be OCD, and the good news is that OCDis very treatable. You can read more about it here and schedule an assessment if you like: treatmyocd.com

Anonymous

Date posted: 28d ago

Idk what I’m experiencing Everytime I tried to close my eyes to sleep I would wake up to this extreme panic like everything is closing in everything is moving fast foggy And I’m not real With the urge to do harm And lose control Idk what this feeling is that keeps waking me up this happens several of times anyone has this if so what is it ?

User type: Therapist

Date posted: 28d ago

This sounds exhausting for you! It sounds like it could be panic disorder and possible OCD. Have you been assessed for these feelings?

Anonymous

Date posted: 28d ago

@Donna Simons I been diagnosed with ocd and anxiety I been ruminating about it since it happened I can’t stop thinking about it and idk if this is common with people with ocd especially if this happened over and over for an hour so do u think I should be worried especially since I have harm ocd ? And I also take sertraline 25 mg for almost three weeks please respond on what do u think happened

User type: Therapist

Date posted: 28d ago

@Anonymous - Ruminating is very common to OCD. It is a compulsion, and when OCD treatment is done correctly, the compulsions are pretty much the target of treatment because doing compulsions makes the OCD stronger. In regards to medication, Sertraline is generally one of the the go-to medications for OCD. It's important to keep your medication appointments because the medication will likely be increased over time. The ERP addresses the behaviors that keep OCD alive. ERP treatment with a trained therapist will decrease the OCD intensity. The combination of ERP (which is the evidenced-based treatment for OCD) and medication is a good option; however, medication alone is not the best option for OCD treatment. Do you have an OCD therapist?

User type: Therapist

Date posted: 28d ago

@NOCD Therapist - Donna S. - And in regards to the thoughts of harm, you may already know that OCD creates a fear of wanting to harm others as opposed to a true urge to do so.

Anonymous

Date posted: 28d ago

Hello Can ocd attack you with urges and feelings while you’re experiencing a panic attack at the same time ?

User type: Therapist

Date posted: 28d ago

Good question. I haven't been asked that before. Is this something you have experienced?

marybethh

Date posted: 26d ago

I have anxiety really bad right now on meds and been reading about nocd and I have always been ocd but never knew it can cause thoughts of doom and gloom

User type: Therapist

Date posted: 25d ago

Hi Marybeth, OCD can latch onto any thought. I'm sorry you are experiencing this. Have you tried exposure response prevention as a treatment option? There may be some depression developing as well. Check out info at treatmyocd.com and let me know if you have any questions.

Anon33311

Date posted: 24d ago

OCD is ruining my relationship. Before my girlfriend and I met, she had a sexual relationship with her best friend and I can’t get past it. We have been together for three years and I think about it daily. We’ve discussed it and fought about it more times than I can count, I have tried to work through the fears and worries I have about their friendship but I don’t feel any improvement. Multiple times throughout the day these thoughts pop up against my will, and I will spend hours ruminating until it often gets to the point where I need to say sometime to my girlfriend. I can’t go on like this, I need something to change but I dont know how.

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