If you give into a compulsion, ruminate, seek reassurance,.etc. on your recovery journey, don't feel bad. Celebrate the small wins..celebrate delaying a compulsion, stopping your rumination in your tracks. It takes time to retrain your brain. You will get better and be the beacon of hope for others.

I have really started to take control of my compulsions and im starting to string together better days! Still not great days or even good, but they are better!!! I have controlled my outward compulsions (googling, research, reassurance, checking) the past couple of days and felt the positive impact of that. But unfortunately, I am realizing that the rumination is still constant. My sexuality and relationship are the only two things constantly on my brain, and if they aren’t I freak out and wonder why im not thinking about them! Anyone have any advice on how to deal with the rumination. Sometimes I don’t even notice im doing it, but it’s taking up 90% of my day. Once I start to tackle this I think I may make some real big progress! Hope everyone is fighting today! ❤️

I’m sure it’s been a rough few days for everyone, maybe even weeks or months. Hell, this last YEAR has been up and down for me! But I wanted to take this moment to congratulate everyone for coming this far. It’s no small feat! OCD is a killer, and it’s good at its job! The fact that all of you are still here fighting is a testament to how strong you are! We may not have the answers or explanation to everything, and that’s okay. We have to stay in the present, not the past or the future. Remember to practice being uncertain! It’s hard to remember the good days we’ve had despite all these horrible ones! There’s no scar to show for happiness, but we’ve got plenty to show for misery and pain. Keep hanging on, you’ve got this!

I’ve only posted here once and deleted the app for a while, and I still struggle daily with my OCD. In the past two years or so though, I have improved a significant amount despite oftentimes still finding it hard to feel the significance. One thing I have realized, is that unplugging from social media completely other than apps I can easier curate like substack and Youtube has helped tremendously, along with journaling. Keeping my screen time low and avoiding things like ChatGPT (which I had a big problem with for a while, that thing is a reassurance vacuum) has allowed me to better fight against my compulsions and/or Pure O. The one thing I’m lacking is a support system, but I am finally more comfortable with leaving my house and I’m taking steps to get myself back out into the world in hopes that I can get a job with adequate enough insurance to get proper treatment and maybe make some friends. I just wanted to vent I guess in a positive way, because I’m more prone to pessimism by nature. Don’t give up on yourselves, a small win is still a win. Reminding myself of that too.