First night without picking in AGES. And I just painted my nails so I know I won’t now at least till they’re dry. :) Also, I’ve been thinking a lot about my scars (from picking). Mostly I hate them because they’re on my face and feel so visible and shameful. I’ve learned to love my stretch marks from pregnancy though, and I’m working on loving my bumpy little belly that’s just part of how I’m shaped. I’m wondering if I can apply the same sort of thinking to my scars, even though they’re self-inflicted. They’re still part of my journey, you know? Anyone else have thoughts on/experience with body positivity around scars from mental or physical illness?

Hello! It’s my first time using this app. About to get really personal. I’ve struggled with OCD for a long as I can remember. Picking at the skin around my nails, having “scary thoughts.” After I moved out, my OCD seemed easier to manage for a while. However, a year and a half ago I was rapped. Ever since that night, the OCD has come back and is so much worse. Being raised Catholic, my intrusive thoughts center around the fact that I am no longer “pure”. I know that what happened to me is not my fault, but my OCD loves convincing me otherwise. Sometimes it’s almost like PTSD where I have flashbacks to that night. Any suggestions?

I don’t know if I’ll ever live a day without thinking about and feeling guilt about my real event. But I’ve accepted the fact that maybe I won’t ever will, and while that is quite daunting, I’ve struggled a lot during these past few months with just living and doing anything but lying in misery about it. I found it really hard to get out of bed to do anything, and I was just completely empty. While I haven't made huge progress now, I can attest that I've moved more than I did before, and that matters to me. I still don't feel great, and I actually will never be able to go back to a time when I wasn't plagued by this, but everything has led me to my present, and the way I deal with it is important regardless of whether I like it or not. There's no use moping over the past. So while my event and guilt won't be going anywhere, I'm trying not to put a pause on everything because of it. It's depressing at times knowing how I just have this one life on earth to do anything. So there's a lot of shame and guilt knowing how I've had this event in my life and that there's no way back to it to correct it. It makes me hopeless, but at the same time, it is also a driving force for wanting to be good, do better, and learn from my mistakes because, again, this is the only life I have here. So if I don't make a positive difference, then it's like I've done nothing better to right my mistakes and make a change from the past. It's one of the main things that I'm trying to stay steadfast about instead of falling into that hole of despair and nothingness. I hope everyone here, regardless of whatever they're suffering from, is able to be kind to themselves and hold on through their struggles. It's tough right now, but hopefully we can all get to a point where it won't be any longer. And most importantly, try to live in the present, as that is what serves you and what you have direct control over to make a change right now. Sending much love to everyone who's struggling and finding it hard right now ❤️‍🩹

How can I feel beautiful in myself or accept compliments from people when they don’t know the morbid sexual thoughts I have? I love socializing and I don’t feel like myself anymore. I obviously can’t confess to every person I come across but idk how I can do self compassion with my type of thoughts