- Date posted
- 3d 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?
If you suffer from Christian OCD and feel Jesus hates you and you’re going to hell every few seconds but I keep fighting it because when I pray it says Lucifer and I refuse to pray to him. If I do Jesus will send me to hell. I’m terrified. When does it end. Some Christian’s are so peaceful, I want that.. why.. I feel cursed forever. I have faith in others journey… not mine. I’m stuck like this forever. My mind will never be the same.
December 14, 2024, marked two years since my first ERP therapy session with my NOCD therapist, Mixi. And October 2024 marked a year of being free from OCD. It was not an easy journey, confronting my fears face to face. Exposing myself to the images and thoughts my brain kept throwing at me, accepting that I might be the worst mother, that my daughter wouldn’t love me, and that I deserved to be considered a bad person. It was challenging having to say, “Yes, I am those things,” feeling the desire to run, but realizing the thoughts followed me. At the start of my therapy, I remember feeling like I couldn’t do this anymore. Life felt unbearable, and I felt so weak. I longed for a time before the OCD, before the flare-ups, before the anxiety, the daily panic attacks. I thought I’d never be myself again. But I now know that ERP saved my life. The first couple of sessions were tough. I wasn’t fully present. I lied to my therapist about what my actual thoughts were, fearing judgment. I pretended that the exposures were working, but when the sessions ended, I went back to not sleeping, constantly overwhelmed by fear and anxiety. But my therapist never judged me. She made me feel safe to be honest with her. She understood OCD and never faltered in supporting me, even when I admitted I had been lying and still continued my compulsions. My biggest milestone in therapy was being 100% transparent with my therapist. That was when real change began. At first, I started small—simply reading the words that terrified me: "bad mom," "hated," "unloved." Then, I worked on listening to those words while doing dishes—not completely stopping my rumination, but noticing it. Just 15 minutes, my therapist said. It wasn’t easy. At one point, I found myself thinking, “Will I ever feel like myself again?” But I kept pushing through. Slowly, I built tolerance and moved to face-to-face exposures—sitting alone with my daughter, leaning into the thought that my siblings might die, reading articles about my worst fears, and calling myself the things I feared. Each session was challenging, but with time, the thoughts started to lose their grip. By my eleventh session, I started to realize: OCD was here, and it wasn’t going away, but I could keep living my life despite it. I didn’t need to wait for it to be quiet or go away to move on. Slowly, it began to quiet down, and I started to feel like myself again. In fact, I am not my old self anymore—I’m a better version. OCD hasn’t completely disappeared, but it’s quieter now. Most of the time, it doesn’t speak, and when it does, I know how to handle it. The last session with my therapist was emotional. I cried because I was finishing therapy. I remember how, in the beginning, I cried because I thought it was just starting—because I was overwhelmed and terrified. But at the end, I cried because I was sad it was ending. It felt like I had come so far, and part of me wasn’t ready to say goodbye, even though I had already learned so much. It was a bittersweet moment, but I knew I was walking away stronger, equipped with the tools to handle OCD on my own. If I could change anything about my journey, it would be being open and honest from the beginning. It was the key to finding true healing. The transparency, the honesty—it opened the door to lasting change. I’m no longer that person who was stuck in constant panic. I’m someone who has fought and survived, and while OCD still appears from time to time, I know it doesn’t define me. I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments. Have you started therapy, is something holding you back? Is there something you want to know about ERP therapy? I'll be live in the app answering each and every one today from 6-7pm EST. Please drop them below!
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