- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 4y
just conquer your fear. go out and meet new people
Thank you ❤ definitely trying! Not always sure where though in a small town but I have been going to a small group and music night so it's a start 🤷
I totally feel this! I'm 19½ now and my ocd and GAD really kicked in when I was in 6th grade, so about 7 years ago, and it made growing up so much harder.. I lost all of my social skills because I isolated myself for years, and I quit my old job because of my depression and anxiety last July and haven't been able to get another job since because my anxiety is just THAT bad. I will say though, making online friends was definitely the first step I took and it helped me a lot! I've lost and gained some amazing friends online and it's easier for me to be myself with someone I've never met, so it's helped me with people irl too! before COVID hit, like Jan-Feb 2020, I started making up for lost time by training myself to go to places that made my nervous for various reasons, because I've always had issues with going into big public places like the mall, and I was finslly able to start going out for hours with low anxiety. COVID messed that up for me big time though, because I couldn't go anywhere for like 5 months but 🤪🤪🤪🤪 it did help me when I could use that tip. As for possible relationships? Honestly that's still a grey area for me too. I've had a bf for almost 10 months now, but I deal with ROCD and I've caused a lot of unnecessary problems, but I also try to remember how I felt about past situations with my ROCD and how I can handle them differently the next time something similar happens. At the end of the day, I'm definitely in the same boat as you, and I do hope you can find things thay work for you! I know how exhausting this is, but I know you can do it!
Thank you so much ☺ typing all that out was so nice! I definitely have tried to get out of my comfort zone and have been able to go to a music night for college students in my community. It has been a lot of fun but also scary as people often talk in circles of people and that TERRIFIES me lol BUT I keep going! I have also tried to find things where I can be social that are a bit more comfortable for me. My friend has a Bible study group and I think I may try to join because I prefer smaller groups of people. I am hoping I can find a job this next semester. I am in college and there are jobs on campus. I just hope I can find something not too anxiety inducing because I am afraid employers wouldn't understand. I just have been super worried about my future lately. I am afraid I will never be able to get a job and will be alone forever because I'm scared of talking to guys lol but I keep trying to take things one day at a time and go to therapy 😅 you seem like a great person and I am glad to know I am not the only one who feels this way!
@Anyonomous I'm the same way! big groups of people are definitely NOT for me. I like to hang with no more than 3 people at a time lmao but a bible study group sounds great! it's definitely a good way to connect with people on multiple levels. but I'm the same way with jobs :( I was at my old job for over a year and I had so many anxiety attacks while working, and there was even one time where a customer pulled me aside and gave me tips on how to deal with it and I was just 🥺🥺🥺🥺 but it's always difficult for me to he somewhere where I can't sit down, so that was a big problem for me tbh and the masks did NOT help (even though I'm very pro-mask). but I think getting an easy job on campus would be a good idea! just make sure to ask your employer/s all the important questions so yk EXACTLY what you're getting into, because idk if you're like this too, but surprises are not for me 👁👄👁🤚🏻 anddddd about the therapy, same! I'm actually onto my 3rd therapist now and she's doing everything I wish my old therapists could've done for me. I hope that's going well for you! and whew I feel you on that relationship stuff. before I met my current bf, I was lowkey just kinda hoing around because guys kept f**king me over and I got terrified at the thought of catching feelings and doing actual flirting, because I trusted no maN- but I definitely think it's important to recognize what you want and need and that'll help u weed em out and find a good one for you when the time is right <3 but there's no rush to get into a relationship asap~ and you're definitely not the only one! living with GAD is so much worse than I can explain to people, like this is exhausting 😓 but I always try to keep the faith, especially for other people! you got this!!!!! ❤
@amberellal Yes! It so exhausting! Like anxiety is a full time job 😅 but I am just going to keep trying haha. And I am on my second therapist! My first one was nice but knew nothing about OCD which was what I needed most help with at the time. Now I have one on here who is great and my symptoms have gone way down! I also have another through my school who is helping me with my more general, social stuff (and she's free so....). Honestly I'm just so grateful for the help I have gotten bc if not who knows how much worse I would be. I'm happy you have found a counselor that works for you too! It can be sooo hard to find the right fit!!
