Does anyone else's OCD get worse when you haven't slept well? I haven't been sleeping well since this weekend and my OCD and anxiety is just making me feel super down. Does anyone else have this problem?
Hi there! I am a licensed therapist at NOCD. I'm sorry to hear that you have not been sleeping well and it is making you feel super down. Yes, sleep deprivation can and will exacerbate OCD symptoms, depression, anxiety, and other life functions. It is important to create a consistent sleep, food intake, and daily schedule. I commend you for your insight and awareness, which a a great step in addressing how you are feeling. Are there other things you are noticing with your OCD and anxiety that might be impacted?
Because OCD can be triggered by stress, and lack of sleep can cause stress, that can absolutely happen. I know it happens to me when my sleep isn't on point.
It makes a lot of sense that your OCD and anxiety feel worse when you haven’t been sleeping well. Sleep plays a big role in emotional regulation, and when we’re exhausted, intrusive thoughts can feel even more overwhelming. You’re definitely not alone in this—many people with OCD notice an increase in symptoms when they’re sleep-deprived. While we can’t always control our sleep perfectly, focusing on good sleep habits—like keeping a consistent bedtime, reducing screen time before bed, and practicing relaxation techniques—might help. At the same time, it’s important to continue responding to your OCD thoughts in a way that aligns with your ERP work. Even if your anxiety feels heightened, remember that you can still choose how to respond to it.
Oh 100% yes. I have learned I need a good 8 to 9 hours of sleep per night to stay sane, or my mental health really starts to suffer and my OCD symptoms get worse!
Dose anyone else experience that your OCD calms down and goes to the back of your mind during- feels almost safe and unaware of it but as soon as it's over and youve calmed down all the intrusive thoughts come rushing back 10x worse? I've had really awful panic attacks because of it the past two nights and it's exhausting I haven't been with another person in over a year because of how bad it was after and not being able to explain it properly to partners "no I'm not crying because of you" "no you didn't do anything wrong" I feel insane- like I'll never be able to have a normal functioning sexual time alone or with others do to it the compulsions that come with it are exhausting it's like the need to cleanse myself of filth like I'm disgusting and horrible until there's no traces I did anything in the first place I'm just so tired dose anyone have any tips of how to work through this- or at least be able to enjoy myself without crying afterwords? I have no idea what subtype this would even entail? I'm going to go with contamination I guess ?
Anyone struggle with this with having ocd?
Can OCD mimic depression? With this theme I’m always wondering if I have OCD or depression. It first started out as harm OCD and now this. Today I told myself if I did have depression then it’s treatable and I would work on it. Then I started to feel depressed and emotional and like had an urge to google the difference. When I did this I just broke down because I felt like I related to them, it made me worse. However when I look up OCD symptoms it makes me feel better. So now I’m unsure. Almost like OCD wants me to believe it’s depression
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