PLEASE HELP! I need some help/advice right now please! I’ve been sick for the past 4 months with adrenal fatigue, severe hormone imbalance, etc. For the past 2 days I have been having horrible racing thoughts about harming my children! Today I put my hand near my sons neck ( not on his neck) and I screamed out loud “ ILL NEVER HURT YOU”! Then I ran to the back of the house and started smacking myself in the face over and over because that was so terrifying and I never want to hurt him! Please is anyone dealing with this? What on earth does this mean! HELP ME

The good news is this- you likely know you have OCD because you are on this app. It sounds like your intrusive thoughts have morphed and decided to focus on your son. Intrusive thoughts tend to attack things we highly value, so we know you deeply care about and value your son. If you are not familiar with it, you should look up Harm OCD. Try not to react to this thought because it’s just a randomly generated thought floating through your consciousness and it’s content says nothing about you or your desires. Everyone has weird thoughts from time to time. Do not buy OCD’s lies that this is significant or meaningful.

I know you are in a crisis and not in therapy so I am going to offer some reassurance. There are hundreds of thousands of people like you with OCD about hurting their loved ones who do not hurt their loved ones. OCD thoughts are “ego dystonic” - they do not reflect who you truly are. Some steps to take: Buy and read a self help book, like “Overcoming Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts” or “The Mindfulness Workbook for OCD.” If you are in the USA, google “find an ocd therapist” The first link should be to the International OCD Foundation, which lets you search for OCD therapists who deal with your type of OCD every day. It is a good idea to seek professional help, even if it is just a book, instead of seeking reassurance. You can beat this disorder.

Does this mean that i won’t actually harm my child? I’m so terrified. Can I even find a therapist for this? I don’t want my children taken away from me if I try to seek help! ? I’m so terrified

They won’t take your children away - it doesn’t seem like this, but you don’t want intrusive thoughts, and deep down you know that. You know that you would never want to harm your kid, but the little voice at the back of your head screams “what if you did??” And even though you’re thinking “i would never”, that tiny tiny part of your brain is still there, and it can be really terrifying sometimes, but you have to seek help from a therapist that deals with this, and just remember, they’re intrusive thoughts that you know you don’t want to act in

I’m very new to all of these OCD feelings. They only started 4 months ago and now I’m terrified. I have so many racing thoughts I can’t even keep track and now the past 2 days thoughts of hurting my children!?? I’ve been reading about ocd and everything says that people with ocd are the last people who would ever hurt someone because the thought of it scares them and makes them disgusted. Is this true? I never want to hurt my children!

Did you only recently have a baby? If so, You may have postpartum OCD. You probably would benefit from starting some anxiety medication. You do not have to tell your doctor the full extent of your worries but can tell them you are having excessive worry every day. I would also strongly suggest listening to the OCD Stories Podcast and Chrissie Hodges YouTube channel

Hello, thank you but no. My children are 4 and 2?This only recently started a couple days ago. I’ve had ocd for a while but this is new