- Date posted
- 4y
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 4y
Two big things that keep me in the recovery path. One is: I’ve changed my lifestyle. I go to sleep most of the time relatively earlier. I do yoga and meditation almost every day and exercise. I keep myself busy with engaging work, nature, and a support system of like minded people. The second big thing: This is the hardest one, because in the western industrialized world we are taught we are our ego and we are our identit, but- I have worked to eliminate narratives about who I am. OCD loves narratives. The second you say “im such and such” is the second OCD questions it. I’ve become more of a chameleon. “I am that I am.” OCD can’t cling to you if you don’t spend time defending your identity. “I’m a good person.” “I’m a heterosexual” “i love my partner.” All those things cause ocd to question yourself. But when you seperate from the narrative you learn to just be. And when you learn to just be- you can enjoy everything. And of course erp, and acceptance of feelings and thoughts really helps me. As well as a lot of self compassion and reminder that life is finite, so just let it go.
- Date posted
- 4y
Wow. Thank you so much
- User type
- Staff
- Date posted
- 4y
Recovery is a process and an imperfect one at that. You might find support through our community groups- they're a great way to get support while you navigate recovery. It's easy to get caught up on "what if"s about the past- but that's simply another attempt of OCD to control your life! It's important to have self-compassion and recognize those ruminations for what they are. It might help to spend some time focusing on your values - the reason why you wanted to recover from OCD in the first place!
- Date posted
- 4y
Why don’t you sign up for it again?
- Date posted
- 4y
The finances. I did it twice already.
- Date posted
- 4y
@Rose I would call around to ERP therapists and see if you can negotiate price. I only pay $20 a session
- Date posted
- 4y
@Maybe,MaybeNot Wow. I have gotten in debt since my onset of ocd. Gone through several therapist and at first I didn't know what I had so lots of doctors and tests, etc.
- Date posted
- 4y
@Rose Yep I just keep calling around until I get what I want lol. Lots of private practices will do what they call a sliding scale fee. You just have to ask for it and tell them what you can afford. NOCD does not do that.
Related posts
- Date posted
- 23w
(Long read) hello everyone. i was out of the country for about 3-4 months and traveling. my ocd was not that bad at all and I was able to handle it even if it came up. on my way back home, it immediately started. i have learned how to handle it better, but i am more sad and just “awaiting” for something bad to happen. for example, i have sexual themed ocd. pocd and family related stuff, and also my ocd targeted my pets for about a year and it manifested into compulsions that disturbed me and made me not want to be around my cats. now that i am around my cats, i feel like “what if i harm them or do something bad?” or “what if you do those weird compulsions that happened before?” , when i look back on the compulsions that happened, it doesn’t feel like me and it was clearly driven by ocd, but it makes me worry i am just a sick person. i know myself and i know im not, but i had such a weird childhood and then ocd from 15 years old and up. so when these weird compulsions had happened , whether it was for the pet ocd theme or pocd or the family ocd, it feels like some sort of proof. anyways, i feel a bit for content with myself but i know how real ocd can feel and i just remember feeling so hopeless and suici da l, i just don’t want to go through that again. i take a more spiritual route of life and healing, and i wonder if anyone has some deep spiritual warmups or practices i could do to maybe open up my mind more? maybe to realize this is all in the mind? but also to not fight it… Not fight it meaning not let it take over my life. i racked up so much debt in therapy and i truly think i can get through this alone i just need a bit of help. but i dunno. any advice would help! thanks everyone ☀️
- Date posted
- 23w
i feel the need to say sorry because i’m posting yet again. i’m having a REALLY DIFFICULT episode of ocd that i haven’t had for a few months now. i experience contamination ocd everyday and have constant anxiety attacks, however because that’s so normal to me and doesn’t affect anyone but myself, it doesn’t affect me in the same way harm ocd does. i haven’t had to deal with really bad harm ocd thoughts for a good bit now so i’m struggling so bad right now. if anyone has seen my previous posts (which i’m sure you have), this came about over a small change that happened a couple weeks ago. it’s now blossoming into a full episode. it’s making me feel paralyzed and not want to do anything, but i know in the past i had to force myself to distract myself by actually doing things. i’m supposed to hang out with my friend tomorrow, but i’m so close to cancelling because i feel like i can’t do it. my physical symptoms are also worse than what i feel like i’m used to and it’s terrifying me into thinking i’m gonna get sick. i just don’t know how to get through it. it feels like impending doom and constant panic. i just want to feel like myself again and happy
- Date posted
- 20w
I will preface by saying I am not diagnosed OCD, as I can't afford to see therapists or psychiatrists at this time. But given the things I've gone through, I'm pretty much convinced it's what I'm dealing with. I never really saw it coming. As a kid I always had health issues. Sick all the time, spent a lot of my very young years in and out of hospitals. In recent years as I've become an adult, health anxiety started creeping in. I spent my teenage years depressed, anxious and suicidal, both passively and actively. I engaged in self destructive behaviors in an attempt to end my life quicker. I left a toxic home environment and began my journey to improve my life, as I have a significant other that I want to stay on this planet for. I began lifting weights and exercising, eating better, and attempting to improve myself day by day. I didn't even realize it happening, but over time I started caring more and more about my health. Avoiding certain foods, making my diet stricter, and ensuring I did the right things. While it was good for my body in the short term, long term it seems it really affected my mental. As I started to feel better, I noticed that the times where I wasn't feeling 100% were very stressful. I'd start to worry about developing diseases. Diabetes, appendicitis, cancer, any number of rare and deadly diseases i could discover on Google. It got worse and worse as time went on. I'd spend money on things to test my body. glucose monitor, thermometer, supplements to ensure I was healthy. mental compulsions began (which i didn't know where compulsions at the time). Well, it all culminated at its peak in the last few months. Every minor bodily symptom, no matter how normal or common or frequent, became a life threatening warning. Constant googling, ruminating, checking and reassurance seeking, which at the time I didn't know was what I was doing. Then, at the end of May, I did get sick. And suddenly all of my obsessions and compulsions solidified themselves as real and premonitions that were true. I started spiraling. Avoiding social events, or anything that was outside of my room. Barely managing to go to work some days. Bringing my compulsions to work as well, sneaking them in when I could. Every day was anxiety riddled. I became exhausted. Sleeping for 10 hours, waking up still tired, coming home having no energy to do anything. It convinced me even more that I was getting sick again. I was getting suicidal again and contemplating it very often. I then noticed my Instagram feed getting filled more and more with OCD related posts and ads, I guess i was unconsciously finding and engaging with them. They described exactly what I was going through, and still am going through. I'm on day 4 of my recovery after learning some ways to help myself. I'm catching my thought patterns, learning to allow the uncertainty, and avoiding my avoidant tendencies. I removed the batteries from my compulsions and put them out of sight. I still am learning my mental compulsions and how to deal with them. I'm engaging with the things I would avoid now despite how I feel. I'm still riddled with anxiety and the OCD thoughts are very loud and frequent. But I'm feeling more in control and like I can handle the thoughts better. I'd love any advice people can give as well. I want my life back.
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