The never ending battle

When I say “keep going,” I don’t just mean moving forward in a physical sense. For those of us with OCD, “keep going” is an attitude toward existence itself. It is choosing to remain open to life, even when the present feels unbearable or uncertain. The important part is that “keep going” has no fixed finish line. It doesn’t promise that one day the struggle will vanish or that everything will finally make sense. Its power lies in persistence itself. It is not about completing the battle once and for all, but about refusing to collapse into despair. Meaning is not discovered at the end of the road, but in the very act of walking it… step by step, day by day. This is why persistence is key. Persistence is not abstract or vague; it is concrete. Every time you resist the urge to check again, every time you sit with the discomfort instead of giving in, every time you choose to take the next step despite the weight pressing against you… that is persistence. And persistence shapes you. The weight may not get lighter, but you get stronger, like someone training with resistance. For me, I’ve found that persistence is not about reaching a final end but about cultivating a lifestyle, a way of being that leans toward goodness. It is faithfulness to life itself, even in its ambiguity. It is choosing hope, even when hope feels faint. By staying in the struggle, we keep ourselves open to the possibility of something new, something redemptive, something more than we can see in the moment. So to “keep going” is to resist closure. It mirrors the human condition itself: uncertain, unfinished, yet still full of possibility. We do not know the future, but as long as we persist, we remain agents within it. To stop going is to shut the door on what could be. To keep going is to leave that door open, even just a crack, and to affirm life’s possibilities, however small they may seem.

Alliesun

Date posted: 12h

I use “just keep swimming” and “this too shall pass” as my mantra to dealing with OCD long-term. I do t use it as reassurance, just as a reminder OCD is a disorder and I’ve got to keep going even when it’s hard.

slippery_salad

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 12h

@Alliesun Me too!❤️

Anonymous

Date posted: 11h

...me three!!😅

Anonymous

Date posted: 11h

It's resisting checking that I struggle with the most often. Just today OCD was telling me something catastrophic happened and that why my husband wasn't answering the phone....I didn't recognize it as OCD right away and called 4 times. I am getting better about seeing Catastrophic thoughts for what they are, but I still struggle. thank you for this gentle reminder and carefully thigh our party. SO helpful as always friend. 🥰

slippery_salad

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 9h

@Anonymous Of course! Hug your hubby a little tighter tn:)

AtWitsEnd

Date posted: 12h

This is wonderful! Thanks for this.

pinboing

Date posted: 11h

I've been having a rough time with OCD and this helped a lot. The anxiety is still there, but it gives me hope and strength to know that maybe one day it... maybe not be FULLY gone, but I'll be strong enough to live regardless of it. So, so many things are uncertain in life. I can't guarantee that I'll be alright tomorrow, in one week, a month, a year, but I can't guarantee I won't have improved. That possibility is worth fighting for.

slippery_salad

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 9h

@pinboing :) And you will overcome it. Stop tending to the endless demands of your mind and start tending to real things.. your work, your relationships, your responsibilities. The difference is simple: meditation often aims to quiet or empty the mind, while contemplation trains the mind to rest intentionally on something. OCD works the same way. Trying to shove the thoughts out only makes them louder. But if you deliberately redirect your attention to something real and give it your full presence, the “what ifs” lose their grip. As you train your mind to tend to reality, the intrusive loops begin to fade. Heres a good analogy: Imagine your mind as a garden. If you keep watering the weeds (the intrusive thoughts), they’ll keep growing stronger. Contemplation is deliberately watering the plants you want to grow. If you keep pouring water on the weeds (the intrusive “what ifs”), they thrive. If you pour your attention into real, meaningful things, the weeds wither and the good grows. By giving attention to the good plants, you starve the weeds of any attention. You starve the bully, OCD.

Julian2006

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 19w

Keep Pushing!

