What is your OCD story? I’m curious to hear about what other people’s journeys with OCD have been like. When you were diagnosed/what kind of treatment you have tried/what kind of OCD or symptoms do you have/what has helped you most? For me personally I don’t have a lot of people that I feel comfortable sharing my journey with in real life so I like having the chance to let it out on another platform. I’d love to hear whatever you are willing to share. I’ll start by sharing my journey. I was first diagnosed with and treated for OCD when I was seven (12 years ago). It started when my parents noticing that I was constantly smelling and washing my hands. I also worried a lot about my family’s safety and had a lot of magical thinking: I couldn’t throw anything away, had special walking rituals, had to touch things certain ways, etc. When I got to high school my symptoms got worse. I was re-diagnosed with OCD, dermatillomania, social anxiety, generalized anxiety, panic disorder, and depression. My OCD had morphed into just right/perfection obsessions (took me hours to do a simple homework assignment and I spent hours per day reviewing my interactions to look for mistakes), contamination OCD (couldn’t go outside, in my car, downstairs in my home, etc.), magical thinking OCD (knocked on wood over 60 times per day), health OCD, fears of losing control and intrusive thoughts. My life was consumed by my disorders so I entered a partial hospitalization program for OCD for 12 weeks. Two years later I was still struggling to function. I felt like I had tried everything. intensive ERP, 13 different medications, 11 different mental health specialists so I decided to enter residential OCD treatment. I was there for 3 months. It helped a lot to have the intensive ERP and 24/7 staff support. I got also got a much better grasp on my issues. I still struggle but I know how to deal with my obsessions and compulsions. I doubt anyone made it this far but if you did thank you for your time. I’m definitely interested in reading other people’s stories no matter how short or long they are :). Have a great day.

Thank you guys for sharing. It’s great to know I’m not alone. You are all so brave for continually fighting. It’s so nice that even though our stories my be different we can still relate to each other.

Symptoms started probably around 10 with an obsession with computers. Then it morphed into an obsession about having health issues. I was diagnosed and hospitalised at 13 when my theme had changed to contamination and I talked about killing myself. I stayed at the hospital for 3 weeks. For the next 4 years no symptom. Then at age 17 it came back with HOCD but nobody had told me OCD was for life so I had HOCD undiagnosed for 7 years. Then it got diagnosed and just diagnosing it made it disappear (WTF!) Now I'm 33 and I've been struggling with relationship OCD for 4 years. I obsess over partner's flaws. I've been doing ERP for about a year and I'm making progress but no breakthrough yet. OCD is still a major disruption in my life, though I function normally.

I did read your journey and appreciate you sharing. Figured it wouldnt be fair to post mine if i didnt read yours. My journey started mainly when i was 21 (24 now) . I was with my friend and i started saying this phrase ( satan cant win, Yeshua is my lord and savior) i had no idea why at first but it got worse and i told my bro i think im saying this protect against something. About 6 months went by and it stopped comepletely. A year later i was about to lay down and a harmful thought came at me... and i was like what just happened. Scared i walked out of my house to look around and get fresh air but it wouldnt shake. I went to work that night and would stare off and just constantly think and worry. I asked my brotha to eat with me and talked to him and after that i battled for about 7 months before getting help. after the first therapist, the second help amazingly, almost completely better in 5 visits... a year later up to now it hit again and have not been able to shake it. It hurts a lot and sucks i cry nearly everyday and hide everyday. But something in me fights everyday and i know i am stronger and i dont give up. We are all strong

I have OCD since I was around 7, it hasn’t been diagnosed at that time because of the symptoms. I had a lot of sexual intrusive thoughts that made me suffer a lot as a kid, and I’d always go tell my parents to relief the anxiety, though it was really stressful to tell them cause I thought i was doing something wrong. Years went by and when I had those fluctuating symptoms of washing hands and etc. but nothing really serious, as I got older sometimes I’d think that I, maybe, was lesbian and I ruminated about it but eventually I’d forget. When I turned 18 my mind just blew up. I became depressed and OCD worsened in a way that I had to seek for a psychologist and a psychiatrist as soon as I could. Since everything would happen only in my mind (avoid looking at women and child, for example) it wasn’t easy to detect it was OCD. Since then I’ve been battling OCD, now the theme that bothers me the most is contamination, it drives me crazy, but I know we’ll all get over this!

I was diagnosed at 18 right before graduation. I did poorly in school bc I would question everything and spend way too much on certain things. I was misdiagnosed with generalized anxiety and impulse control bc I did not open up about my anxiety. I kept my obsessions hidden because I thought I was a shitty person for having them. I began using alcohol and my prescription meds to relieve the pain. Little did I know that was a compulsion. My parents threatened me to getting sent me boarding school. We resolved this issue and I saw a new therapist and still my same psychiatrist. Im writer and paper was my only way to express my guilt and intrusions knowing I wouldn’t be judged. I told my therapist I liked to write and she told me to share something. It took me awhile but through the process she saw how much I would get fixated on certain people and situations. Fearing I would loose them or hurt them. So I asked so much reassurance. Questioned literary anything a guy who I was involved with and try to analyze it. She thought it was best if I went to my psychiatrist for a true diagnosis. I confessed everything I feared telling again about fear of harming people that I was act in destructive ways bc I was terrified those were my conscience thoughts. My parents took me to two other psychologist and psychiatrist and make sure I had the right diagnosis. They all came back the same. Now I’m college student who is a college tutor who realizes these are just thoughts and I decide if I want them to effect me or not everyday