@Anyonomous EXACTLY, it literally is a full time job 😓🤚🏻 but YAY IM SO PROUD OF U! ik I don't know you but it makes me so happy when someone dealing with this kind of mental illness can make progress, because ik how hard and frustrating it is for a lot of people ^u^ I'm so happy your therapist is working out for you and getting you the help you need! my therapist is definitely doing the same and I'm so grateful for her. my first two therapist were those classic "and how does that make you feel?" 24/7 therapists and never really wanted to understand why I felt the way I did, yk? but it is definitely hard to find the right one 😓😓😓😓 for a while I wanted to give up but I'm so glad I didn't. I've only been seeing my current therapist for about a month now and I've already made so much progress in some areas. not so much with my anxiety or ocd, but more with my physical issues that fed into my mental issues. but I hope for nothing but the best for you and I hope you only see improvement! you got this!
@amberellal Aw thank you so much 😭 ur so sweet. I wish the same to you!! Thanks for being so kind and supportive!! We need more people like that in the world ❤
@Anyonomous you're just as sweet! and right back at you~ I'm here to support everybody, because I know how tough this is 😓🤚🏻 so I just wanna uplift everybody and give them that extra push and confidence boost~
This is a daunting, but achieveable thing... jus remember ocd will be with you anywhere u go, the key it to recognise when it's most likely to show up, (this isn't always obvious, ik) but the more you notice it.. the better you can handle it. Everything else is your life, dont let ocd stop you from living. ❤
That is so true ❤ I have got to quit letting OCD run my life and just start living it even if OCD runs in the background
Same… I lost pretty much half of my teen years due to OCD, anxiety, terrible teachers, and a terrible paychiatrist. I isolated myself at college for the past 2 years and now I’m becoming more social but it’s still difficult for me to talk to people because it’s so scary. Plus, 2 of my closest friends moved away from my young adults church group and now I just feel really lonely. Meeting new people by myself is like running naked in the middle of a city. Sometimes it’s so bad that I can’t make eye contact or turn my face towards them when speaking or listening. Most of the problems stemmed from horrible social experiences I’ve had in the past and now I can be super wary of people including my friends in general ao they don’t backstab or leave me for their own sakes.
Same :( my teen years were mainly spent anxious and suffering from undiagnosed OCD. College was a new chance for me and I felt like I blew. I went to a super small H.S. (graduated with 4 other people 😅) and so I kind if isolated in college. I was commuting from half and hour away and it was super hard to make friends. I feel like I am branching out more now but I may be graduating a year early (its my Jr. year of college) and that freaks me out bc i feel like I am just starting to try and make friends 😔 i TOTALLY relate to the running naked in the city thing. Exactly how I feel! I am so scared people will hate me so I am scared to try!
