I recovered from OCD almost 2 years ago. I struggled immensely with existential OCD, and worried a ton about things like religion, god, the afterlife, etc. I’ve also struggled with and recovered from real event OCD, pure O, and many other themes. I would like to answer any questions anyone has about recovering from OCD! Would love to provide insight and tips and hopefully help as much as I possibly can. Sending you all good vibes

I’ve actually never experienced that, but I’ve heard of it several times! I’m pretty sure it falls under existential OCD. If you wanna elaborate more on the thoughts you’re having about it, feel free!

I’ve def felt that way. Sometimes I’ll look around and is this really real. Or what really is real? I notice it the most when I’m stuck in an OCD cycle constantly questioning everything!!

I’ve never struggled with harm OCD but I can’t imagine how difficult it is to live with. First off, you have to always be compassionate towards yourself when you’re struggling with OCD. Treat yourself the way you would treat a struggling best friend. Also, anytime you feel the need to counter the harm OCD thoughts, remember that doing so is a compulsion and will always make the thoughts worse. Anytime you have intrusive thoughts, try to redirect your attention to your life, as difficult as that may be… and remember that no matter how scary your thoughts are, they don’t automatically tell you anything about the kind of person you are nor do they tell you how you may act. Thoughts can never be proof for or against anything, and having a terrible thought doesn’t automatically mean you will act on it!! So try your best to allow yourself to have these thoughts, they aren’t bad or bad, they’re just thoughts floating through your head at this moment in time. Hang in there, and know that you’re strong!!

This is a great question!! When my OCD themes were at their peak, I would say I would hardly spend any time not ruminating. So there were some days where I was giving into mental compulsions for more than half of the day… but generally, I would say I spent about 3 hours a day on compulsions

@xiiiandreww Thanks for your answer. That's the point were I started going crazy - 2-3h per day. Have you recovered on your own or with a therapist? Do you have any online resource/book or something similar that helped you the most? Something like reminder that you would use if your obsessions will strike again?

@Vesna I was actually able to recover on my own, but in most cases, having a therapist really helps with recovery because it provides you with a structured environment to do exposures. I haven’t used any books to help me recover but I know there are some very helpful ones! I hear great things about “how to stubbornly refuse to be miserable about anything” by Albert Ellis. Also, there are some great Instagram accounts that can give you important tips on dealing with your OCD like @obsessivelyeverafter and @pureochrissie as well. If you don’t have Instagram, just search up Chrissie Hodges on YouTube, she is extremely helpful and makes you feel less alone!! You may know her already but if you don’t, she is someone worth looking into :) also, if you ever have any other questions or need support, you can follow me on Instagram if you have one!