can therapists lie if the truth would be unbearable to their client? on the very first session, my therapist asked me how i'd feel if it turned out that i only have traits of a disorder but not an actual mental disorder. i replied i wouldn't believe her. that was three years ago, but validity of my OCD and struggles in general is a huge theme for me and when she first diagnosed me with GAD and SAD after a few months, i had a major, three days long episode where i genuinely felt like i was forcefully locked inside my brain and forced to run in loops, because i had gone to her specifically because i knew i had something more than just anxiety. i kept searching and checking to prove that it couldn't be just that. it was an incredibly painful loop. now im paranoid that she has only diagnosed me with OCD because of this. im worried that she might be saying it only to make me happy, because if she said otherwise i would stop collaborating and simply quit therapy. what if she's only playing along so i won't be upset? it seems very realistic because she's always vague and rarely uses clinical terms, even if she knows that i know enough about psychology to understand her if she did use them.

pureolife

Date posted: 5y

Giving you a diagnosis she doesn’t genuinely believe you have would be unethical and could get her disbarred from practicing. She cannot “lie” to you about your diagnosis. And the worries you elaborate here are highly indicative of OCD rumination. Perhaps you can talk with her about this paranoia and even address it with some ERP? People with OCD often doubt the validity of their diagnosis, and it can even become the center of our obsessions.

dpveritasgold

Date posted: 5y

@pureolife is right. Fear of not actually having OCD is a common symptom of OCD. But let’s consider something for a second. Take someone who has OCD 100% for sure, and send them to 100 therapists for a diagnosis. In all likelihood, not all 100 therapists will agree with the OCD Diagnosis. That means that a number of therapists gave a false diagnosis. 1 therapist’s diagnosis doesn’t define you.

sunshinedaisy

Date posted: 5y

Although a diagnosis is helpful, it is just a diagnosis, just words that can help you figure out what interventions you need. So if ERP or ACT is helpful then that’s great. But I relate because when I saw a new psychiatrist, he didn’t seem convinced about my OCD probably because I didn’t share a lot because I wasn’t sure if I felt comfortable

eternalblue

Date posted: 5y

thank you both for answering. rather than a "fake" diagnosis (in my country private psychologists don't give out any documents that certify your diagnosis, they only tell you during sessions), im scared that she's being vague on purpose by telling me that i have "an obsessive profile", "obsessive-compulsive mechanisms", "a primarily obsessive and anxious disorder with comorbidity", "these are traits of OCD", instead of just saying clearly "you have OCD", and uses all these vague expressions that hint at just traits to avoid saying "you don't really have full blown OCD". sorry, i should have made this more clear in the post. her vagueness with words drives me insane and im scared of asking her something like "can you repeat to me exactly what's the diagnosis" because not only it's reassurance seeking so she probably wouldn't do it, but also i would hurt her feelings because it would seem like i doubt her abilities. she said that exposure worked for some of my past themes (harm mostly, which is more under my control now), but not this one because it's really so deeply rooted in me, and every exposure attempt ended really, really badly (i have some self harm compulsions). CBT didn't work either so we're gonna try ACT as well.

pureolife

Date posted: 5y

You said she rarely uses clinic terms, but those sound like plenty of clinical terms to me! And not vague at all. I think she’s responding to your tendencies with very specific descriptions and I see no reason to distrust her assessments of you. If having her specifically say “you have OCD” is important to you, tell her that! People have different opinions on receiving a formal diagnosis. For some, it’s a relief. For others, it’s like a mark that they thing pigeonholes them and doesn’t allow others to see them as individuals. She may be trying to prevent you from feeling like your experiences are being generalized to be like all OCD when yours are specific to you.

pureolife

Date posted: 5y

@pureolife Think* not thing

eternalblue

Date posted: 5y

@pureolife thank you so much, i followed your advice and told her about this, and she agreed to make an assessment of the situation together to have an updated full view of my issues and comorbidities rn, and to address this first and work on this obsession specifically. i cant thank you enough, this really helped me so much. :)

thesunwillco...

Date posted: 12w

diagnosis

i’m terrified to get a diagnosis. What if it’s not actually OCD??? I made a list of reasons why i think so and then i think what if im lying and i actually don’t do this stuff and am just dramatic and i just want to have OCD so then my thoughts are justified?? I have struggled in the past year with Pocd & Rocd and then also some bits of thinking im constantly in danger or being watched? I’m scared.

flyana

Date posted: 10w

My mom keeps telling me it's not OCD

My mom will sit and listen to me for quite a while, but she interrupts a lot and gets angry/upset. While I appreciate her passion, it's often stressful. Every time I come to her, if I even *mention* OCD, she gets frustrated and says, "Everyone deals with these issues, you know. It doesn't mean it's OCD." And I repeat, "I'm not saying my issues are unique — I'm saying the way I respond to them is a problem." But she just shakes her head and says, "Okay, I need to get back to my day." Full context, I'm an adult, and I live with my boyfriend, but I'm staying at my mom's for the next month. After living away from home for years, I went back to living with her during the pandemic, and I only recently left to live with him. Honestly, I think living with her for so long in my adulthood really messed with me and made me feel like a teenager all over again. I feel like my mental growth is stunted, and that's part of why my OCD is so bad lately. Not blaming, just noticing. She doesn't seem to understand how relieving the OCD diagnosis has been for me, because it explains so so so many things I've struggled with for years, and it's exciting to have more resources that can help me. But I think she sees it as me finding an excuse to *not* work on myself, which is just untrue. I'm not going to let OCD hold me back or use it as an excuse, but I'm also not going to pretend it's not a problem when I know it is — I was even diagnosed through NOCD. The whole point being to fix it, not use it as a crutch. When I have an issue, it's unbearable. Any issue, big or small, feels just the same. I feel a sinking feeling, my mind races, my heart beats out of my chest. I end up running to my support systems, crying, ruminating for days on end. Then, months later, the same exact issue can feel like nothing anymore, because it's no longer an obsession. I'm sure everyone deals with issues in a similar way, but I *know* there is something specific and debilitating going on with me. This is reassurance seeking, but in the face of being told I'm making a big deal out of nothing, can someone diagnosed with OCD tell me if they relate to the specific intensity of these feelings??

Imnew@this

Date posted: 6w

Therapy today.

(21+ ONLY: TRIGGER WARNING) I have therapy today and I’m nervous. I just started going to therapy and I really like my therapist. She talked to me about doing ERP and I’m really nervous about it. I’m scared to tell her the extent of my OCD, and my themes. I’m scared to tell her about my false memory OCD, because I’m scared that what I did was real and I’m just excusing it as false memory, although I have no memory of it. I’m scared that I am truly a monster and I’m using OCD as an excuse—and that she’ll find out and distance herself. I’m just scared that my whole world is gonna fall apart, all around me.

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