- Date posted
- 14h
Recently Diagnosed
I’m in my 30s and just got diagnosed with OCD. It feels like a mix of relief, validation, and overwhelm. So much work ahead of me and can’t afford therapy right now. Had to go stay out of state in the house I was chronically traumatized in with the parent who harmed me most after my safe/loving parent died unexpectedly. I was there for several months and me, my partner, and our animals all got very sick. The house is legitimately contaminated- infested with black mold, mildew, cockroaches, termites, asbestos. It’s also “contaminated” with my childhood trauma. It stirred up a lot of OCD. There’s a new worry that my parent died because of me in some way, and that I might accidentally cause someone else I love to die if I don’t do x, y, z. Also worry that us being there might have long term effects & I’m the reason we were there. I’m scared my animals might have been exposed to something horrible and could die because we were there. I took them both to the vet and did some testing but feel embarrassed of how others perceive me when I express my concerns that are often hypochondriac based. I’m so physically, mentally, emotionally exhausted. When I start to relax, my anxiety/ OCD runs rampant trying to find something to feel bad about myself for. Dealing with resentment related to my family system, and the other adults in my life who didn’t do anything to protect me as a child despite me begging for help. Then I feel bad for not appreciating the love & kindness & privilege I did have. My living parent was saying lots of things that reignited old worries & created new ones. I’m home now, but the clothes/ personal items I brought there & special stuff I inherited or brought home is stressing me out. I’m worried it’s contaminating my clean safe space and I can never truly get away. I’m recognizing how that environment I grew up in conditioned this level of OCD distress. I need to start a new job now that I’m home, but it’s hard to do anything… cue the “I’m a bad person” thoughts. Applying for jobs is stressful too. I know I’m highly qualified but that’s stressing me out because I’m worried I’ll get an offer or an interview before I’m truly ready/ capable to start. I don’t have money to keep waiting and need health insurance ASAP. Worried I’ll accept a job that doesn’t have as good of insurance as a hypothetical other opportunity. It’s all so overwhelming and I’m really struggling to calm my mind, body, & soul. I’m not sure what I’m looking for from this post. Maybe ideas of how to quiet/ calm the panicked rumination that keeps creeping in as I settle in so I can feel more grounded & emotionally stable? Any coping skills that have helped you for these patterns/ themes? How you handle perfectionist tendencies in work environments?