I honestly think it’s best to keep your ocd hidden from people who don’t have it unless absolutely necessary. This disorder is incredibly complicated and hard to understand. Even people that suffer from it often find it hard to understand why they’re afraid of something that doesn’t make sense whatsoever much less people who don’t have it.

Imagine telling someone that you’re afraid that you might be a pedophile? If I didn’t have ocd, I’d definitely be alarmed. Or that you’re afraid of germs or that you might be gay. You’ll come off as extremely weird or a bigot.

Yup! And it sucks. This disorder can be incredibly isolating. BUT at least we have each other. Which is why this community and our relationships with fellow ocd sufferers and our therapists are so important. Also: you can still be open about struggling with others. I often say “I’m having a hard day with ocd” or “my ocd has been really acting up this week” and ask for support. I do this without going into the content of my thoughts because that’s generally unhelpful (it’s usually a compulsion, regular people don’t know how to properly respond, and it’s giving these thoughts more importance than they deserve.)

Yeah I have been struggling with this myself. I feel the need to tell my family and my friends everything I’ve done so that I’ll know for sure they love me still, but I haven’t said anything to my dad or my friends Bc I am scared of their reaction. But then I still feel like I am a terrible person Bc I have not told my past mistakes to them. I’m scared they won’t understand and it’s too difficult for me to explain it to them but then I feel alone. I am happy I have y’all!