how to be okay with lying sometimes?😭

ocd makes lying SO hard for me. i get stuck on it and feel ridiculously guilty even when it’s nothing important. i was supposed to go to a birthday party thing tmrw for a bunch of people im not really close with, but my one close-ish friend is going so i had originally planned on it and told everyone yes. however im very introverted and i planned on canceling deep down because i just don’t know how to say no. i considered MAYBE going if i felt up to it but i really don’t now that its tomorrow. its also an hour drive and i don’t feel im up to that. i just texted my friends and my closer friend and pretended im sick with a fever as an excuse not to go. im so anxious over it now because i hate cancelling things last minute and i hate lying. ocd makes it impossible and i feel like the worst person even when its the lightest lies!!! i just wanna chill day LOL but i feel im going to be worrying about whether they hate me now or not

User type: Therapist

Date posted: 31w

Hi! I can totally understand how overwhelming this situation can feel, especially with OCD making it even harder to navigate. It’s really important to recognize that OCD often makes even small, everyday decisions feel incredibly heavy, especially when it comes to lying, guilt, or worrying about how others perceive you. OCD is often about the need for certainty or perfection. It can trick you into thinking that even a small, harmless white lie could lead to catastrophic consequences. You’re not alone in feeling like this, and it's not a reflection of who you are as a person. The intense guilt you feel over something so minor is a common experience for many with OCD, and it’s part of how the disorder impacts your thought patterns. One thing that can help is reminding yourself that OCD attacks your values and telling yourself that you don’t have to figure out the answers to these questions. If you're finding that this is affecting your daily life, there are effective treatments that can help. Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), has been shown to be incredibly helpful for managing OCD. There are therapists, like those here at NOCD, who specialize in OCD and can help you work through these thoughts in a healthy, manageable way. Don’t feel like you have to do this alone. Reaching out for help, whether it’s through therapy or online support groups, can really make a difference. Are you currently doing therapy for your OCD?

jfm07

Date posted: 13w

Second guessing myself

hi yall im new here but not new to ocd. for as long as i remember ive had tendencies and ive had compulsions. when i was like 6 i remember counting my steps and that started this life long thing. i get looks in public because ive been touching each side of my face for the past 10 minutes because it “didn’t feel right”. about every one in my life knows i have severe ocd and that’s fine but my grandmother told my mom behind my back one night that i was ‘manipulating’ her and that my ocd could be fake. this is because i can’t take the trash out of the track can because i can’t risk getting sick from old food, i cant use cleaning products on my hands to clean them. i have no probably taking the trash out it’s just removing it from the bin. i can’t do the dishes because its not clean and ill have an anxiety attack because its just simply too overwhelming for my ocd. those aren’t the only things but the list is just too long to write out. but we don’t live with my grandmother anymore. when we did my ocd wasn’t as progressed as it is now and i was able to hide most of my compulsions and “rituals” (what i call them) in private, therefore she doesn’t see how much it can affect my every move. this happened a while ago but i keep thinking about it and i get in my head. when im really struggling it’s hard to not convince myself that i’ve been lying to myself and so many others for 18 years. all my compulsions and intrusive thoughts and the goddamn hallucinations i’ve had from ocd are in fact real but how can my own grandmother call me manipulative like i don’t get it truthfully. i cannot imagine a situation in which someone would go through the trouble of washing their hands 4 times, of blinking 16 times before shutting their phone off. rewriting a whole text to their boyfriend because i misspelt a word and so now the whole text is wrong or any other of these things i and SO MANY people who have ocd or ocd tendencies would go through the trouble because it is SO paralyzing. clearly i’m not going to explain myself to her because i don’t have that energy esspecially if she is going to ‘mhm’ me and then go again behind my back and tell my mom (who fully understands and has tendencies herself and knows i don’t make this stuff up) that im a manipulator.

FallenSun

Date posted: 13w

Just canceled my free call

so I scheduled my free call today, then I had this anxiety that maybe I shouldn't do this, I dont have ocd, im faking it all, blah blah. So I canceled it- fear that I'll waste there time and yeah. I also fear I'll get locked into paying for something I dont need even though this call is free, and also think i was lying to them for attention as I think all my symptoms are fake and it's all in my head and im just dramatic😅 Idk if this was a mistake or not, I want to know i rlly do but that nagging fear is stopping me.(sorry if i repeated anything)

ydyydy

Date posted: 11w

sigh. guilt.

i feel very, very guilty. i'm resisting the urge to confess right now. i don't think it's a good idea, but it's hard. i'm starting college in a bit and going to meet new people, see a new side of life... and it's been 3 years with ocd... i'm feeling very guilty about potentially hijacking my success by doing something that was fun in the moment but kind of dumb in restropect. :( sending hugs to everyone else struggling

Be a part of the largest OCD Community

Share your thoughts so the Community can respond

how to be okay with lying sometimes?😭

Related posts

Be a part of the largest OCD Community

Be a part of the largest OCD Community