If you’ve experienced several ocd themes, has one theme felt different than the rest? Have some themes really felt like ocd to you and even though the thoughts were distressing, you understood it was ocd as opposed to maybe one theme that really didn’t feel like ocd? If that makes sense? While most themes I’ve experienced were highly distressing, I feel like they don’t get under my skin quite as much because I truly feel they are ocd thoughts.

I have Retrospective Jealousy OCD. It started around 30 years ago when I met my now wife. I struggled with the thoughts about her past not knowing what was happening and when they first came on the pain was unbearable and I tried to kill myself. I then had years of going to therapists that were useless as they failed to realise it was OCD. Four years ago I finally was diagnosed and with the help of a great psychotherapist I have been doing ERP and at last things have improved. Before that I was totally at its mercy and I would get so angry and upset with my wife it was awful. Luckily we are still together. I would like to connect with others with this type of OCD to hopefully provide some support and understanding whether you have not yet been diagnosed or you are or are due to begin ERP . ERP was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. If years ago I had known other people with this OCD who knew what the diagnosis is and how to treat it it would have saved years of pain and suffering.

Jealousy based relationship ocd has been by far the most distressing shit I have ever been through in my entire life. I can’t shake it. I can get other rel ocd thoughts like doubts about the rel and my feelings towards my bf, but it doesn’t shake me in my core like the jealousy based obsessions do. It makes me feel suicidal and I cant function at all but other ocd themes don’t do this to me at all. And it feels real bc jealousy of x y or Z can be real or they are real and I know they are and I obsess about it being fact (ex if my bf directly tells me something then it’s fact or if something actually happened or has been said that I can’t get out of my head ) and that kills me more than the ones that might just be in my head. My other themes don’t do this to me.

Yes! Experiencinf this now. One theme feels different and it makes ne think it is real

Hi have you been through ERP and has it helped. My isssue was that I thought I had OCD but none of the books or later when there was internet (!) no mention of this type of intrusive thought so you start thinking it is just jealousy and you start trying to rationalise and focus which is the worst thing to do. Once it is diagnosed it is obviously a mental illness and needs to be treated as such.

I'm a little confused but I think I get what you're saying. For example I've had SOCD at times but it doesn't bother me cuz I'm not against the idea of being anywhere on the LGBTQ+ spectrum. On the other hand I definitely have other intrusive thoughts that can be debilitating. I dunno if that's what you're talking about but yeah, lol that's me at times.