Every day living is a win against OCD! Don’t let up, it’s gonna hurt like hell, but we’ll come out of this stronger than ever! Practice your uncertainty, welcome those nasty thoughts, no matter how horrible or taboo, look at them straight up and laugh! This is not our reality, we choose our own paths! Life was never meant to be serious! There’s no such thing as a serious sunrise, serious tree, or serious bird! Laugh and love, learn to forgive yourself, it’s beautiful once you come out on the other side for once!

Julian2006

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 18w

One day at a time.

I’m sure it’s been a rough few days for everyone, maybe even weeks or months. Hell, this last YEAR has been up and down for me! But I wanted to take this moment to congratulate everyone for coming this far. It’s no small feat! OCD is a killer, and it’s good at its job! The fact that all of you are still here fighting is a testament to how strong you are! We may not have the answers or explanation to everything, and that’s okay. We have to stay in the present, not the past or the future. Remember to practice being uncertain! It’s hard to remember the good days we’ve had despite all these horrible ones! There’s no scar to show for happiness, but we’ve got plenty to show for misery and pain. Keep hanging on, you’ve got this!

Anonymous

Date posted: 18w

A Year of Climbing Out 🧡

A reflection I never saw myself being able to write✨ One year ago today, I was spiraling for a second time because I wasn’t sure what was happening to me, again. Getting through it once was doable but twice? I truly thought I was losing my mind. OCD wasn’t just a shadow in the background — it was a loud, relentless voice narrating fear, doubt, and compulsions into every corner of my life. I couldn’t trust my thoughts, couldn’t rest in silence. I was questioning everything. I was exhausted coasting through the motions of life trying to survive every minute of every day. But today — I’m here. Still imperfect, still human, but finally free in a way I didn’t think was possible. I got here by learning the hardest, most empowering lesson of my life: I had to stop depending on anyone else to pull me out. I had to stop outsourcing my safety, my certainty, my worth. I had to become the person I could rely on — not in a cold, lonely way, but in the most solid, liberating way possible. You see, healing didn’t come when others gave me reassurance — it came when I stopped needing it. When I realized no one could fight the war in my mind for me. It had to be me. Not because others didn’t care — but because I had to be the one to stop running from fear. I had to choose courage over comfort, again and again. And boy was that rough. But I did. Through therapy, I retrained my brain. (Shout out to Casey Knight🙏🏼) I stopped dancing to OCD’s obsessive rhythm and started rewriting the song. And yeah — the beat dropped a few times. But I kept moving forward. Slowly, I started turning my mind into a place I wanted to live in. I made it beautiful. Not by forcing positive thoughts, but by planting seeds of truth: 🌱 Not every thought deserves attention. 🌱 Discomfort doesn’t mean danger. 🌱 Uncertainty is not the enemy — it’s just part of being alive. I started treating my mind like a garden instead of a battlefield. I let go of perfection and started watering what was real, what was kind, what was mine. And let’s be honest — there were still a few weeds. (Hello, OCD — always trying to “check in.” ) Because healing isn’t linear, I still have days where I feel back to square one, but it’s a day, not a week, month, or another year of surrendering. But here’s the “punny” truth: OCD tried to check me, but I checked myself — with compassion, courage, & a whole lot of practice. To anyone still caught in the spiral — I want you to know: you are not broken. You don’t need to wait for someone else to save you. No else will. The strength you’re looking for? It’s already in you. It might be buried under fear, doubt, and rumination, but it’s there — patient and unbreakable. Start small. Start scared. Just start. Because when you stop relying on the world to reassure you, and start trusting your own ability to face uncertainty, you get something even better than comfort — you get freedom, resilience, power & SO much more. You don’t have to control every thought/urge to have a beautiful mind. You just have to stop believing every thought/urge is the truth. You don’t have to be fearless , you just have to act in spite of fear. You are not crazy You are not a monster You are not evil You are human You are capable And if OCD ever tries to take over again, just smile and say, “Nice try. But not today.” — Someone who came back to life, one brave thought at a time 🧡

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The never ending battle

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