Its time for me to leave the app ? My family and therapist have been nagging me about this for the longest time, because they know how problematic forums can be for my mental health. If I don’t have an obsession, I obsess over it until it forms. You guys are a wonderful community and I’m grateful to this app for starting me on my recovery journey, but its time to continue on my own now. Over the past few weeks I’ve been writing my exposure scripts into a notebook so that I can continue on my own, and the last one got transferred tonight. I’ve made so much progress in such a short time, and that’s exciting! Although I’m a little scared about what life might look like if I ever conquer my OCD. Almost all of my obsessions are under control now, and the light at the end of the tunnel is faint, but there. I’m not so optimistic yet, but I have hope. I haven’t disassociated in 4 days! That’s amazing! Since about the start of this year, I’ve disassociated 24/7 out of stress. I know I must be on the right track to be headed this far, and even though I’m still very anxious, I feel like I’m turning a corner. I got OCD when I was 14. I didn’t get a proper medical diagnosis until I was 16, nearly 17. And I didn’t go into recovery until my 18th birthday this year. Some people might view all that as wasted time, but I don’t. I wasn’t ready, and there’s nothing I can do to change that. Some days are tougher than others. I’m still very exhausted and drained a lot of the time. But I’m growing and learning, and every day I get a little bit better! I know its hard. Its so hard. OCD is hard, anxiety is hard, and recovery? Recovery is so so hard. The best advice I can give is to be patient. Don’t be hard on yourself. I constantly beat myself up over how I’m recovering so slowly and then go “...Tabby its been 5 months! Chill!” This stuff takes time. Self care is SO important! We need it more than other people (although I personally believe everyone needs it way more than they think) so make time for it! Learn to love yourself. That’s nearly impossible for me sometimes. I think a large part of my OCD is fuelled by self hatred, and then my self hatred is fuelled by my OCD! Learn to build self esteem. And DONT DONT DONT DONT DONT put things on hold until you get better. Do them now! Show your brain that intrusive thoughts are not important! I wish you all the best on your recovery journeys. Because it is a journey. Its a gradual learning experience, not a race to the finish line. I’m sort of glad this happened to me to be honest. Its been a huge sign to slow down, stop pushing myself, to learn who I am and what I need. Its not easy. But nothing worth doing ever is. Love to you all! ❤️?????