opening up to family

I was super recently diagnosed with OCD and nervous to share my diagnosis with my family. I’m a somewhat messy person and don’t have germophobic tendencies, so since I don’t have the stereotypical OCD presentation I was terrified that nobody would believe me. I ended up talking to my mom and making a silly TikTok post about it, which my grandma saw. Not only did they believe and support me–I learned that my grandma has it too! Funny to look back on, but really cool to see that the worst outcome doesn’t always happen. (:

SF18

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 19w

So glad for you that you were so brave and vulnerable to share with your family. Sounds like they’ll be a good support system for you. You are so right, the worst outcome does not always come true. Thoughts and emotions are just that. We can’t manifest things to happen. If worst case does happen it is most likely a bad coincidence, but unless or until it happens why worry about it. Like you found out. Great job piecing it together. Best of luck and progress ❤️

cae.luh

Date posted: 18w

@SF18 aaa thank you so much!! ocd can be a nasty beast - the fear that nobody would believe my diagnosis (or that i was lying to myself/faking my ocd) is/was def a part of my ocd 😵‍💫 i like to think talking to my family was my first little erp exposure 🥳🫶🏻

learning2Bme

Date posted: 19w

I love this!!! If you feel comfortable, can you explain how you worded it to them? I find it difficult to explain to people sometimes, especially those who only know of the stereotyped ocd/don’t “believe” in therapy.

cae.luh

Date posted: 18w

@learning2Bme hey!! so i’m pretty fortunate because my mom works in a healthcare adjacent industry and is decently well versed on basic psychological conditions, but here’s how i’ve been explaining it! everyone gets intrusive thoughts (the most famous example is probably “the call of the void” where people feel an urge/get thoughts about jumping from a ledge they’re standing by, regardless of the fact that they DO NOT actually want to. most people are able to brush that off pretty easily, but a brain like mine really struggles to let go of the thought! i’ll continually think about the thought, get visuals to accompany it, and fear that having the thought means that i DO genuinely have that urge even though i consciously know that i don’t (because if i *really* didn’t want to, why would i be thinking about it so much?). ocd is ego-dystonic too, so it tends to attack your sense of self, morals, etc. and that’s usually where my thoughts feel the most “stuck” (:

cae.luh

Date posted: 18w

@learning2Bme for compulsions, i basically just explain it as self soothing behavior! my brain will get “stuck” until i do the specific thing to soothe myself

MichaelJH

Date posted: 19w

Congratulations! That’s so great. It’s amazing how OCD does run in many families.

the_curious_...

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 19w

I’m really happy for you! My family was very open to learning about it. I was diagnosed when I was 17 and I wrote a poem to explain it. My parents knew right away because I was a minor so they could see my chart.

cae.luh

Date posted: 18w

@the_curious_case_of_emily_grace thank you!! so glad you had a positive experience <3 being worried people would think i was faking it (or worrying that i WAS somehow secretly faking it) is also def a major component of my OCD, so i like to think of that post as my first toe dip into erp 🙂‍↕️🫶🏻

Marcib

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 16w

Any Advice on How to Talk to Loved Ones About OCD?

I have been in ERP therapy for my OCD for nearly a year now. Before my diagnosis and doing ERP, I really didn't drive a car for five years and rarely left the house. Now I drive to work, coffee and other outings. Most of the people close in my life don’t really know about my OCD. They do see me doing lots of things I haven't done in the past. I don't really know if I should explain about why this progress happened. I hope they don't think I was just being lazy up until then. They will talk about how someone is “so OCD” because they keep their room clean and really enjoy things neat. Anytime I hear this, I just think that if they hear about my diagnosis of OCD and what it entails they will think I’m crazy. I feel very conflicted about how to go about this, so advice is welcome.

Anonymouus

Date posted: 14w

my family doesn’t know I have OCD

How do I tell them? I think I’m ready to do so. I’ve lived in silence for years. I’m wondering how long it took for you all to tell your family or friends. P.S. I’m not looking to confess. I want my family to know to feel less alone in this.

Sam.Thinks

Date posted: 12w

Should I be honest with my loved ones?

I am very new to this app and to accepting that I likely have OCD. I am not diagnosed yet, but I have suspected that I have it for years now. I think ignoring it/feeding the reassurance loop led to my first really bad panic attack a few days ago that put me in the hospital and essentially forced me to stop hiding my struggle from my loved ones. I had another one last night, and out of habit I’m already hiding my feelings from my loved ones. I’m having thoughts that I know are OCD but they’re very hard to get past because they feel so logical? Some examples: -I shouldn’t tell anyone because it wasn’t as bad as the one that hospitalized me -my loved ones are already tired of hearing me talking about it and I feel bad burdening them -I just had the last one and if I tell people about this one I’ll look like I’m attention seeking -I don’t want people to ask what the trigger was so I shouldn’t bring it up if I don’t want to have to answer that question I’m naming them here not for reassurance, but to help myself hopefully label these things as OCD per usual trying to keep me from getting help. The hardest part of this journey so far has been accepting that there are so many things that feel like normal, rational thoughts and feelings that having been hurting me and feeding a vicious cycle for years on end. It feels unreal because these things have become such subtle integrated parts of my life and my routine, and telling myself those things are harmful just feels wrong. It’s like what I have considered my “gut feeling” for years isn’t actually my intuition looking out for me, but is an overactive fear response that has been isolating me from everything and I’ve never questioned it because the isolation, the reassurance, feels good and like the right thing to do. How do I push past these thoughts and be honest with my loved ones about my struggling? How do I rewire my brain to stop the reassurance seeking and compulsions when it’s the only thing that’s made me feel better all these years?

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opening up to family

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