- User type
- Therapist
- Date posted
- 27w
OCD and Work
OCD doesn't take a break just because you have work to do. What are some ways that OCD has popped up for you at your work?
OCD doesn't take a break just because you have work to do. What are some ways that OCD has popped up for you at your work?
My perfectionism made it impossible to manage my emotions while I was teaching. I had to switch careers altogether. Now my perfectionism is still problematic at work, but at least I don't feel like it's having a negative impact on kids.
That sounds like a lot of pressure you were trying to cope with as a teacher! How do you feel about feeling like you had to change careers completely due to these thoughts?
It has knocked my confidence and held me back in my career a lot
I see that so often with some of my members. I am so sorry to hear about the impact that OCD has had on you in your professional life. I see your conqueror status (congrats!) How do you feel like you are coping with it now?
@Deborah Ward It’s definitely tough! I’m doing quite well, I’d been dealing with a flare up for the past few months but I’m finding my way out of it now
@smileycat7 - I am glad to hear that! OCD can definitely keep trying to strike and tear us back down, but I am glad you are finding your way through it.
I was symptom free for 3 years and all of a sudden I am completely taken over by thoughts 24/7. I graduated therapy and honestly was in the best place in my life and I feel now like I can barely get through the day especially at work. I just hope and pray this gets better. I’m restarting therapy tomorrow 💙
@anjgallopini I’m glad you are finding your way back into it. I’m sorry to hear about the symptoms spiking for you (especially at work), but we know that our treatment journey may have a couple setbacks at times. I wish you all the best and please reach out in the community if you need any support 🙂
@anjgallopini Well done for restarting therapy, and don’t beat yourself up, relapses happen to all of us. I had a flare up after 1.5 years of minimal symptoms. I recently realised I had forgotten how to really embrace anxiety, pain and uncertainty and was running in circles trying to avoid it. So my advice would be to accept that it’s here for now and try to face the anxiety head on as much as possible. Do what YOU want to do, not what anxiety wants you to do.
@anjgallopini Same thing happened to me /: which theme do u struggle w the most
touching the trash can or taking the trash out
I can imagine that is extremely difficult. How do you feel like you've been able to cope with that part of your work?
When people come to work sick, uncovered sneezing/coughs, seeing people leave the restroom without washing their hands, and watching people lick their finger to gain grip on the money they’re counting.
I could definitely see all those things piling on and being huge triggers for you. How do you manage all that exposure at work?
@Deborah Ward I would either wear a mask depending on how far away they are and grab the bathroom doors with a paper towel to exit. When I would see people licking their fingers to count money, I would just think to myself “must be nice to be that careless”.
I am in a workplace which is much less sensory-stimulating, and I have more control over my environment. I don't feel the same pressure to rush, rush, rush, so I feel more freedom to take a moment to breathe, take a walk, or whatever else I need to do. The pay isn't as good, but it's been worth the stability.
I am glad you were able to find a new environment that is less stressful for you. Has your perfectionism come up in other ways at your new job now?
Intrusive thoughts about getting fired because toxic management groups together people who are doing well with people who are doing bad. Makes me overthink and overanalyze and OCD convinces me I will be fired the next day. I hate it 🥺😭
I have issue with authority. I’ve always had ocd but wasn’t diagnosed. Now that I’ve been diagnosed and am on a medicine regime, my OCD feels very out of control. I know understand why I’ve struggled in work. I just don’t know how to work through it.
I am so sorry to hear about your struggles! I am happy that you've been able to have an evaluation and be diagnosed. I see that you are on a medication regime, but have you participated in any type of therapy for you OCD?
@Deborah Ward I have not had specific to my OCD therapy and that’s what I do believe I need at this point.
@italianjew82 - ERP therapy can be extremely helpful in managing OCD thoughts! If you would like, NOCD is able to offer a free 15 minute phone call with our care team to see if we would be a good treatment option for you!
