- Date posted
- 14d ago
Any OCD over comers ?? How long did it took ?
I’m so scared I’ll be stuck in this forever soo soo scared
I’m so scared I’ll be stuck in this forever soo soo scared
I was born with OCD because it runs in the family. I had physical compulsions only for quite some time and then it turned into Pure O. I also have a bunch of other mental illnesses and ADHD, so lots on my plate. It took 6 years to fully recover from all my mental illnesses, but I’ve been subclinical for almost 5 years now 😊
I’ve had it since I was a child. Now I’m 35 and free from it for like 4 years now. I struggled for years because it wasn’t until 2020 I was diagnosed and everything just made sense and clicked. I think a big part of it for me was I didn’t feel alone or something was specific to me and once I found the community it just was a huge burden off my existence. Plus I been practicing things to help it actually for years on top of discovering ERP and now it’s been nothing but peace 🙏🏻
I started having ocd issues June of 2020. When I finally got help for it in 2021 here on NOCD, it was practically gone for a whole year or so, but it came back. I think it is because I stopped practicing my scripts and things that were helping me to get past it. Now, it comes and goes, but I TRY not to let it bother me anymore and I continue practicing the things my therapist and I created. I’m not 100%, but I’m DEFINITELY not where I used to be in 2020. The biggest thing is to get help for it. This is my second time getting help here on NOCD and that’s okay.
I would like to know too, this is so hard dealing with day after day
How you did it ?? I been dealing with it 6 months now
@Vagogogo ERP therapy with a professional and listening to everything he said 🤪 I also started practicing mindfulness daily, started working out and eating better, and got on a daily/nightly routine.
Those of you who have overcome at least a bit, if not all, of your OCD. When you went through the CBT and ERP, did it feel like the end of the world? And how did you face the fact that your fears and uncertainties might actually come to life?
Looking back, I realize I’ve had OCD since I was 7. though I wasn’t diagnosed until I was 30. As a kid, I was consumed by fears I couldn’t explain: "What if God isn’t real? What happens when we die? How do I know I’m real?" These existential thoughts terrified me, and while everyone has them from time to time, I felt like they were consuming my life. By 12, I was having daily panic attacks about death and war, feeling untethered from reality as depersonalization and derealization set in. At 15, I turned to drinking, spending the next 15 years drunk, trying to escape my mind. I hated myself, struggled with my body, and my intrusive thoughts. Sobriety forced me to face it all head-on. In May 2022, I finally learned I had OCD. I remember the exact date: May 10th. Reading about it, I thought, "Oh my God, this is it. This explains everything." My main themes were existential OCD and self-harm intrusive thoughts. The self-harm fears were the hardest: "What if I kill myself? What if I lose control?" These thoughts terrified me because I didn’t want to die. ERP changed everything. At first, I thought, "You want me to confront my worst fears? Are you kidding me?" But ERP is gradual and done at your pace. My therapist taught me to lean into uncertainty instead of fighting it. She’d say, "Maybe you’ll kill yourself—who knows?" At first, it felt scary, but for OCD, it was freeing. Slowly, I realized my thoughts were just thoughts. ERP gave me my life back. I’m working again, I’m sober, and for the first time, I can imagine a future. If you’re scared to try ERP, I get it. But if you’re already living in fear, why not try a set of tools that can give you hope?
Can someone please tell me at what point did you finally accept that it’s OCD? When did the ERP click for you? When did you just stop buying into the lies of OCD and finally let go? Like what does it take. It’s been 2 years of this for me and I’m in ERP currently and it’s just not clicking 😣 is it just me???
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