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Yep. 100% relate. Here’s the ugly but, relieving truth. People don’t care. People don’t have the energy, memory or time to do the worst case scenarios we think about. The world does not revolve around you, us. People are consumed with their own lives, not ours. You’ll be okay ❤️ I understand how you feel. I know it’s hard. But i know you have the strength to let go of this anxiety. One day at a time 💪🏼

I am so sorry to hear this! That sounds very stressful. It's completely understandable to feel anxious about someone knowing personal details from your past, especially when those memories feel sensitive or shameful. Many people with OCD experience similar fears about being exposed or judged for past actions, even when the risk is low. If you’d like additional support, feel free to book a free call with our NOCD team. We’d be happy to share more information and explore ways to help. No one has to live in fear of their own thoughts. Also here are some helpful resources: https://www.treatmyocd.com/blog/i-was-told-i-had-love-addiction-it-was-actually-ocd/ https://www.treatmyocd.com/blog/specialized-ocd-therapy-can-help-treat-the-cause-of-your-depression/ https://www.treatmyocd.com/what-is-ocd/common-fears/fear-of-making-mistakes-ocd

I sooo know this feeling, I’ve been there. Believe me there will come a time where you will be over this and look back at this. No matter what you did, people won’t care longer than a few minutes. And if they’re in another country?! Come on, it’ll SO be okay.

Can relate and can also tell you that with age comes some experience where you can look back at what you thought would be the most awful thing that could happen and it’s really not awful at all and 3 key things I have learned from feeling “held hostage” by what other people know about me. (1) so what? What’s the worst thing that can happen? People are so self involved they may chat about it for a day but memory’s are short and attention spans are shorter. There’s better things to talk about than your past “indiscretions”. Are you famous will it be on the news? No! (2) when people tell me something not meant for my ears, I immediately feel worse feelings toward them for gossiping than I do about the subject of the gossip. I often wonder about that person’s credibility. (3) my fear is worse than the outcome. In all the years I had the fear of being “outed” by ex friends-it never happened even one time. People aren’t as bad as we imagine them in our OCD brains. As a closing comment here’s something I learned while studying law. When answering a filing during litigation there’s 3 statements that a respondent has to state in the first paragraph of their answer. They are: a)admit b) deny c) no knowledge. You can choose which of these will be your stance IF your “friend” ever betrays you. Example/ I admit I was young and dumb at times. I deny that I was ever at XYZ doing XYZ. Furthermore I have no knowledge of what “ex friend” is talking about as I no longer speak to her. Admit, deny, no knowledge. Like everyone in the free world, you can deny everything. Just relax, it’s not going to happen and if it does, it won’t be as profound as you think.