- 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
- 23w
Its been around a year now that ive struggled heavily with intrusive thoughts. I haven’t noticed it in my other years, aside from when i was a young kid. I want to get diagnosed with OCD or try to see what my therapist will say. Ive been summing up the courage to speak about this for months now and i have an appointment on the 26th. I feel like im ready to finally talk about it will someone, yet one thing is holding me back. The doubt. I started struggling HEAVILY with OCD symptoms around march of 2024. I mean rumination, compulsions, shame, disgust, etc. It was one of the worsts points of my like and it cared on from January-Late august of 2024. I was literally in distress everyday of my life. I had constant intrusive thoughts that would go away, and unbearable anxiety. Yet around september hit they started getting EASIER to mange. (remember that, they didnt go away, i just wasnt as effected) I was quite happy i could live a little without pain and that carried from Sept-December 2024. But then January hit again, and everything just seems to flow right back to me. I cant stop thinking about how i used to feel, the pain i was in. Everyday my brain wants me to remember the anguish i was put through. I finally decided i will talk about this to my Therapist. My only doubt is that, everything is much easier for me to deal with, and my anxiety isnt as strong. I still have intrusive thoughts and suffer with performing compulsions, but i dont ruminate anymore. That should be a good thing but my brain tells me that means my feelings arent valid, and i dont have OCD cause things are better. Im sorry for this long read, i just need to get this off my chest. How do i talk to my therapist about wanting to get an evaluation, when most of my main hard aspects in OCD are in the past? (AKA the past i suppressed and shut down)Any help is appreciated. 😕
- Date posted
- 22w
I don’t have an official OCD diagnosis, but I will be asking my doctor tomorrow if I can get referred to a psychiatrist to get an official diagnosis. The way I came to the conclusion that what I’m dealing with is OCD is because a month ago I just started having the most horrible disturbing intrusive thoughts that go against all my values and beliefs and attacking the stuff/people I care about the most. Mind you, I have never had anything like this happen in my life. I feel that I have always been someone with a peaceful mind and one of the worst intrusive thoughts I can ever remember having before this happened, was “what happens if I cut my finger right now” while I was cutting fruit. That’s pretty much it. After this whole horrible intrusive thought spiral started happening I was so scared because I have never had such awful intrusive thoughts like this that were the complete opposite of me, it just quite literally started out of NOWHERE, and that’s what was so scary and terrifying. It was like my whole life got turned upside down because of this and I’ve been mainly isolating in my room, feeling so much anxiety and dread and guilt/shame. I get four of the same thoughts and one intrusive image repeating over and over again even if I would not try to think about them, and it caused me so much distress and anxiety that I would be so anxious and cry everyday just thinking how I could ever possibly think such horrible intrusive thoughts like that. It’s caused me insomnia which I’ve never dealt with before and I went three days in a row without being able to sleep no matter how hard I tried (even while taking melatonin). Other days I struggle so much to fall asleep due to the intrusive thoughts being much more present at nighttime, and even when taking melatonin that doesn’t do anything because of my mind being so active and having so much anxiety. Is this what they call an OCD flare up? After constantly looking up all the symptoms of ocd (the more and lesser known ones alike), I noticed there were some symptoms of it that I displayed in childhood when the ocd could’ve been more dormant or mild you could say (skin picking), because once again I have never had such horrible intrusive thoughts like this out of nowhere and constantly repeating in my mind that felt like they were out of my control. I noticed that these intrusive thoughts started on the second day of my menstruation when I was in a lot of pain and was feeling very emotional/stressed. One of the things I’ve heard a lot is that during the menstruation cycle is when ocd flares can happen more often due to the increase in hormones during that time, and I wonder if that’s what happened to me? I’m also overall such a big over thinker and have been for as long as I can remember. I also have had anxiety and depression since middle school as well. Any insight would be very much appreciated 😭
- Date posted
- 22w
I had my second session with a therapist and they told me they don’t think I have OCD. They think that I have just intrusive thoughts. They also said they don’t do diagnosis. I also noticed they did not ask me questions about my different themes.This has made me so confused. Even though I had a terrible fear that a therapist will tell that I don’t have it, (which is the main reason why I had not gone to one) I did suspect I had it because I identify with many of the symptoms. On the website it says that they treat it but I don’t think they are like a specialist. On the first session they described OCD mainly as needing to have things symmetrical and fear of contamination. I have a feeling that they don’t know much about it. I also didn’t mentioned all the themes I think I have because I’m scared to be misunderstood. I am not sure what to do. I can’t afford seeing an OCD therapist at NOCD. Can anyone give an insight, has something similar happened to you? Thank you!
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