postpartum OCD/DPDR

I’m so sorry, that sounds awful, I cannot relate to this specifically but I can relate to having intense feelings and the feeling of “I know it’s real (or not) … but it truly feels like… ” - horrific to have your own feelings “against” yourself Keep up the hard work with therapy, hold on to hope, don’t give up, I’ll be praying for your healing ❤️‍🩹 Know you’re doing something that’s almost impossible, you’re a fighter and I can see from others and from the improvements I’ve made with therapy and medication that so many people have survived this and now live very good lives not fully consumed — Congrats on your baby 💕

I didn’t experience this specifically but I had a really hard time postpartum…. (I also didn’t know I had ocd) but I remember just not feeling like myself…. Like your body changes, your mind, and you just see things differently. I remember thinking that I just don’t feel like myself but I think to some degree you will feel different just from having a baby… like I don’t think I ever went back to how I felt before…. But I know ERP can help a lot I’m going through it myself and have the best therapist!! I was to the point where I was never alone with my baby because my ocd fears would just run wild but I’ve been able to actually enjoy being home with my baby lately 😊

I’ve heard a few friends say that they don’t recognize themselves or feel like they are truly in their body while postpartum. I’m sure some of it has to do with the physical trauma your body has gone through, even if your labor and delivery wasn’t “traumatic” it was still traumatic to your body, physically. Not to “reassure” because I don’t want to enable, but to offer a different perspective, I think (in my personal opinion) that this might not necessarily be an obsession you are dealing with but maybe a symptom of a different problem such as PPD, which can also be isolating in the same way OCD is. Because even if other people have gone through it, you may still feel completely alone while you’re going through it.

This happened to me! I had no idea what was happening, no words for it. I am just starting my OCD journey so I have absolutely no advice, except that this seems like a good place to be. Also six weeks is when it got intense for me. I was getting so, so little sleep… we had to shift perspective and prioritize my sleep for a while and that was the only key I had at the time. I am sending you all the best wishes. I get it.