- Date posted
- 6y
- Date posted
- 6y
I would say dont "fight" but just let the thoughts pass through knowing that they are OCD and not truth. You have done the right thing not to ask for reassurance. The more you ignore them the less power that they have. They are JUST you OCD not facts. Thet will be there but you dont have to pay attention to them. I hope that this helps.
- Date posted
- 6y
Wow, this was me in my relationship. Your post has helped me understand where I may have gone wrong in my relationships because I needed my boyfriend to tell me EVERY day that he loves me or else I was so afraid he didn’t. I feel bad now for not trusting him or being to pushy with him needing to affirm with me all the time that I was the one for him. He told me a few weeks ago that he didn’t want me to focus on me loving him all the time because he did love me, he loved me a lot. He brought up the idea of a break (which we are on now) and I agreed too it (one because I was so afraid of being broken up with, and two - the bigger reason why, he was right and even though I didn’t tell him about my OCD, he knew I was suffering from our relationship). He couldn’t give me what I wanted because he needed to support himself and work long hours to make ends meet. As hard as it is knowing I’m not with him anymore, he has also been a pivotal change in my dating behavior because he made me realize that someone can love you so much without ever telling you that they do. Sounds like we’re a little of the same person @sams07. The advice I can give you is, the person is dating you cause the love you and care about you. It is 100% okay to ask for them to reassure you and to have them remind you of what they mean to you. But it may be also helpful to think about how they feel when we do such things all the time, it leaves them wondering if we really trust them. If you start questioning if he loves you, remind yourself that he does and even make a list of every reason why he does love and care about you! And when he gives you a new reason, add on to that list. That way, when you start to feel doubtful you can look at that list, and it’ll be words he genuinely feels towards you. (I always used to read old texts of when he did tell me what I wanted to hear - that always helped too) I know this is so hard for us who have ocd but it’s not impossible. If you don’t feel ready to tell him about your OCD, don’t. But also know that it may help him understand a little more of why you are the way you are.
- Date posted
- 6y
Thank you! This helps :) sometimes it’s hard to differentiate between OCD and if they’re facts... but I figure if it’s on my mind and running around like a hamster wheel, it’s usually OCD
- Date posted
- 6y
Do you ever feel like your partner will cheat on you? And seek reassurance for that as well?
- Date posted
- 6y
j289l- I used to, earlier in our relationship. We’ve been together for a year now. Even now, I’ll have slip ups where if he likes a friends picture on Instagram (that’s a girl) it triggers my old thinking. I confronted him (bc my OCD was plaguing me the other night) and he got really upset. He felt I didn’t trust him. I try to remember conversations we have had regarding trust, and how upset he gets. This enough should guide me into the direction of not bringing up those things. I’m not sure how long you’ve been with your partner, or if they know about your OCD, but it definitely helps to be open with them about it. However, I would not seek assurance from them regarding irrational things, as it can wear on them.
- Date posted
- 6y
akodzic- I’m happy my post/experience has given you some insight! My boyfriend is aware of my OCD. Which has made us stronger but some days it does wear on us, especially during that time of the month! Something that helps me: I have generated a list of irrational thoughts and he checked them off to signify that they’re irrational or true. I refer to that list when I’m feeling doubtful. BUT the only hole in this is that my OCD tends to doubt if those things are still true. But I have to trust it- because like you said, he’s with me because he loves me and cares about me. I should make a list of reasons why he loves me, my therapist has suggested that. Unfortunately, sometimes my OCD doubts those some of those reasons too ? or if I write this list, what if there’s not “enough” reasons? I know this is a lot of my OCD speaking but these are my internal struggles lol
Related posts
- Date posted
- 25w
Hi, I haven’t posted in a while. I’ve been struggling for the past month, it’s been a mix of ocd flare ups and depressive episodes. I recently got into a new relationship, one I was not expecting at all as I had just broken up with my long term boyfriend over the summer and was expecting the cycle of being alone for a few years and then dating again. But anyways, my current boyfriend is amazing and so caring and sweet, I told him before we even started dating about my ocd and how I sometimes need constant reassurance and that it can be a lot to deal with it and that I can become clingy and annoying and he didn’t even bat an eye, he just said he likes me as I am and that he will be able to help and support me. We’re dating long distance rn as I’m finishing up college but we constantly text and video chat/call almost every night. My ocd has been constantly gnawing at that and it’s causing my abandonment issues to flare up horribly, I’ve told him a little bit about my ex boyfriend as he was not