Meditation has decreased my OCD by upto 70-80% in just 10 days. I suffer from Harm OCD. I have had depressive episodes of OCD where I couldn't even have the energy to walk. Been meditating since 10 days and the result have been more profound then I ever anticipated. My rumination has decreased by 90%. When I used to get intrusive thoughts, I would get totally consumed by them but now it feels like I am floating above them. The anxiety is still there but this time it feels more like I can observe it from above and eventually it dissipates. I have also been happier than I was even before I got diagnosed with OCD. But please, if you want to meditate don't start meditating with the intent of getting rid of OCD because with that thinking you won't. Meditation should be done for the meditation itself. Just like when you listen to music, the music itself is the point and not the end or the beginning. You need to have more meaning to it. For me, meditation was more about leading a spiritual life and on the path of experiencing enlightenment. If you are meditating to remain healthy, I am sorry, that's not how it works. Meditation is not a pill you take to get healthy and become happier, they are the by product of it. Like I said, don't meditate with the intent of getting anything out of it. This is why, spirituality gives more meaning to the meditation. I can suggest you some sources to get started if you're interested. But please do take care of the above. This may not 100% gurantee you will be able to decrease your OCD but I believe that it will and only if you understand the above and commit to doing it. Ah... It's a relief indeed! Meditation has transformed my mind. Don't mean to exaggerate but I know, I can feel how much of an impact it made. Being able to concentrate on task without having to ruminate on these thoughts has been the greatest feeling of relief. “To remain stable is to refrain from trying to separate yourself from a pain because you know that you cannot. Running away from fear is fear, fighting pain is pain, trying to be brave is being scared. If the mind is in pain, the mind is pain. The thinker has no other form than his thought. There is no escape.” - Alan Watts

Looking back, I realize I’ve had OCD since I was 7. though I wasn’t diagnosed until I was 30. As a kid, I was consumed by fears I couldn’t explain: "What if God isn’t real? What happens when we die? How do I know I’m real?" These existential thoughts terrified me, and while everyone has them from time to time, I felt like they were consuming my life. By 12, I was having daily panic attacks about death and war, feeling untethered from reality as depersonalization and derealization set in. At 15, I turned to drinking, spending the next 15 years drunk, trying to escape my mind. I hated myself, struggled with my body, and my intrusive thoughts. Sobriety forced me to face it all head-on. In May 2022, I finally learned I had OCD. I remember the exact date: May 10th. Reading about it, I thought, "Oh my God, this is it. This explains everything." My main themes were existential OCD and self-harm intrusive thoughts. The self-harm fears were the hardest: "What if I kill myself? What if I lose control?" These thoughts terrified me because I didn’t want to die. ERP changed everything. At first, I thought, "You want me to confront my worst fears? Are you kidding me?" But ERP is gradual and done at your pace. My therapist taught me to lean into uncertainty instead of fighting it. She’d say, "Maybe you’ll kill yourself—who knows?" At first, it felt scary, but for OCD, it was freeing. Slowly, I realized my thoughts were just thoughts. ERP gave me my life back. I’m working again, I’m sober, and for the first time, I can imagine a future. If you’re scared to try ERP, I get it. But if you’re already living in fear, why not try a set of tools that can give you hope?

Medication for OCD? Hello all, 19 male here, this seems like a cool community that isn’t nearly as triggering as reddit. I have pretty severe bouts of existential thinking or fear of going crazy ( psychosis ) after some pretty heavy mushroom trips a few years ago, I know logically I should be fine but I do know what it’s like to lose it and it’s scary. Currently I deal with relationship focused OCD, it’s all day from before I even open my eyes. I want things to work out with my girlfriend badly. Also I can come close to a panic attack sometimes which perpetuates everything. Anyway, I mention the fear of going crazy because the way my anxiety/derealization makes me feel is that I’m not mentally stable cause I feel out of it or unreal. I saw that a lot of anxiety and depression medication can cause psychosis and I feel like I could use some help in getting ahead of my OCD because the compulsions are had not to give into when I’m in such distress/not knowing. Plus overall I just feel like I have no idea how I feel about close to anything. Anyone relate about that ?

I want to beat OCD because I have seen and felt the benefits of clearing my brain from unnecessary, pointless, thoughts. OCD is like 0 calorie food. It’s pointless. No nutrition or benefits come from my obsessions or compulsions. I don’t care to have answers to everything anymore. I catch myself just trying to stress myself out so that I have some worry to feed on. But like I said, it’s a 0 calorie food. I get nothing from it but wasted time and energy. My brain feels more spacious when I’m not consumed by OCD. I’m present. My personality has room to be herself without making space for bullshit. I tell myself now that worry is poison. I think Willie Nelson was the person I got that quote from? Anyways, that imagery of worries being poison for the mind has been transformative for me. I’m evolving. 💖 Thanks NOCD community.