Does anyone have advice for how to begin the conversation about telling your partner about your OCD? I don’t want to have a huge sit down conversation about it but almost how to work it into normal conversation

For me, having a quick sit down talk leads to having that comfortable and casual working in to conversations. Also letting them know that they are allowed to ask questions can help!!! Definitely being as open as possible helps. It took me a few tries to get everything out there but it was so worth it being able to have that authenticity now. It can be a struggle sharing everything. It took a few months for my partner to understand too (and it’s normal that it could take longer) I’m not telling you what you should do! Just telling you how it happened for me, it seems a lot scarier until you take those leaps in communicating. Good luck, I wish you the best

I understand it's tough! I hope he's supportive though. I found out about having OCD recently and have been with my boyfriend for 6 years so had to let him know about that and bipolar recently. Fortunately he didn't make me feel bad. I kind of just told him randomly but he also knew I was struggling mentally all year just not knowing why

Thank you. I think the toughest part is we’ve already been together over 4 years. He’s not a very observant person so if he was he would have noticed my compulsions by now. He noticed one time when I was obsessively turning my alarm on my phone on and off and I forget what I even said to get out of the conversation

I haven’t expressed what I go through but I’ve tried many times to subtly expose my compulsions or almost talk out loud the more “normal ones” when I’m with him to try to open up the possibility for having the conversation. Another issue tho is my more “normal compulsions” like repeatedly checking to make sure the fridge is closed or the toaster is unplugged is easier for me to handle when I’m with someone else bc I tend to not believe my own eyes. I perform my compulsions more repeatedly when alone because I don’t have the reassurance of someone else also seeing the fridge is closed so I know if it’s true or not

For example if we are leaving the apartment together I will say out loud “okay the fridge is closed I don’t need to check that again” in the attempts to expose my compulsion to him but it never seems to work to get him to take note of what I’m doing and begin a conversation about it

My partner knows I have ocd but he doesn't really understand mental health and doesn't know what type of ocd I have. I find it quite difficult to talk about tbh and I think he finds it awkward to bring up. I wish things were different though x

Thank you this is very helpful

Sorry for the novel lol

I also strongly fear that he will see it as a negative trait for our future as ocd has been found to have a genetic link (in terms of us having kids with OCD)

Ah i see, yeah that can be tough when you two have already established a routine/dynamic. But that can always change and be worked on to accommodate your needs with ocd! That’s a fear of mine too, but ocd is something we can tackle and manage! It could help getting a peace of mind with that to start talking about this with your partner to figure it out Day by day. Have you ever expressed or hinted to him anything about what you go through with ocd?

Not sure if that made sense