Have been feeling inspired by other people sharing their stories here and would like to do the same. I had my first OCD thought in my sophomore year of college. It was a sexual intrusive thought that came out of the blue and then never left my mind - it was my first really “sticky” thought. It morphed into mostly harm OCD thoughts over the next year. I was depressed and half-thought I was losing my mind - every day I woke up in hell all over again. I saw a therapist, but only told him about my depression, insomnia, etc. I had no idea I had OCD at the time, and I thought I would be locked up if I told him about what was really bothering me. I kept everything to myself and my existence was miserable. I lived like this for about a year. Eventually I started changing the college I attended, the city I lived in, my roommates, etc. Somehow, I changed things enough to where the OCD thoughts somehow dissipated and I was able to live a mostly uninterrupted life - although in the back of my mind I knew those thoughts were lurking (mind you I still did not know it was OCD). However, even though I had some temporary relief, I had chosen to ignore the problem and sweep things under the rug. I did not choose to actually address my problem. Flash forward 5ish years later (a few months ago), and it all started again. The thoughts came back, and again I spent every day in physical and emotional distress. It was like nothing had changed, I was back in my little box all over again. This time though, things were a little different. After a few days I decided I would not live another year of my life like this even if it meant losing my girlfriend, career, etc. (I thought this was a possibility). Since I felt I had nothing to lose, I told my partner about what was happening. Amazingly, she had actually heard a podcast about harm-OCD on NPR, and compassionately helped me get in touch with a therapist who specializes in OCD/ERP. I was lucky I had someone to spill my guts to - I know not everyone has a person like that in their life (but that’s why this app is great!). I’m in therapy now and am having success with decreasing my symptoms. But don’t my wrong, everything isn’t perfect, my themes now “switch” to new subjects (which has been a real shock), I still get anxiety and distress, and I still have intrusive thoughts about people I care about. That said, things are definitely better and I can see a life where I accept and am okay with my OCD (versus shoving it under the carpet like I did previously). I also now think I can have a family, kids, a challenging career, etc., even while dealing with it. It wasn’t until I addressed the issue head that I had some actual, real confidence that I could have a normal life. It took me awhile though, and I understand how hard it is to deal with alone, without anyone to talk to. So for whoever hasn’t yet, but is considering it, please look into therapy with a OCD specialist (I haven’t used this app for therapy FYI). For those of you who can’t for any reason, the next best alternative seems to be to utilize the resources spread across the internet. Either way, you’ve got to take action, you can’t “outthink” this thing. Lastly, I’m in my 30s. So for any of you younger folks out there, consider the fact that you may have the opportunity to address things now when you are younger. For those of you who are older, I don’t think it is ever to late to start. The difference between me now versus a few months ago when my symptoms kicked back in is staggering - so keep fighting for that day for yourself. Good luck everyone. Open to any questions about my experience.