OCD related to yelling something inappropriate in public? Lately I’ve been having intense OCD and subsequent anxiety that I’m going to say something extremely inappropriate to a stranger when I’m in public, either when I walk past them or drive past them. A lot of times it’s related to horribly intrusive thoughts that make me extremely uncomfortable and anxious. For example I’m afraid I’ll yell something racist, or homophobic, or shame someone based on their looks, or something misogynistic etc. I am none of these things, I’m actively against all of them. But I keep having these intrusive thoughts pop into my head and then I obsess that I will, or already have blurted them out to a stranger or group of strangers. Then I obsess about “well, if I would never say that, but if I had of I would definitely know, I wouldn’t just forget. but what if I did say it and what if I did actually just forget that I said it. Or what if I have Tourette’s syndrome but I just don’t know it and I actually have been blurting these things out?” Gosh it’s exhausting, 15 years of ocd and it seems like there’s no end in sight.

"Pure" OCD

Username: Carl CornettCarl Cornett

Date posted: 4y ago

There’s so many different forms and shapes OCD can take. I’ve had this issue a few times, but it doesn’t seem i stick. Usually, it’s when I’m in a place like a work meeting or somewhere where the consequences of acting out would be significant. It’s never if I’m just sitting at home. Imaginal exposures can help in this situation. Writing out a script that relives or imagines the type of scenario you’re talking about, only in the script you do act out on the thoughts or lose control.

Username: FathomableFathomable

Date posted: 4y ago

Omg the what if I did something inappropriate and now I'm just blocking it out thing hits home, I get that fear all the time. I can relate it back to being an obnoxious drunk once at a party and one time as a kid where I absentmindedly told really loud annoying people to be quiet in the theatre once and got in shit for it and couldn't even remember having done it. Best thing you can do is cut it off at the obsessing bit. Resisting the urge to work out whether it's true even though you're HIGHLY anxious will help your brain stop treating it as if the thoughts are genuine threats which need to be brought to your attention. So you'll get them less. It's like when people say "you are now breathing manually". Thinking about it can lead to panic, pushing your mind away and towards something else makes you forget, and makes it less scary the next time.

Username: jocd123jocd123

Date posted: 4y ago

Thanks for the response that really help. I read something recently that said you should treat intrusive thoughts like waves. Sometimes they can be a little harsh, sometimes they can be catastrophic and turbulent, but they can only harm you when you’re in the water, if you’re on the shore, they’re just harmlessly rolling in and out. I guess intrusive thoughts are the same, if you stand back and stay on the shore they can’t harm you.

Username: garden garden

Date posted: 4y ago

I have this!

Username: canigetawitness

Date posted: 3y ago

Is there anyone with Racism themed OCD? I've been really struggling with this taboo theme & I'm finding it hard to function/find myself avoiding people out of fear of being perceived as racist. I constantly worry that I'm being perceived as racist. I'm white, I consider myself to be an ally of BIPOC and to work on being anti-racist. Lately though, I get hit with a ton of intrusive thoughts about coming across as racist when I speak to a BIPOC, which causes anxiety, which my anxiety probably then appears racist to the other person. I can't imagine what BIPOC have to endure on a daily basis just because of their skin color, so I'm not trying to make this about me. I'm just wondering if I'm alone in this or if other people struggle with this OCD theme. To be honest, it's pretty severe and it's attacking my core, because this "theme" feels opposite to what I value (being an ally, fighting to be anti-racist & dismantle racism) & who I am. I can tell that other people notice I'm anxious, and I just hate that I'm displaying nervousness because I'm sure it makes the other person uncomfortable. I know I'm coming off as anxious to other people. I know it because I'm trying so hard not to be perceived as racist, to get the interaction "right", that interactions just get weird, anxiety filled & awkward & I'm sure the other person is like wtf, this person is a racist. I don't know how to stop getting so lost in my head. I've tried to tell myself "Maybe I am a sick, racist human being, oh well", but that doesn't help because I don't agree with that statement.

Username: Anonymous

Date posted: 2y ago

Ocd involving race

Guys I'm really scared to talk about this but it's taken over my life at this point. Occasionally, I would get an intrusive thought that would be kind of racist and I'd be scared or I'll sit and think for like an hour of past situations where I may have been racist. It's terrifying because I talked to my mom about it and she laughed because she said I'm like the opposite of racist which I'd like to believe, but these thoughts are so triggering especially because I am also in a biracial relationship. I would never want to hurt him or make him feel lesser than me. I wanna show him off to the world but there's this put feeling in me like, what if you're only doing all this for him not to be perceived as racist? What if you don't actually believe in being with him and you're scared to show him off? Are you afraid what others think? And then I try to prove the thoughts wrong by disagreeing with them in my head and thinking about the past situation. I try not to compulse while with my bf because the last thing I want him believing is that these thoughts are real and are gonna make me treat him differently. Someone pls help like I can't keep thinking of the only person I love like this.

Username: Anon83

Date posted: 1y ago

Pocd

Hi guys I’m having these disgusting thoughts going round my head about saying disgusting things to my son or other horrible things to people . I will obsess about and the only way I feel I can get some relief is to say it yet I don’t want to because I know people will hate me for it . The anxiety is real bad like what if I did do that . It feels like the compulsion is the urge to say it as that gives me some relief. Has anyone else had this and please could someone give me some advice on what to do as I’m not very good atm and need some help ty

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