Hi ❤️ I’m really struggling right now I’m in my sophomore year of Highschool and I’ve finally started planning or thinking abt my future (for context I was extremely depressed and suicidal from 6-9th grade) After conquering my depression this is a huge leap for me and I’m proud of myself ❤️ But there’s something still holding me down :( and I’m not sure what to do anymore that thing is OCD. Since 6th grade I have had strong and invasive intrusive thoughts all the time they scare me so bad and make me feel as though I’m not even real anymore :( I’m sick of taking the time to do ridiculous compulsions to rid or ease these thoughts it’s a waste of time and energy and it hurts me so bad I feel like I will never get to just live my life without this :( How can I plan my future when I can’t even find myself in this mess of anxiety 💔 I’m so tired of fighting my mental health it’s been years from anxiety attacks to sh to survived suicide attempts (I got help dw❤️🩹) and recovery there. Just to be thrown into a storm of awful scary sickening thoughts day and night-when can I just be a normal teenager and possibly a happy adult? How do I conquer this so I can love myself to the fullest and live my life free and happy? :( ❤️❤️🩹 I’m so scared to talk to my parents about it I’m ashamed of my thoughts and every time I bring it up they just say I shouldn’t be diagnosing myself or it’s just ADHD. It really really hurts me they have no idea how awful this feels and it makes me feel so alone sometimes 💔
i’ve been dealing with SOCD for 5 years and truly believe it has altered my life completely😀. i haven’t been properly diagnosed but the child therapist I had when i was in hs kind of hinted to me i had something more than just plain anxiety. i’ve also dealt with intrusive thoughts all throughout my childhood and as my family life got worse my anxiety got worse annnd i started getting more and more thoughts that wouldn’t leave me. I remember spending months not swallowing right and practically starving myself bc i kept thinking i was going to choke. i also rmbr spending months worrying ab death and dying EVERYDAY. it woke up with horrible anxiety and it was all i could think about. i can still rmbr sitting in my grandpas chair and just staring off and thinking “im going to die one day” “idk what’s going to happen” “is god real” “i don’t want to die” “what if there is no heaven” and so on. when the socd thoughts started i was 15. i searched around online for help and found reddit and i was like “omg yes finally people who understand and are going through EXACTLY what im going through.” finding that community and this app has helped me so much. anyway i had such a horrible time during my teenage years bc of all the intrusive thoughts about my sexuality, my relationship (glad that’s over), and some other things here and there. i was so so depressed and i felt no one around me understood how fucking awful i felt. i woke up everyday anxious, depressed, numb, and exhausted. when i started college i told my old therapist that even tho im extremely afraid of death i just didnt like living. i would cry in my car before class and just sob ab how awful i felt. although my mental health has gotten SO much better as time went on and the thoughts haven’t been as frequent im definitely not doing well. i am literally stuck. i’m still in college but i don’t know what to do with myself. those years of anxiety and depression have left me STUCK. im so much happier? and i can manage the thoughts way better but i don’t want to do anything. i only talk to 2 friends (literally lost so many great friendships), i RARELY drive bc im afraid ill die in a car crash (only to school and back), i don’t go out, i don’t ask for help at school, i avoid conversations, i avoid ppl in general, i don’t put in that much effort into school, i don’t have hobbies, i don’t want to do anything, i literally have the worst social anxiety now, im afraid of everything. i feel like the only reason im “ok” now is bc i’ve avoided literally everything. i’ve basically spent three years of my life doing nothing. i’m not happy with where i am in my life but im so scared to do anything. i miss who i was before all of this. i’ve been dealing with anxiety all my life and ik my childhood and early teen years made me like this. i didn’t know how to deal with the things i went through/saw as a little kid and i guess everything exploded in my teen years. but i want to be better i want to start LIVING. i’m definitely happier than before but im not living. what frustrates me is i refuse to do anything about it. i know a big reason why i don’t experience as many intrusive thoughts is bc i avoid everything 😭. ik what i have to do to get better and turn my life around BUT I WONT DO ANYTHING. idk how to explain this but its not laziness i feel like my body is exhausted. i think im just so traumatized from feeling so fucking horrible for so many years i just shut down ykwim?? i don’t have any libido, i don’t find ppl attractive, i can’t get myself to do the things im interested in (so many books r piled on my floor), i rot all day, i push off my responsibilities till the last minute, i can’t even get myself to go on a small walk. i don’t know where i was going w this but if someone who’s going through the same thing sees this ur not alone. i just needed to get this out. hopefully one day things will get better.
I feel like OCD has taken up a massive chunk of my life. I don't really have anything else, most of my time has been spent with obsessions for years. I'm 21 so I know I'm young and everything but that is time I won't get back, and it's had aeasurable impact on my future, with stuffike grades, or just missing out on social stuff due to obsessions. I wasn't even aware of what was wrong with me for so long.
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond