WeCanDoThis
- Date posted
- 5y
flowerladyflowerlady
- Date posted
- 5y
Great question. I kinda figured out through googling I had symptoms. Found OCD of Los Angeles. In recovery now. Go to support group. Check out ocd of LA webpage. Great info..good luck
Carl CornettCarl Cornett
- Date posted
- 5y
I knew from a fairly young age that it was super likely I must have it: most of my challenges were compounded by a really chaotic home life. Like many other people, I was scared to disclose my thoughts to a professional. It wasn’t until my OCD spiraled out of control and I went to the hospital that a doctor formally diagnosed me with OCD. It was a pretty powerful moment when he looked me in the eye and confirmed that’s what it was.
WeCanDoThisWeCanDoThis
- Date posted
- 5y
That does sound like quite the powerful moment. Thanks for sharing your story!
pureolifepureolife
- Date posted
- 5y
I thought I simply had GAD and panic disorder for most of my life. I had been through many “themes” over the years but both I and my various mental health professionals always categorized them as anxiety and simple catastrophizing. Once my TOCD theme hit, I sat down with a pen and paper and mapped out all of my different “themes” and “breakdowns” and what they had in common to try to figure out a pattern. I did a lot of googling and found Pure O stories that related to my current and former themes (HOCD, existential ocd, health ocd, ROCD, etc.) I found an OCD specialist and was diagnosed during my first session. I’ve been in treatment since (it’s been about 6 months) and my relationship to my anxiety, catastrophized thoughts, and self in general has all shifted. I’m much better able to see my OCD in action and I’m now tackling some of the highest triggers on my hierarchy that I initially set up with my ocd specialist. It has been hard. But having an answer and practical treatment answers has been empowering and freeing.
AnonymousAnonymous
- Date posted
- 5y
I genuinly only found I had OCD last month. I’ve had almost every type of OCD since I was a child and never knew it. I haven’t been diagnosed but I know I have this. I often obsess to an extreme level about normal things when I don’t have my intrusive thoughts what gives me hope is that I have beat gayocd hocd and the constant confessing side of ocd so to anyone reading this, you will be fine, it takes time but I can think of harming someone or myself and being gay with no issues at all. Just keep accepting your thoughts and believe you will be fine
flowerladyflowerlady
- Date posted
- 5y
These are great testimonials. We really all need one another. ❤
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OCDNoThankYe
- Date posted
- 22w
Medication
Hey friends, I hope you all are well. I just wanted to check in and ask people's experiences about being on medication. I have had OCD pretty much my whole life, just got recently diagnosed 4 months ago and my therapist recommended that I get on meds for it so I have a psychiatrist appointment set up. I'm a little apprehensive about getting on them, but I've realized that I do have some sort of chemical imbalance in my brain that plays a part in my OCD and anxiety. I would love to hear anyones experiences or words of encouragement. Thank you, I hope you all are well.
ATT2001
- Date posted
- 20w
I believe I was misdiagnosed
Hello there. I’m new here and think I may have OCD I’ve struggled with anxiety my whole life. However, in my early teens, I started experiencing obsessive fears and engaging in compulsions because my brain convinced me that if I didn’t perform a certain action a specific number of times, it would “prove” that I wanted something terrible to happen. When I was 17, I began seeing a therapist and opened up to her about this. She diagnosed me with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), and I accepted the diagnosis But last night, I became curious about whether people with GAD engage in compulsions and have specific fears, so I looked it up. I was shocked to learn that these are not typical characteristics of GAD Now, I would love to find a therapist who specializes in OCD so I can get a formal diagnosis and the appropriate treatment
Andrea Wells
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 18w
Misdiagnosis & OCD
OCD is so much more than just being 'neat' or 'organized'—it’s relentless, exhausting, and often deeply misunderstood. The intrusive thoughts, the compulsions, the anxiety—it can feel like a never-ending cycle that others just don’t seem to get. Many of us have had experiences where even therapists didn’t fully grasp the depth of our struggles. I myself faced difficulty being misdiagnosed and my talk therapist not understanding the full extent of what I was going through until I found NOCD. So many prior therapists wrote off my symptoms as general anxiety, not realizing it was actually OCD all along. If you could sit down with a therapist who truly wanted to understand, what do you wish they knew about OCD?
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