*HAPPY POST* and lots of advise. I have OCD with the main symptoms being gronial response with extreme anxiety, and some intrusive thoughts. My triggers are towards incest theme, pocd, and even animals. Its god darn brilliant! (sarcasm intended, it's ruining my life) Recently I've been living with a family member who triggers my OCD a lot. Its been really, really difficult for the first week. However, I've been meditating and and doing some excersize. I've been constructively letting go of some really negative feelings, and putting myself in situations that feel uncomfortable, without any judgement of what response I might have when triggered. (ERP technique) Yesterday I noticed that my anxiety towards certain triggers has gone down massively. And my ability to handle the feelings I get when they do arise is better. There's certain things that would bother me, like when I would be in a quiet room and hear my family member breathing. It used to kill me, it used to sound so loud like it was the only sound I could heaar in the room. However, The other day I realised that I wasn't even paying attention to her breathing, it was just a background noise. Like it wasn't even a trigger anymore. What a moment. Recovery is real. Don't get me wrong, I still have many moments where I'm triggered, and still have many moments where I hate myself. And this one trigger is the tip of the ice berg. But if I've learnt one thing that's seemed to change things for me - You need to keep reminding yourself that when you are being triggered, your not actually in a dangerous situation, there's nothing to actually be FEARFUL of. When you feel that fear, just remind yourself that you are actually safe - and start to remove the emotional attachment to the trigger. Once you start to sit with the fear, disgust and shame - and almost treat it as an uncontrollable fight or flight response - It makes you notice how unhelpful your brain can be. And once you have sat and felt those feelings, and realise that actually... your still okay, your still alive, your still YOU. The trigger actually has so much less ability to harm you. Yesterday I had a kind of lightbulb moment where I realised that no matter what I feel, FEAR isn't needed here! (This will take time so don't give up hope) Even writting this makes me feel emotional, because I know the pain im going through, and the pain you all are too. (Nobody even knows about my problems and I've sufferers for 6 years now) But Ive decided I think it's really important to stay positive, I see a lot of negative comments on hear, and I've been negative alot of here too. And Ive realised that being negative only feeds into the issue. You need to be positive, you need to make conscious and CONSTRUCTIVE choices, every day. I urge you all to start writting positively on here too. I urge you to understand the power of your brain. The same power that has created neurological pathways that have made you sick, is the same brain that has the power to pathe new roads for itself. I actually believe people with OCD have really powerful brains, you just need to learn how to harness it right. And recovery starts with accepting the past, accepting the present, knowing the future is uncertain but LOVING yourself anyway. This man talks through a mindfulness meditation- he bases it specifically for the OCD community. (He used to suffer with OCD) I think he's been very helpful for me. Please listen to it. Please start your day right. Please understand you have worth, no matter what your brain tells you today. Think of these thoughts and feeling as a bully that does not belong to you. There is no place for the bully. And mainly, no matter what this bully might say or do to you - Do NOT not let it ruin your day, or your perspective of your self. Goodluck everyone.