- Date posted
- 5y ago
- Date posted
- 5y ago
Glad you were able to get diagnosed. I’m in ny too with contamination ocd and subways are hard. Did your psychiatrist prescribe meds? Did you start them? I’m sure your parents would want to know about your mental health regardless of other things but it may go over better if you approach it in a more positive light - eg I realized / was diagnosed w ocd and I just started treatment that’s off to a good start. That way you’re sharing but not causing extra worry as you’re 21 and shows your self sufficient and self aware. Also, I’d recommend an ocd specialist if the shrink doesn’t do erp. Erp has a very high success rate w contamination ocd (I just started).
- Date posted
- 5y ago
He isn’t going to prescribe meds - he wants that to be up to the OCD specialist. He doesn’t do ERP; but he has connections with the OCD center in NYC. I have to see them there to get better, I know. Unfortunately I can’t without my parents’ insurance...that’s the whole reason I have to tell them. Kind of a sucky practical reason but still..
- Date posted
- 5y ago
I don’t know you but I am guessing that your parents love you very much. Don’t worry about being a “burden” on them. Most parents would never consider their children a burden. Your parents don’t want you to be suffering. I would tell them as soon as you have an appropriate private moment with both of them. You don’t need to share with them the content of your thoughts unless you want to. You’ll likely learn in therapy that the content of your thoughts is only relevant to the extent of which exposures you’ll do. All OCD is the same at the heart of it. Let them know you’ve already found help and you wanted to let them know not only to get emotional support but because the therapist may have tips for them (not accommodating your compulsions, reassuring you) that they will need to follow to help you get better. Finally, let them know that YOU’RE relieved to have a name for what you’ve been going through and fortunately it’s one of the most straightforward mental health conditions to treat and people do get better.
- Date posted
- 5y ago
@Sunrise22 I really like this approach. It provides enough detail to probably satisfy your parents' curiosity about the condition you are experiencing while also presenting it in an optimistic way that should be reassuring to your parents that you are headed in the right direction in terms of treatment.
- Date posted
- 5y ago
@Fear Strikes Out ?? yeah - that way they can support you without you feeling like you’re adding worry to their lives
- Date posted
- 5y ago
I understand you. My therapist once told me that if my parents are easily worried about anything, it would be wise to not tell them because it would harm your treatment with their worries. I didn’t give them much explination about what I have (generalized anxiety and pure O) I just told them that I have anxiety and I’m going to a therapist. Nothing more.
- Date posted
- 5y ago
I'm sorry for the difficulties you and your family are facing right now, and I'm sorry about your grandfather passing away. I lost two grandparents nearly a year apart in 2018 and 2019 and I know the emotional toll that it takes. I haven't told my family specifically about my struggles yet either (I'm living out of state from them), they just know I have some issues with anxiety and am seeing a therapist. I feel like if you don't feel comfortable telling your family about the specifics that you're dealing with, I think letting them know that you're struggling with your mental health, but you're working on getting treatment is a good place to start.
- Date posted
- 5y ago
We need a residential program
Related posts
- Date posted
- 15w ago
Hi I kept seeing this app on repeat on TikTok over and over and I thought I give it a shot. I have never been diagnosed with OCD but I know that I have it. I’m a young adult and I found out the first time I had OCD was watching lelelons truth video? I was 14 at the time She had to resist sitting back down in a chair after her having sat down she started having a mental break down when she was told to resist. That’s when I knew. It started with myself going up and down a staircase twice buckling unbuckling my seat belt everytime I’m in the car ect I have always been super anti social but trying my best I can socialize but my mind wants to make it sexual with family and friends ughhhh I hate it because that’s not me when I graduated thoughts of hurting my loved ones corrupted my mind I broke down outside of church one time asking if this was really me or not i question if I’m a good enough friend or person in this world to begin with thinking everyone is judging me so so close how can I make this situation better did I do something wrong I struggle with depression as well not to bad but it’s there I come from a loving family but broken as well i believe in god and my OCD makes me go often he’s not real that stuff isn’t real no one is there to save you the list goes on. Anyway I struggle a lot and I really hope that this will help me because I feel extremely hopeless. Lucky for me I do have the ability to seek therapy and I am excited. The only person I ever tell my thoughts to is God no other human has heard so I’m really really hoping this helps me out if your reading this thank you it means a lot because this is my first time ever admitting all this it’s a lot to take in I know and I hope you are ok and that you have a great night and know that we got this
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 12w ago
Looking back, I realize I’ve had OCD since I was 7. though I wasn’t diagnosed until I was 30. As a kid, I was consumed by fears I couldn’t explain: "What if God isn’t real? What happens when we die? How do I know I’m real?" These existential thoughts terrified me, and while everyone has them from time to time, I felt like they were consuming my life. By 12, I was having daily panic attacks about death and war, feeling untethered from reality as depersonalization and derealization set in. At 15, I turned to drinking, spending the next 15 years drunk, trying to escape my mind. I hated myself, struggled with my body, and my intrusive thoughts. Sobriety forced me to face it all head-on. In May 2022, I finally learned I had OCD. I remember the exact date: May 10th. Reading about it, I thought, "Oh my God, this is it. This explains everything." My main themes were existential OCD and self-harm intrusive thoughts. The self-harm fears were the hardest: "What if I kill myself? What if I lose control?" These thoughts terrified me because I didn’t want to die. ERP changed everything. At first, I thought, "You want me to confront my worst fears? Are you kidding me?" But ERP is gradual and done at your pace. My therapist taught me to lean into uncertainty instead of fighting it. She’d say, "Maybe you’ll kill yourself—who knows?" At first, it felt scary, but for OCD, it was freeing. Slowly, I realized my thoughts were just thoughts. ERP gave me my life back. I’m working again, I’m sober, and for the first time, I can imagine a future. If you’re scared to try ERP, I get it. But if you’re already living in fear, why not try a set of tools that can give you hope?
