Please. Help me. Can anyone answer my questions?

! 4 years OCD ! Not giving up ! Thank you for being here! Hello Everyone! I got questions about OCD. It would help so much to get the answers. 1. How do i know if a fear is a real threat or an OCD threat? What is real and what not? 2. Doing exposure, its very scary and so loud. Does anyone know how to make it more comfortable or on what to do if you are doing exposure? 3. If im not doing a compulsion what OCD wants, how do i know if im really safe for the hour, day, week or any time? I want to say THANK YOU to all the people who are helping the people! Nocd is really one of the most best things the world have ever known. It can help people so much. You are real heroes.

Dee C

Date posted: 9w

I’m not an expert but consider getting help from someone specially trained in ocd therapy or reach out to the NOCD Care Team available through this app. Hoping this helps you!!!

Tea and Honey

Date posted: 9w

So glad you are writing these things!!!! It can help so much to ask questions and to look for answers. I'll answer the best I can, and then please write back with follow-up if you want. I think I am going to miss some things and would be happy to see your feedback. :):) 1.). How do you know if it's a real fear or OCD? It's all OCD. None of it is real. When we try to figure out what's real and what's OCD, we get into a lot of rumination, and we get all looped up and tangled. You can't try to "figure" it all out. Just treat it all like OCD. Can you give some examples of how is a struggle for you? Maybe we can work through it together. 2.) So are the intrusive thoughts loud during exposures? Have you been trained in how to handle intrusive thoughts? The answer is basically that you need to let them run freely in your head. Don't try to fight them. Don't try to fix them. If they want to be loud, let them be loud. Just let them do their thing, while you live your life the way you want to. Exposes WILL cause fear, however. Experiencing the fear is actually necessary. It is like marathon training. You have to do hard workouts. These workouts cause your muscles and lungs to feel PAIN. But afterwards you are stronger. In ERP therapy, we have have to go through the pain of walking through fear. Yes, is is NOT FUN. But it will lead to good results. Just keep practicing!!! It will get easier and easier!! 3. You actually will never KNOW that you are safe. We actually never know for sure. Part of our training in OCD is learning to move forward through the UNCERTAINTY. It is a step of faith. You have to go forward even though you can't be perfectly sure. But with time and training, you get better at "taking the leap" and breaking the compulsions, even if part of you is afraid that you won't be safe. Do you want to work through specific examples here too, if that would be helpful to you? Again, so glad you are asking questions. I find that when I ask questions, it still takes a lot more processing and even more questions to be answered before I can apply changes to my life. So please ask away!!! I am happy to help you process even deeper so that can start applying more solutions in real life. Big hugs!!!!

jecs

Date posted: 9w

50 years I want to get out of it!

Dee C

Date posted: 9w

@jecs Sorry you’re going through this. For me at times I give my OCD thoughts the F-it! responses. If I’m gonna go crazy F-it!, If I’m gonna turn into a puff of smoke F-it!, If I’m going to have a heart attack or stop breathing F-it!!! There are a lot more F-its but these are just a few. Mind you, I love life but when OCD baits me into the rabbit hole, I lean towards the uncertainty because OCD wants 100+% of certainty that neither I, nor anyone else can give.

Nica

Date posted: 18w

Q&A About OCD w/ Someone’s Who’s Subclinical

I haven’t done a Q&A in over a year (my bad) but I used to do these at least once a month. Work is slow today, so please send me any questions you have about OCD and I’ll answer them as best as I can. A little about me: I’ve been subclinical/recovered for going on 5 years and I’ve been on this app volunteering since 2019 in an unofficial capacity—I’m not connected to the NOCD team, so I don’t have any badges. I did ERP treatment with my therapist in-person while I was also being treated for PTSD. I have OCD, PTSD, ADHD, depression, GAD, social anxiety, driving anxiety, and a few speech impediments.

Sunshine_09

Date posted: 16w

I have some questions

Hey all, as an OCD newbie, i have some questions. These might be obvious or stupid, but idk, i just need some answers. 1. Is it hard for anyone else to watch movies and not get triggered? 2. Does anyone else get OCD about their OCD? 3. Is it possible/normal to have a lot of subtypes? And i mean like 6 or 7. 4. Do people usually misunderstand us and assume that our intrusive thoughts are actually what we want to do?

ellabellanut...

Date posted: 8w

What OCD types do I have?

hi everyone!! so idk if anyone will see this, but i guess i have a lot of questions. i got diagnosed with OCD about 2 years ago or so but i’ve had it for as long as i can remember. my obsessions and compulsions root from my worst fears and what i’m most afraid of losing. when i was really young, it started with doing things or else the devil was going to come and get me, because that was my worst fear at that time. i have to count, i usually do things in pairs of 3. i HATE even numbers. only odd numbers. sometimes i spend a lot of time redoing something over and over and over again just until it feels “right.” i have super bad sensory issues. i cut the tags out of everything i own, my nails have to be short or else i will dig them into my skin until i bleed because it just doesn’t feel right. at school i used to be late to class because i would be at my locker turning the combination either 3, 7, 9, 11, or 13 times. it just depended on what felt right. before i would go to bed i would have to sit up and check the door 3 , 7, 9… etc. one time i had to check 27 times before i could go to sleep. i’m actually scared of getting things i want in life because my OCD will hold it against me. “you better do this or else you’ll lose this.” the more happy i am in life, the worse my OCD gets. it prays on my worst fears. if there is even something slightly wrong with my clothes: a tiny thread hanging lose, a bad memory attached, i will never wear it again. there’s one thing im sorta embarrassed to say but it’s one of my worst ones. basically: peeing. at night, i have to continuously go to the bathroom over and over again because i feel like my bladder isn’t completely empty. i will keep telling myself “it’s full, i have to go.” even when i just peed 5 minutes ago. and due to this, it causes a lot of wiping. i have wiped myself raw to the point i bleed a lot. it’s embarrassing, but i can’t stop. it never feels clean enough. my hair is never perfect enough. my clothes are ugly. i think i mostly struggle with perfectionism OCD. but is that it? i also feel like if i don’t do certain things, it will cause something bad to happen to my family or friends. like i have magical control over events. i don’t know. can someone help please?

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Please. Help me. Can anyone answer my questions?

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