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.
You dont have to tell them:) If they notice it disrupting your life or if you are having a hard time managing it, and you need their permission to find help, then it may be a good idea. But otherwise, you don’t need to confess:)
@slippery_salad If theyre posting this im assuming they want to tell their family and want others experiences to be shared
@slippery_salad Thank you. This is not about confessing, as the other user said, I want to tell my family. They don’t know. I’m tried of being alone in this disorder.
@Anonymouus :) Then tell them sensitively❤️
Only My wife knows and some Friends You really don't have to tell them. My family kind of knows because My father and brother have ocd but it's not something i talk with them
@Hopeful29 I’m glad someone knows. I’m not telling my family because I feel I need to, I want. I’m not looking for their permission, I just want to feel less alone in this.
My Mom recognized the symptoms when I was in high school, so I didn't have to tell her but I can say that she had no idea how to support me and didn't really try to figure it out either. If you have supportive family, I would reach out and just tell them that you would love their support.
@HeartMama I’m so sorry. When the nearest to you don’t know how to support you, it can sting. I’m not looking for support from my family, although that would be so nice. I’m looking to get it off of my chest, that they simply know their daughter is suffering and has been.
I would start with very close family or friends first , who you think will be the most supportive and then decide/branch out from there. Some ocd obsessions and compulsion are more accepted than others. If you have dark intrusive thoughts that may disturb people. So I would start with lighter ocd topics first and then go from there,maybe show them an about it video first. For me I had ocd thoughts in middle school but keep it a secret from everyone until I had go the hospital as I had ocd episode. I have the intrusive dark thoughts where you are afraid you will become I psycho and kill loved ones. I did not know these thoughts were ocd obsessions and are normal ones for people with ocd to have. I really thought I was losing my mind. My close family know about it. I do not tell most people about my ocd thoughts other than on here where people understand as they have ocd and do not become scared. I do not mean to scare anyone but I have heard of someone with ocd have had the police called on them by people who do not have ocd and got scared and turned them in. They were able to get out of jail and I think they are ok now , but spending the night in jail had to be super dramatizing for them. One women on there got kick out the college she was going to. Some People have mentioned fears of being registered as sex offenders because of intrusive sexual thoughts I don’t know how likely that would be. I am by no means trying say you should hide your ocd, I am trying to say be careful. That is why some people are saying you don’t have to tell people, they just know something bad could maybe happen to you or for you to become an outcast .if you tell the wrong people who do not understand . It sad how people with mental health often can be in a way “shut up “ about there symptoms. It is sad that the public doesn’t know the half of ocd that is the dark intrusive thoughts. If I was you I would start by telling my family about how ocd is an obsession and compulsive disorder and then tell them about your health ocd , religious ocd first. You can still tell trusted people about your harm ocd and suicidal ocd but I would wait until they start understanding ocd first. I told a friend about my harm ocd and they ever talked to me again. Again I am not trying to stop you , telling people about ocd and be opening and spreading awareness is great. I just asking you to be careful, people can be super mean to people with mental health illnesses in general . Me and everyone else on here ,don’t want to hear another story about how someone with OCD got mistreated in some cases really badly because they shared with the wrong people. Stay safe out here
Hi all, I would really appreciate some advice on how you told a loved one about having ocd, specifically a significant other. I’ve been with mine for over 5 years, and I just had a recent diagnosis of OCD. To be honest, with the subtype I have, it’s really crippling to deal with, and I have a major worry of my partner not understanding the subtype. I would love to get some advice on how to best approach it and how to provide understanding that I’m still the same person. Thanks!
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. (:
How do you tell friends and family about ocd? Like it makes me so anxious and I feel like such a terrible person. A lot of my intrusive thoughts are on my kids. And I hate every single thing that comes into my head.
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