- Date posted
- 11w ago
It’s been 4 years. 4 years since I spiralled into a world controlled by rituals of 4, it started as 2, then 3, then 4 - my safe number. The amount of times I wash my hands after touching something dirty and how many repeats it takes until I feel ‘clean’, the amount of taps I make when closing doors to make sure I don’t ‘die’, the amount of times I rinse cutlery and plates before eating off them, the amount of times I disinfect things. My OCD subtype is contamination and I know 2020 lockdowns and the pandemic caused it to spiral but what started as a small ritual quickly became bigger until I no longer remembered what my life was like without the obsessive thoughts of germs and contamination. Could that person be ill? What if I go outside to the shops and someone makes me sick? You can’t answer the door to get that package from the delivery driver because he might make you sick, oh you can’t put the shopping away without disinfecting it first - what if someone has coughed on it? ‘I’ve got to wear gloves to do that’ I can’t, I can’t, I can’t. For 4 years I’ve lived like this, the ‘I don’t want to touch that’ or ‘I can’t go to this place because I don’t want to get ill and die’ ‘can you go do that for me as I don’t think I can right now’ - I know my OCD is irrational, I know the likelihood of those things actually happening are slim to none and I know my OCD stems from a need of control in my life because for so many years I felt like everything in my life was out of my control. But no matter how much I know of how many books I read, how many mindful practices I do the panic I feel after being ‘exposed’ or before exposing myself to a trigger is horrible. I’ve avoided and avoided and avoided to the point where something small now seems and feels like an impossible mountain to climb. It often feels like there isn’t light at the end of the tunnel on the dark days, when I know there is, it’s just going to take some time. Despite this on the outside to those not in my circle my life is a whole picture perfect painting. I run my own business, have a nice car, a nice house, a happy relationship and the of best friends and I’m so grateful for all those things but the reality is much different - behind closed doors and hidden in the closest is the OCD monster. I’ve decided now, after 4 years it’s time to change. I’m breaking the cycle and starting anew. The irony that 4 is my safe number too and it’s been 4 years since things started to get dark. I’m ready to lose control and find myself again. Why am I writing this? Honestly, I really don’t know. I found this app recently and hope it can be a help for my ERP practices I’ve been practicing on my own and it’s actually the first time I’ve ever openly posted or spoken about my OCD to date. For years I have lived with a huge amount of shame and embarrassment, hiding my issues from everyone - even my closest friends have no idea how much it impacts my day to day. I’ve felt shame as I can’t control my own mind despite knowing the thoughts are irrational and the rituals only provide temporary relief but each day again and again the safety blanket of the rituals wraps me up and takes over. The only person who truly knows how much it affects me is my partner, who has been by my side through it all, he’s burnt out and has seen first hand the impact it has had on me, my life and my happiness. I’ve sheltered him as much as I can, but I’m sure those who are in relationships with OCD can relate to the burnout their partner feels day in day out. So that’s my story, I hope those going through similar can take comfort in this and know they aren’t alone in it all as my OCD has made me feel so incredibly lonely, isolated and empty for 4 years too long. It feels freeing to finally share my monster and I hope I can connect with others who are on a similar journey to me. The biggest thing I want to be able to do again? I want to be able to hug my loved ones without feeling triggered, I want to go outside and enjoy life without worry, I want to live again. This app has made me feel seen for the first time in a long time and reading your stories, your experiences and how you’re coping is comforting, encouraging and makes me feel less alone ❤️ thank you for reading x
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