- Date posted
- 5y
- Date posted
- 5y
Sounds like ba few cognitive distortions are at play: - black and white thinking - perfectionism - all or nothing thinking - catastrophizing. Cognitive distortions cause a lot of problems and can feed OCD. But OCD is about more than thinking patterns. It’s about the compulsive response we have to obsessions. Try breaking up larger assignments or projects into smaller goals/tasks and focus on those. Remind yourself that one thing going wrong does not mean everything is wrong. Keep in mind that you’re prone to this type of thinking and call it out to yourself when you notice it. “Hey, that’s black and white thinking! Life is not either failure or success. There’s nuance and room for plenty of levels of success in between.”
- Date posted
- 5y
Thank you, this is incredibly helpful! It has definitely given me some insight into my thought process.
- Date posted
- 5y
it's okay, and yes if you are panicking throughout the day, it may be best to discuss with someone/a professional. alongside this, you could also try self help: for example, writing positive quotes to read each day, take breaks, save a bit of time to do things you enjoy, breathing techniques or, meditation, to create a balance between work, and to shift your focus for a while ?
- Date posted
- 5y
I also get the fear of failure multiple times, but that has pushed me to work harder. So far I have passed everything I was scared I would fail, also I have only dropped one class this year.
- Date posted
- 5y
Well done! I am trying my best to push through
- Date posted
- 5y
I comment so that I can follow this post! I have been also struggling with studying since I started uni. Starting projects is super difficult and sometimes when I start reading I get really afraid that I won't understand what the text says. I suddenly might not be able to read or write texts, even in my mother tongue.
- Date posted
- 5y
Hi! It’s nice to know that someone else is feeling like this too! I have the same problem ☹️ what do you do to help yourself in those situations?
- Date posted
- 5y
@yani_ Actually, I don't really know how to tackle this problem.? I am currently trying to find a therapist. Probably doing ERP might help but I am a bit unsure how to do it in this case. I get burned out so easily if I am trying to really study or work full time. I am just not able to stay sane and I can't really figure out what causes all this. I don't want to sound discouraging! I definitely think things will get better eventually!! ? Good luck with your studies though.?
- Date posted
- 5y
some of this may cross over with ocd, but a therapist would be the one to separate the two. a lot of people worry over assignments, but how much is this affecting your studies / day to day - are you able to complete work? ☆ positive thinking.. accepting that you are trying your best ✍
- Date posted
- 5y
Thank you for replying and your kind words ? I still manage to get things done, however I tend to get into bouts of intense panic- I worry that I everything’s wrong, and I spiral into that I will fail the whole year. The thoughts that I am doing everything wrong seem quite similar to instrusive thoughts, so I thought I would come check on here. I will try to ask a medical professional about this though.
Related posts
- Date posted
- 23w
i am a freshman in college and i have always struggled with depression, anxiety, and OCD. i have never received help for my OCD despite being medicated for my other two issues. i have noticed that what most of my panic stems from is my OCD and more specifically my OCD around school. i haven’t been able to get myself up for class for multiple days and im starting to panic about everything im missing and think about every little thing i have to fix. i am so behind that it makes me want to panic and i feel like i cant fix this. i just want my mind to feel normal but it feels like my whole world is falling apart all because i am feeling stuck in school. please help me i just want to feel okay but i dont know how to. i have tried doing all the assignments i can do to catch up but it isn’t enough i still feel so panicked
- Date posted
- 17w
I had avoided a lot with school specifically, but I did do it in other areas of life as well. School for some reason has been the biggest trigger that sends me into avoidance and it has been for the longest time. Does anybody relate? If so, what did you do to help besides therapy? In high school I used to sit in the bathroom stalls for hours so I could avoid going to classes. I was struggling to keep up because my OCD makes me perfect my school work so much so to the point where I’d never turn it in because I’d never be satisfied with what I’d produce. I’d get so incredibly frustrated with myself and the fact that I could never meet my own standards, never mind the rubrics given. I took ages analyzing all my writing, all my answers, all my google slides and I burnt myself out. So I stopped trying. I stopped turning in work because I’d never be satisfied. I’d cry because I felt I wasn’t good enough. Then I’d be missing assignments, getting them done but not submitting them because I was too ashamed. So, I avoided classes because I’d be in trouble or be called out for not getting anything done. Unfortunately this habit bled into my first year of college last year, and OCD coupled up with depression, made going to the dining hall and attending classes even worse. So I avoided it all together. It’s so hard being a freshman in college, so so hard. I unfortunately failed out of that school but I tried to medically withdraw either semester. No, I wasn’t partying, or drinking or smoking or hanging with the wrong people. I was a college freshman struggling with ocd and depression. I’m trying to not make excuses for myself either because I’m well aware this is my fault and I’m trying to reverse it now at community college. Right now I’m trying to get those Fs turned into Ws from my old school so I can fix my gpa. I want to transfer, I want to be a forensic psychologist, I want to be independent, I want to be ok. It’s gonna take me so long to transfer from community college but that’s on me. I’m willing to put in the work. I’m so embarassed, please help me.
- Date posted
- 12w
i’ve unfortunately fallen into the cycle of trying to figure out my thoughts and find answers as to why i feel so distressed. this still pertains to the situation regarding changing my room for those reading who have seen my multiple posts over the last few days. i’ve been so distressed and in so much panic about it. i’m also panicking over my other room looking so different from when i left it. it’s been making me feel crazy because to me there’s no reason for my anxiety to latch so hard onto something that seems so minuscule. i was thinking i was having anxiety over change, but it’s like symptoms of ocd too that’s making it really hard for me to let go. SO i started thinking maybe it was perfectionism ocd? i’ve realized over time that i do compulsions to where things have to feel “just right”, but i also do that with any environment i’m in. like it HAS to feel cozy to me and provide me comfort in order for me to feel at ease. and this change is causing me to panic because there’s something wrong that i can’t find an answer to. maybe the different colored carpet? but it’s also more than that it feels like. however, now it’s spreading into other areas of my house where i’ve always been fine in and possibly to just any area i’m in at all. hence why it’s making me feel crazy because there’s no reason for me to be THIS distressed over that as i’ve never really had this problem before. and when i did it would last maybe an hour to a couple of days at most, but this has been going for over 2 weeks with my really bad anxiety being this week. i’m doing a little better, but it’s still hard when i can feel that panic waiting for me to acknowledge and just engulf me in the ocd cycle. i’m also analyzing basically any feeling i have so i just feel off in general and like i’m going insane. i’ve been so hyper focused on how i feel and that will send me spiraling too. multiple themes then start coming in like existential ocd and fear of solipsism. not to mention my harm and contamination ocd that just adds on when i’m this vulnerable. then i worry if no one is real, then no one feels the way i do. or just in general that what if no one feels the way i do. honestly, i think being out of college and in my house with nothing to do is causing me too much time with my thoughts. which is why i’m so distressed about everything that pops into my brain.
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