Memories of when I had done wrong to others - popped up recently and it's making me horribly guilty and ashamed. I have been trying to figure out how I can ammend for this wrongdoing. Also I am not in good terms with that person right now. Hence it's nightmare when I think about how they would react if I confess my bad deeds to them.
i work in a space with lots of kids, and have to wash my hands or use hand sanitizer every time i touch things, because im very paranoid about getting sick or pink eye or anything else under the sun. i touch things kids touch all day. so i developed dishidrotic eczema on my hands as a result of the chemicals i was using to clean my hands many times a day, including lysol or clorox wipes. ive since been in therapy and try to use gloves instead of constantly using hand sanitizer and wipes to let my skin heal.
Unfortunately my ocd triggers center around the work I do currently. It’s been hard to manage.
That must be extremely difficult to have your work be a trigger for you. What types of things have you been doing to manage these symptoms?
@Deborah Ward I try to just do my work. I have bad anxiety before I go to certain places/interact with certain individuals. But honestly I just try to be courageous and keep in mind that I can do hard things. It’s slowly gotten better, but I still carry a lot of anxiety and ruminate a lot before I have to go to do certain things. Before I used to journal a lot and google search worst possible outcomes, now I just try to be mindful and breathe before interacting/doing
I have gotten irrationally mad over things not being done the right way many times in the work place. Normally have to physically shake my body before I can calm down
Does anyone have OCD regarding always feeling like you are not good enough at your job? I'm 58 years old now I've had OCD since childhood. Every job I've been at I never felt as good as my colleagues. I am a nurse but I worked at that for 15 years I had a breakdown of sorts in 2017 and went on disability. I now work part time as a a swim instructor for kids. I always was afraid of killing someone when I was a nurse. Then I tried dog grooming but I was afraid I would do it wrong and hurt the dogs. At least now the stakes are lower. But my OCD is the same. I work with colleagues who are about 40 years younger than I am . I am afraid of teaching certain classes bc I feel like I wouldn't do as good a job as someone else. I know I can do it but it's like I have a fear of not giving them their money's worth. I've been at my current job for 2 years . I've gotten very positive comments from my managers but I can't seem to believe them. I feel a lot of shame bc I lost a lot of my life to OCD and I am at an age where people are starting to retire after long and successful careers and here I am working at an entry level job. I'm planning on trying to get out of my comfort zone and teaching some of the classes I'm afraid of .it's really hard. I'm always scared what if I lose my benefits and had to work again as a nurse how would I do it.
I've been having a really tough time lately with a recent workplace interaction that occurrd today, and my mind just keeps replaying the events over and over. It feels like an endless loop, and I'm finding it incredibly hard to let go. I'm trying to figure out if this intense replaying is more about my OCD, or if it's a typical reaction to a stressful situation that's being amplified by my OCD tendencies. The specific details of the incident involve a colleague engaging in a racially insensitive discussion that I tried to disengage from. Despite my attempts to steer the conversation away and remove myself, the situation escalated with direct confrontation and accusations. This led to significant emotional distress for me. Later in the day, the same colleague misunderstood another conversation, making baseless accusations and publicly confronting me in a very aggressive way. I kept quiet throughout, just a bit of muttering. The emotional toll of these interactions has been immense. Now, my mind is stuck. I can't seem to stop dwelling on every word, every gesture, and every imagined alternative outcome. Hoping I'm not viewed as the "angry black woman" which is such an affair narrative why can't I state grievances of racism, without this narrative. * how do you manage the relentless replaying of stressful workplace interactions? What are your go-to coping mechanisms when your mind gets "stuck" on these loops? * Have you found any specific strategies helpful for navigating interpersonal conflicts at work when your OCD makes it difficult to process and move past them? * When you're feeling emotionally vulnerable due to work stress, what helps you prevent these situations from turning into prolonged rumination cycles? Any advice or shared experiences would be incredibly helpful. I'll be so grateful for any assistance. I just feel like I'm not good at life.
I always have fears about getting fired from work and constantly rechecking my old work. I think about 24/7 and how im going to make an enormous mistake that ruins the company and gets me fired. Then, if any type of mistake does happen I let it ruin my day. Ill look back at the past mistake and beat myself up over it. Any suggestions for mindfulness approaches?
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