- Date posted
- 4y
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 4y
if you’re suspecting you have ocd i recommended getting diagnosed by an ocd specialist rather than just your regular therapist
- Date posted
- 4y
thanks!! it’s crazy how the thought of finding an ocd specialist didn’t even occur to me haahhaha
- Date posted
- 4y
If you think you have OCD (which is fine that you are not diagnosed many people in this app aren’t that’s okay), your best bet is seeing an OCD specialist. They are really the only mental health professionals trained well enough to recognize, diagnose, and treat OCD. Many people with OCD that see general therapists have therapy horror stories because general therapists don’t understand OCD and can say things that make it worse. I really really suggest you see an OCD specialist. But I understand. Before I could get diagnosed I felt like a fake. Like I was being over dramatic and making up my label for attention because I have some attention issues from poor self esteem. I get it 100%. It’s all cool.
- Date posted
- 4y
thank you so much for this 🥺 hope you feel better about yourself now!
- Date posted
- 4y
I've been dealing with OCD and GAD since I was in 6th grade and I'm 19 now, and what I've learned from all of these years of heavy intrusive thoughts and constant worry is that your bad thoughts most likely aren't actually YOU. if the thought of these intrusive thoughts actually being you scares you to the point of you having horrible anxiety over it and doing excessive research just to prove something to yourself 24/7, you're most likely feeding into the OCD. [TW: harm ocd] That's how I was with my harm ocd for such a long time. My OCD would constantly try to convince me that I was some psychopath serial killer all the time, because when I saw knives or scissors or anything I could consider a weapon, I got urges to hurt myself and others, and I still do now, just not to the same degree. What I didn't realize at the time was how much it scared me. I never actually wanted to hurt people, and I still don't, but it's the fact that I could and the thought of "what of you do it and don't feel guilty?" that took over my brain. What you have to do for yourself is separate the OCD from your normal thoughts. Once you realize the difference between the two and do more research on what you may experience with certain types of OCD, it will really calm your nerves about yourself and who you are. I know it worked for me. Just know that your feelings towards all of this are 100% valid and I hope you only make progress to getting back to having a healthy and happy brain~
- Date posted
- 4y
thank you so much for the insight and positivity! and so sorry you went through all that aaaaa. but thank you again for the advice, it really helped me understand my inner GAD vs. OCD struggle. sending you courage and positivity :]
Related posts
- Date posted
- 19w
I’m trying so hard to feel normal again but i cant i keep feeling like im being dramatic and that my symptoms aren’t real and im tricking everyone, even on here i feel like im tricking you all into believing i have OCD when i don’t. Plus all these other types thoughts im having all meshing together its so overwhelming and i dont know what to do. My therapist appointment isnt until next week and idek what shes gonna tell me or if she’ll even think i have OCD. i keep thinking about my other posts on here and wondering if i even meant what i said in them. this is the worst ive ever felt i think i might even be going through depersonalization or derealization but im not even sure about that i dont even know anything about what im really going through cause ive never been given any kind of formal diagnosis its only ever been depression and social anxiety but ive always had a feeling it was more but i keep doubting myself. maybe if anyone wants to look at some of my other posts and tell me what u think in general? or would that be reassurance seeking? i feel like most of my posts might be but im not sure.. IM NOT SURE ABOUT ANYTHING! this is so annoying
- Date posted
- 18w
Hello, I’m new to this app. I’ve always had an anxious brain, and I’ve had coping mechanisms for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid, from as early as I could spell, until I was probably early teens, I would constantly write words in my head along to the beat of music. It’s such a vivid memory because I never stopped doing it. The word had to perfectly match up to the lyric and I loved that it kept my brain busy. I grew out of that, but felt like good context. My anxiety increased drastically around ages 17-19, and I began therapy. I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety and panic disorder, due to having a panic attack nearly every day at that time. I overcame that as well, and now the panic attacks are every now and then, but the anxiety is constant, and some recent symptoms have led me to believe I might have some form of OCD. Maybe not. I’m trying to understand myself and get better so I joined this app to make sense of things. Lately I’ve been having really intense intrusive thoughts. I’m really embarassed and they make me feel like a bad person. Thoughts pop in my head seemingly out of nowhere. It will be an image of me harming myself or someone else in a really bad way. (Trigger warning) for example the other day I couldn’t shake the image of me putting a knife through my own forehead, although it’s not something I want to do. Or I’ll imagine someone killing me. I imagine my loved ones dying often. The thoughts feel so out of my control it’s insane. I hate them. Another persistent issue that isn’t as new is replaying social scenarios. I’m a hairstylist so this one is difficult since I meet a bunch of new people every day. I obsess over how I act and if people like me. I will impulsively say things all the time and they will haunt me for weeks. I question even my closest friends and family who show their love. I find myself so angry and numb and like I have so much built up emotion and a busy mind always. While doing my job I spiral really badly if any little thing goes wrong and it’s embarassing. I know there’s more but I can’t think of it now. I just want to feel better and like I’m not constantly battling my mind.
- Date posted
- 14w
Some background: I’m a woman in my 30s who’s been struggling to find the right diagnosis for years. Since 2022, I’ve had multiple psych hospital stays, and with each stay came a different diagnosis and different sets of medications: Bipolar II, CPTSD, MDD with psychotic features, “high functioning BPD,” and most recently, Schizoaffective Disorder (depressive type). Before all of that happened, I had been seeing a therapist for CPTSD and AuDHD traits for 2 years, but after they left the practice, I struggled to find someone I trusted again. Most of my breakdowns happened during my last relationship. Looking back, I was in survival mode with them, leaving who *I* am behind. I got to the point where I started doubting my own reality from the abuse. This eventually added up and landed me in my first episode of psychosis. That combined with my attempts is what got me my schizoaffective diagnosis. After finally leaving that relationship 1.5 years ago, I’ve slowly rebuilt my life: new town, new job, new friends. Many of my old symptoms (major ones) haven’t returned, which makes me believe I may have been misdiagnosed due to reliving past childhood trauma and stress responses from the abuse. Through all of this, I’ve felt like nothing ever truly fit. I journal, I reflect, I replay the recordings and I’ve even watched old vlogs –the puzzle pieces still don’t come together. It’s left me feeling like I’ll never really know what’s going on, and I’ve started to fear that my diagnoses will just keep stacking up without ever leading to effective treatment. Recently, I opened up to a friend about this. She mentioned that her neighbor went through something similar not exactly like me but she thought it would give me a starting point—multiple diagnoses that never felt right—until a new doctor finally identified it as OCD. That one diagnosis changed everything for her. It made me realize I really don’t know much about OCD beyond the stereotypes. I didn’t know OCD could involve intrusive thoughts, rumination, or mental compulsions. My friend encouraged me to look into it, especially as I start searching for a new therapist. Facebook and Google lead me here… So now I’m wondering: could OCD be a better explanation for what I’ve been experiencing all these years? Questions for the community: 1. What steps did you take to find out if OCD was what you were dealing with? 2. If you had a long history of misdiagnoses, how did you finally find a clinician who got it right? 3. How did you advocate for yourself when people dismissed your concerns? 4. Is there anything you wish you had done earlier in your OCD journey? Thank you so much if you made it this far. I’m really grateful for this space and just want to start finding answers and the right kind of help.
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