- Date posted
- 3y ago
- Date posted
- 3y ago
Mine is a bit of a different presentation. It is somewhat episodic or it waxes and wanes. I had my first episode when I was 7 and convinced that I was contaminated with poison and that I subsequently was going to die and kill all of my family. That lasted for a few months until my avoidance behaviors stopped. I didn’t have another episode until I was 12 and became convinced that I was possessed by a demon and going to kill my family. That one was really intense but lasted a shorter period of time. Then I experienced mild levels of depression and significant generalized anxiety throughout high school until I had a terrible episode of ROCD after a traumatic experience when I was 18. Since then I have had significantly higher levels of anxiety with some compulsive behaviors and avoidance and also have been going to therapy. It wasn’t until two years later after that I was diagnosed by my psychologist with OCD (which was just a month ago) as I had a bad episode this summer that incapacitated me for a while and I’m working through at the moment but I am doing better at the moment. I wish you all of the best with your journey!!!
- Date posted
- 3y ago
I cant imagine having to deal with such a difficult OCD thought at just the age of 7. I respect your resilience and hope that you're able to overcome OCD in the future. Best of Luck!
- Date posted
- 3y ago
My OCD was subclinical as a child. My OCD at that time was contamination based. I think my parents had chalked it up to being a personality thing or me being sensitive, but as a child I genuinely remember being afraid of getting contaminated by germs and dirt. Cleaning my room was a nightmare and I would often feel tingly after cleaning. Like I would legitimately feel like I was contaminated and I would have to wash until the tingles went away. My OCD didn’t become clinical until I was 14 though. That’s when I got SO OCD and it was very severe. At 15 I started having general sexual OCD. 16 I got scrupulousity and real event. Now, 19 going on 20, I just struggle with all of them except contamination. When I was 15, I saw someone who was completely unqualified in diagnosing and treating OCD. They dismissed me and didn’t give me help, but I ended up going back to them during my senior year of high school. I had begged my mom to let me see an OCD specialist but she refused to believe me so she took me back to someone who couldn’t even treat me. They did talk therapy which doesn’t help OCD. I did get medication, but I really needed therapy. I like to think ages 16-17 I had mild-moderate OCD. At age 18, it became severe again. I ended up having to get my own therapist through NOCD after my spike. I was doing well, but recently I’ve been doing bad again. Between being in college, dealing with family problems, having complications with medication, and now only doing therapy once a month, it’s been horrible. Two months ago my OCD would’ve been mild maybe even subclinical. Now it’s moderate.
- Date posted
- 3y ago
Argh Its always so saddening to hear to someone deal with Incompetent therapists. Im so sorry that you had to go through that, without the support of a parent nonetheless . Balancing this situation is commendable, I actually dropped out. I hope that what your experiencing is the worst of it and that nothing but tranquility awaits you. P.S Ponyo is an amazing movie
- Date posted
- 3y ago
Mine started when I was around 8. I was so scared because I had awful thoughts about stabbing myself, my parents, or even strangling my baby brother. I also worried about calling my dad swear words that randomly came to my mind. I had no idea it was OCS. Many years later, I got a boyfriend. Everything was perfect and amazing and I couldn't believe how lucky I was to find such an amazing guy who fit me perfectly. A few weeks into my relationship, all hell broke loose. I started worrying about everything. That I was gonna hurt him, murder him, or leave him....just like the thoughts I've had as a little eight year old. I started doing more research, panicking on if I was going insane. Then I found out about hard ocd and relationship ocd. It escalated super quickly from 0-a million in a span of days and started affecting my daily life. More ocd themes popped up like sexual ocd, sexual orientation ocd, and a few more. After a few weeks of constant thoughts and stress and anxiety, I got officially diagnosed with ocd of many different themes at an OCD center. Thankfully, my boyfriend understands my condition and doesn't get mad or anything with stuff I think. He's so understanding and he tries his best to help support me as I try and get through this tough time. I'm gonna get ERP soon hopefully so this nightmare can be over!!
