Opening up about my ocd to friends

Hi mariellaa! Lovely username by the way, anyway I just wanted to say that I totally get being reluctant to tell your friends about having Ocd. Opening up about having a psychological condition is never easy, especially when it’s Ocd, and it can sometimes take a long time and a lot of confidence to open up about this to others, it sure did for me with some of my friends. Thankfully they understood completely and some of them even opened up about what they had with me! Coincidentally some of them even had Ocd themselves! So until you hear back from your friends about whether or not it bothers them that you have Ocd then I wouldn’t worry about it too much. And if they are uncomfortable and treat you differently because of it then I’m not sure they were really going to be in it for you in the long run anyway. So, just remember that you are not alone in all of this and that we are all here for you if you need to talk about anything on your mind. You deserve all the best in life 🙂

I have been very careful in who I open up to about that because OCD is hard to explain and understand. Only some close family members and inner circle of friends know. Having said that, there is nothing to be ashamed of! I liken it to having diabetes. I will always have a tendency there but it can be managed effectively 🎉

It defintely can depend on the people but the first time I admitted my taboo thoughts out loud (100% sure I was going to get arrested) it was because all my friends had started talking about OCD and one of them went "I feel so bad for people with taboo OCD. I can't imagine feeling to trapped in your head, tormented by things you don't believe, wondering if maybe you do. They don't deserve that." I told them right after and then immediately spiralled. I tried to seek reassurance but they refused to give me that which was SO hard. They said "If you really are a horrible person, and you do a horrible thing, then I'll come beat you up. Until then, relax". It was my first real exposure experience but it helped me so much. The more I've opened up about my OCD the more people I've found who also have it, who were too scared to share their own stories. You are not alone :) you are loved.

I always feel rubbish after opening up. It is normal (especially with moral/ responsibility OCD). But in the long run it is worth it. If they can't handle it- that is on them! Never beat yourself up for being honest, genuine and having big emotions.