today has been such a hard day with this intrusive thought i can’t get out my head. i was able to kinda accept it and move on yesterday but it’s been hard today. i’m guessing bc i barely slept and had anxiety for the majority or the day. i hate it so much. it’s literally my birthday and all i can think of is the intrusive thought that is making me afraid to be around my family. like i fear that others around me will lose control and harm me or do something. same with friends. i really don’t wanna be around them in fear. sometimes i wonder if this is even ocd. or maybe i’m just crazy. i’ve never met anyone that gets these types of thoughts because intrusive ones are mainly about you and i’m getting them about like other people. like what if they do this or are this. instead of saying what if i do this or i am this. i hate this. is this ocd ?

100% OCD. I understand where you’re coming from. My thoughts used to only be about me, then they switched to other people who I care about doing weird ish. It totally freaked me out because like you said, the thoughts used to be about me only and then they shifted. It’s what OCD does. Gets over one thought then shifts to something else. It can be any kind of image involving anyone. It just feels so intense and scary because I’m sure your friends and family mean a lot to you so it’s an awful feeling getting an image of them doing something bad. I totally understand! Just hang in there and keep doing your exposures! Also HBD!

Just know all of what you said is OCD! It’s called the doubting disease for a reason. And yup - I ALWAYS had to check to see if someone else had the ‘same’ thought as me. To the point where I was looking online for hours and hours. When I couldn’t find anyone who had the same thought as me, I would be convinced I was a terrible person. ALL OCD. It will always try and trick you. ocdrecoveryuk is an awesome instagram account as well!

So my biggest ‘fear’ when I had my intrusive thought was the GUILT I felt because I had such an awful thought about my family member. It’s like when the thought faded, IMMEDIATELY the thought was ‘people are going to think you’re awful cause you thought that.’ And that’s what usually makes me spiral when I have my intrusive thoughts. The guilt and fear that I’m a bad person. So personally for me, my exposure would just to think - ‘well maybe people will think you’re a bad person’ and SITTING with the uncomfortableness until the anxiety goes down. It’s DEF hard work! Literally the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I’m working with an OCD specialist right now though because again, it’s HARD work and so exhausting. The exposures DO help. It just takes practice! And regarding your last question - I’m not going to share ONLY because I know you’re seeking reassurance lol which is 100% a compulsion! I’ve been there MANY times on forums checking to see if someone else’s thought was JUST like mine. Doesn’t help at all lol. You got this, sending good vibes!