- Date posted
- 3y ago
*OCD *harm
- Date posted
- 3y ago
My story is kind of complicated. I had my first intrusive thought at the age of 8. There are some themes that I have had for many years. Some last for weeks or even months. I am 45 years. Up until about 3 months ago, OCD wasn't even on my radar. I thought OCD was just handwashing and being neat and organized. I never had either. But in July, I heard a podcast. The host was interviewing a woman who has OCD. I was shocked to realize that I had many of the same thoughts as the guest. I threw myself into researching OCD to convince myself I didn't have it. But it had the opposite effect. Once, I knew what to look for, I recognized various themes over the course of my life. But I started to doubt I really had it. So much so that when I had my 90 min assessment, I was convinced my counselor would tell me I didn't meet the criteria for OCD. Instead, I got a diagnosis. I threw myself into ERP. I made rapid progress. Honestly, ERP is one of the hardest things I have ever done. Some of the exposures I did were brutal. But it works. I am well on my way to recovery. My OCD is starting to fade into the background. My only regret is not starting treatment sooner. But I believed everyone struggled the way I did. I had no idea that what I was experiencing wasn't normal. Just prior to starting treatment, I was at a very low point. I felt hopeless and like nothing would ever change. Before I knew I had OCD, I did about 10 years of talk therapy. I would go weekly for up to 2 years. I never made any progress. I did everything I was supposed. I would eventually get frustrated and quit. Even switching counselors didn't help. I felt worse at the end than I did at the beginning. Its like I was trying to put together a puzzle. But a lot of the pieces were missing. I had a few pieces that kind of fit together. Once I added the OCD pieces, everything started clicking and the puzzle was finally completely. It looked completely different than I thought it would. But it all fit together. I have made more progress in 3 months with my NOCD therapist than I did in years of regular therapy. Its amazing the difference applying the correct treatment to the correct problem can make.
Related posts
- Date posted
- 20w ago
So I've had OCD since I was a child. Like really young. The first intrusive thought I can remember was when I was 5. It just keeps getting worse and lately they've been making me physically ill or throwing me into extreme panic attacks again ( ones where I can't move my body ) the other night I thought God was trying to kill me because I was thinking about ending myself from OCD+ life issues but in reality I was just having a panic attack😭😭it affects me daily. It gets a little better with therapy but I don't see therapy coming into my life any time soon and I'm not even sure if I would want to go (for multiple reasons). To wrap this up if you have severe ocd can you tell me what it's like?? I don't want to label anything without proper research and hearing others perspectives. Thank you!! <3 (My profile says all of my subtypes if that helps any)
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 13w ago
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?
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 10w ago
Hi everyone, I’m Andrea and I am a member of the Intake Team here at NOCD. In junior high, I was known as the “aneurysm girl” because I was convinced any small headache meant I was dying. At just 12 years old, I read something that triggered my OCD, and from that moment on, my brain latched onto catastrophic health fears. Any strange sensation in my body felt like proof that something was seriously wrong. I constantly sought reassurance, avoided being alone, and felt trapped in an endless cycle of fear. Over time, my OCD shifted themes, but health anxiety was always there, lurking in the background. I turned to drinking to numb my mind, trying to escape the fear that never let up. Then, in 2016, everything spiraled. I was sitting at work, feeling completely fine, when suddenly my vision felt strange—something was “off.” My mind convinced me I was having a stroke. I called an ambulance, launching myself into one of the darkest periods of my life. I visited doctors multiple times a week, terrified I was dying, yet every test came back normal. The fear never loosened its grip. For years, I cycled in and out of therapy, desperately trying to find answers, but no one recognized what was really happening. I was always told I had anxiety or depression, but OCD was never mentioned. I was suicidal, believing I would never escape the torment of my mind. It wasn’t until 2022—after years of struggling, hitting rock bottom, and finally seeking specialized OCD treatment—that I got the right diagnosis. ERP therapy at NOCD was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it saved my life. Today, I’m 34, sober, and living a life I never thought was possible. Do I still have hard days? Absolutely. But I am no longer a prisoner to my fears. The thoughts still come, but they don’t control me anymore. They don’t dictate my every move. Life isn’t perfect, but it no longer knocks me off my feet. If you’re struggling with health OCD or somatic OCD, I see you. I know how terrifying and isolating it can be. But I also know that it can get better. If you have any questions about health & somatic OCD, ERP, and breaking the OCD cycle, I’d love to tell you what I’ve learned first hand. Drop your questions below, and I’ll answer all of them!
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