a very good person, he was much older than me (12 years) and at the start of our relationship he was amazing and said he could deal with my mental health issues (I know no one is obligated at all) but I would communicate to him that it scares me when he doesn’t talk to me for weeks at a time, and at first he said he would try to be better about that but then it turned into him saying I’m annoying and clingy and that I bother him and that he just wants alone time but during that alone time I wouldn’t hear from him at all for two weeks. He also stopped caring about my interests and said I was annoying when I would talk about them and would even get mad when I tried to talk about my day. Anyways being in this new relationship has caused me to fear that my current boyfriend is going to leave me, lost interest in me or that he’s annoyed with me and hates me, which unfortunately has caused me to give into my compulsion of reassurance so I’ve been asking him a lot “do you still like me?” “We’re still together right?” “Have I annoyed you?” And I hate myself for doing that. He is so sweet and I don’t want to be like this, I don’t want to drain him, i genuinely have never felt this way about anyone I’ve dated but it’s like he was meant to be in my life and we clicked instantly like it felt like we’ve known each other forever and I don’t want to lose him. My avoidance is getting bad and I’m trying to stop myself from pushing him away but I just feel so guilty and ughhhh it’s so frustrating. I just don’t know how to handle this, I want to be with him and I want to make him happy but I hate that my brain works this way.
- Date posted
- 25w
This weekend, my boyfriend came to visit me. Before he arrived, I had so many compulsions—I was constantly seeking reassurance, even talking to ChatGPT right up until he got to my house. When he arrived, I tried to listen to what ChatGPT had told me and focus on being present. Even though I still had intrusive thoughts, I was able to feel better at times—I felt love, I wanted to kiss him, and I had moments of connection. But at the same time, there were moments where he would speak kindly to me or express his feelings, and I would have thoughts like “I don’t care about him” or “I feel nothing.” I didn’t feel the compassion I thought I should, and that scared me. Still, overall, I felt relatively better than usual. I had NOCD uninstalled until now, and on Wednesday, I have my first therapy appointment. But now, I’m doubting whether I even need therapy. I start thinking: “What if I can heal on my own?” or “What if going to therapy is a mistake?” And the worst one: “What if I go and realize I don’t have ROCD, and I actually just don’t like my boyfriend?” My boyfriend keeps trying to help me see things rationally. He told me that I have unrealistic expectations of love and that I don’t need to feel constant affection to be in love. He also told me that if I truly didn’t love him, I wouldn’t be feeling so much distress about this. And logically, I know that’s true, but intrusive thoughts still scream the opposite. After he left, I started feeling irritated with him when he talked through messages on the gc woth me and my best friend, like I couldn’t stand him, and that thought scared me. I also had moments thinking about that boy from school, that my mind was scared if me thinking about that random boy i dont know because a while ago i was scared of looking at other boys, ghinking im a horible gf . When I kissed my boyfriend, sometimes his image popped into my head, and I felt terrible. My boyfriend tells me that since I feel guilty and distressed, it’s proof that I love him—because I wouldn’t be this anxious if I didn’t care. But then I get thoughts saying the exact opposite. It’s like my mind keeps creating arguments to convince me that my worst fear is real. I’m exhausted
- Date posted
- 18w
Longer post, but please, I need some guidance. I thought that my thoughts relating to relationship OCD were taking over. But, my bf started treating me differently. I tried to have a conversation and communicate this worry. He then texted me that he had actually been feeling distant for a month and has been meaning to tell me. But “we’re fine now.” I spiraled. Later in the week, he went quiet after a disagreement. After he promised we were okay and he was okay, I found later he was texting a mutual friend (female) that I was crying again. She said that it was fucking insane and other hurtful things about me. He said he lost his trust with me because I looked through his phone and saw that message even though during the whole relationship we had a mutual understanding that we had nothing to hide from each other and he always assured me that I could look through his phone at anytime. It’s ok for boundaries to change in a relationship, but it wasn’t communicated and I was harshly reprimanded. During the texting chain with the mutual friend he also said that “she just has no idea.” When I addressed this, he then said that for the past month, he actually felt he didn’t want to be in a relationship, but still loved me. I’m ruined. I had the same thoughts in January and knew I loved him. I found out it was ROCD (through this app) and told him the day after the realization because it was eating at me. So him saying I wouldn’t understand and telling other seems unjustified. I would’ve been the most understanding. Any help would be appreciated greatly.
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