- Date posted
- 5y
- 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
- 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.
- Date posted
- 5y
That does sound like quite the powerful moment. Thanks for sharing your story!
- 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.
- 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
- Date posted
- 5y
These are great testimonials. We really all need one another. ❤
Related posts
- Date posted
- 14w
Ok, so first of all, I’m undiagnosed. However, I’ve been pretty certain for a while now that what I’ve been struggling with is OCD. My problem though is that it’s not easy to get diagnosed, and in some cases, it would require me to pay money. It frustrates me that I have to pay to deal with my mental health. Is it worth it for me to get diagnosed? I know I don’t need a diagnosis to start healing and working on these things, but I also don’t want to be “self diagnosing” the problem, because that makes me feel like a liar and an imposter. My other problem is that I fear my family doctor won’t properly diagnose me. I came to him about mental health related issues once before, and he read off a very generic list of mental health symptoms. when he got to what sounded like the ‘OCD’ section, we asked one or two very generic questions that had nothing to do with my themes, and since I couldn’t relate, I just answered no to them. He then told me I was fine, that I was just a “type A personality”, and that I was just being too hard on myself. I fear that my doctor might not be very knowledgeable or up to date on current information regarding OCD, and this might make it increasingly difficult for me to get diagnosed. Another problem is my symptoms seem to come and go. I often have an obsessive cycle that can last months at a time, and then it just goes away. Sometimes I won’t experience any symptoms for years. This makes me feel like I don’t actually have OCD or that it’s not ‘bad’ enough to be diagnosable.
- Date posted
- 13w
Hi guys, This is my first post on here, as I’ve been scared to be vulnerable in this way. I’ve had a lifelong journey of mental health, diagnosed with a myriad of things, and misdiagnosed with others. When I got diagnosed with OCD, things started to click and treatment has been going well. There’s still a disconnect, things I do that are different than others and aren’t compulsion or obsession related. The reason I’m posting is to ask if anyone has been diagnosed with OCD/Autism and how you navigated that comorbidity. Thank you to anyone who shares
- Date posted
- 9w
Some background: I’m a woman in my 30s who’s been struggling to find the right diagnosis for years. Since 2022, I’ve had multiple psych hospital stays, and with each stay came a different diagnosis and different sets of medications: Bipolar II, CPTSD, MDD with psychotic features, “high functioning BPD,” and most recently, Schizoaffective Disorder (depressive type). Before all of that happened, I had been seeing a therapist for CPTSD and AuDHD traits for 2 years, but after they left the practice, I struggled to find someone I trusted again. Most of my breakdowns happened during my last relationship. Looking back, I was in survival mode with them, leaving who *I* am behind. I got to the point where I started doubting my own reality from the abuse. This eventually added up and landed me in my first episode of psychosis. That combined with my attempts is what got me my schizoaffective diagnosis. After finally leaving that relationship 1.5 years ago, I’ve slowly rebuilt my life: new town, new job, new friends. Many of my old symptoms (major ones) haven’t returned, which makes me believe I may have been misdiagnosed due to reliving past childhood trauma and stress responses from the abuse. Through all of this, I’ve felt like nothing ever truly fit. I journal, I reflect, I replay the recordings and I’ve even watched old vlogs –the puzzle pieces still don’t come together. It’s left me feeling like I’ll never really know what’s going on, and I’ve started to fear that my diagnoses will just keep stacking up without ever leading to effective treatment. Recently, I opened up to a friend about this. She mentioned that her neighbor went through something similar not exactly like me but she thought it would give me a starting point—multiple diagnoses that never felt right—until a new doctor finally identified it as OCD. That one diagnosis changed everything for her. It made me realize I really don’t know much about OCD beyond the stereotypes. I didn’t know OCD could involve intrusive thoughts, rumination, or mental compulsions. My friend encouraged me to look into it, especially as I start searching for a new therapist. Facebook and Google lead me here… So now I’m wondering: could OCD be a better explanation for what I’ve been experiencing all these years? Questions for the community: 1. What steps did you take to find out if OCD was what you were dealing with? 2. If you had a long history of misdiagnoses, how did you finally find a clinician who got it right? 3. How did you advocate for yourself when people dismissed your concerns? 4. Is there anything you wish you had done earlier in your OCD journey? Thank you so much if you made it this far. I’m really grateful for this space and just want to start finding answers and the right kind of help.
Be a part of the largest OCD Community
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond