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I’ve known I’ve had anxiety for years but until a week ago I’d never even considered that I might have OCD because sadly like most people I fell for the stereotype that it meant you had to lock the door 10 times or wash your hands repeatedly or the world would end. For most of my life I’ve had arguments in my own head for hours on end which now seem to me to be obsessive thoughts and my rational mind trying to argue with them. This can be simple thoughts or things like a friend or colleague potentially hating me. These often lead to severe and crippling anxiety and depression that can leave me unable to move or do the simplest tasks. I’ve been in a relationship for a little over a year and for the first 6 months or so I was having a good patch mentally and I was able to let myself enjoy it. I’m 27 but this is actually my first relationship because I’ve suffered from such low self esteem in the past that I never had the confidence to approach a girl or imagine I had anything to offer anyone. When things started to get more serious and we were talking about meeting her parents and even thinking about moving in together I began to get anxiety. I was constantly obsessing in my head “am I attracted to her?” “Do I love her?” “Why does thinking about another girl excite me so much more than her?” This got worse and worse and I had a huge breakdown and had to be signed off work for a few weeks. Having previously been very reliable and in charge of a team it really may have permanently tainted my standing at work and affected my future as I feel they can no longer trust me. My biggest problem has been that my girlfriend is my best friend and biggest source of support when I’m having a rough time, so when thoughts about the relationship are causing the ‘rough time’ it makes me feel conflicted and unbelievably guilty. One minute I’ll think about leaving her because the thought of other girls is exciting and less ‘serious’ and stressful and then I get severe panic and anxiety because I think about losing someone so important to me and having no support anymore. When I’m having a good day and I’m in the moment I feel attracted to her and happy. However even seeing an attractive girl or thinking about someone I’ve been attracted to in the past is enough to make my mind spiral out of control to the point where I feel almost no attraction to my girlfriend. I am constantly arguing with myself between “you don’t love her enough and should leave her but the fear of being alone and losing your support is making you anxious” and “you do love her but your anxiety and OCD are stopping you from being in the moment and enjoying it”. How could I ever know which is ‘true’? Sorry for such a long post but I really had to get this out to people who may understand.

Do I have pure ocd or am i in denial. I have been getting intrusive thoughts, nightmares, severe loss in appetite, extreme anxiety, near non-existent libido, sex repulsion, identity crash where i literally dont know if im gay or trans anymore, very high suicidal ideation, I have been homebound for possibly more than a year, i cant look in the mirror without thinking how disgusting i am, and it literally feels like my life did a full 180 out of NOWHERE.

Here's the medications I've been on over the course of the last 12 years, and what they were like (as much as I can remember). I dont know if anyone cares, but I'm isolating, so this is exposure. Effexor -- my first med. I dont even think this is typical? Anyway, useless. Zoloft -- one of the better ones. It made me soooo tired though, alllll the time. It lowered my general state of anxiety enough to do ERP effectively for a while. Prozac -- tried it because I was tired of being tired. I noticed a sharp increase in anxiety on this. 3 months later I went back on zoloft. Lexapro -- again, I was tired of being tired, so I tried this. Was less effective than zoloft, but more effective than prozac. Luvox -- this is what I take now. I have MUCH more energy, I dont pull my hair out any more (trichotilomania), and my general level of anxiety has never been better. Been on it 3 years? I think? Others: Xanax -- HORRIBLE. Withdrawal left me in deep depression. Not worth it. I took it twice ever. Ativan -- helped me get over my very frequent panic attacks, but I became addicted and had to go through withdrawal. DO NOT GET ADDICTED TO BENZOS Clonopin -- no Adderall -- I took this while I took zoloft to counter the extreme tiredness. It started to do less good, and leave me in bad depressive episodes. Risperidone -- took it with zoloft because I just couldn't begin to tackle my magical thinking. It just made me even more tired, like that was possible. Abilify -- took this after I had to stop taking ativan. I think it helped, because I havent had regular panic attacks since I took it, but I had to stop because I had the common side effect of restless muscles all the time, which is SO unpleasant.

Hi all. This is my first time posting on this, and I’m a little concerned about it, but recently my OCD has reached some new levels that are getting pretty overwhelming. It would mean a whole lot to me if some of you would read this and offer me your two cents. Today I was at my girlfriends house for a Passover dinner and nuts were out for a snack. Something about me that’s important to know for this story is that I have an extremely sever Peanut allergy - life threatening. I carry two epi-pens on me at all times. Back to the story, although I am only allergic to peanuts and no tree nuts, these nuts that were placed out were assorted tree nuts, that were likely coated with peanut oil. I lost control. This was the most out of control I have felt in years. I watched the mother eat a nut then take a taste test of the chicken. I was convinced I was going to have a reaction. Later we sat down at the table, and I was in complete fear. The father offered me matzo, but I was too afraid to have anything he touched. I even ended up looking at my girlfriend, who is well aware of my condition, that I was going to end up in the hospital for sure. All I could think about from that moment on was a two-hour mental clock that’s end would signify I would no longer be in danger of going into anaphylactic shock. I had no control and was shaking all throughout the dinner. I truly had no clue what to do and felt completely overrun. Just one day before that, I had another freak-out. This one took place on a vacation, where I had to apply sunscreen to myself. I was absolutely terrified that I had gotten poison ivy from earlier in the day and that I was rubbing it all over myself, and would one day in the near future wake up with it all over me. I tried to voice these concerns to my mother, but I just couldn’t listen to her answer. No matter what she says I dismiss it because I believe she has no clue what she’s talking about, while I, on the other hand, am a self-proclaimed poison ivy “expert.” I know this is terribly long but, here’s what I’m getting into. This condition has been tearing me apart. I am constantly in a state of unrest and I feel that it is tearing down my relationship, even though my significant other is typically understanding. The worst part is, as much as I want to never have OCD again, I am completely afraid to break free from it’s shackles. I believe that my OCD has always given me significant intelligence, and recently had even let me see the world in ways that I could never have before. I have always said that it is the silent killer. OCD is the most subtle death to anyone. It has torn me apart and managed to make me feel dependent on it. As much as I find it horrible, I find it beautifully; and I don’t want to lose something that could potentially make me who I am.

My ocd is that I’m afraid about potentially thinking a violent thought so I constantly check to see if I am thinking one which, of course, makes me imagine all the thoughts I DONT want to think. Then I go straight into “what is wrong with me” mode. Am I messed up for having a random violent thought from time to time or is this normal for people?

Anyone with HOCD/ROCD have any tips about going on a date when the thought of it makes you want to die of anxiousness? I’ve been talking to this guy on tinder who seems nice and everything but every time in the past that I’ve started talking to someone and say yes to a date, I literally cancel the next day cause I’m so deathly afraid. This isn’t even necessarily ocd’s fault I’ve always just been scared to death of this kinda thing but obviously having hocd, and what I believe is pre-rocd thoughts, make it seem literally impossible. But I WANT it. I think about having a boyfriend all the time. Ocd is so detrimental to everything you want it’s so frustrating. Ik- news flash haha. Anyways. Should I go? Is this bad timing- will I make everything worse for myself? He’s really cute and seems really nice. Jeez idk idk idk.

I have a question about Prozac or other SSRIs. So I definitely showed some OCD symptoms before taking Prozac (especially in regard to health obsessions), but after I took Prozac, the really terrible thoughts came in. Did anyone else experience this when taking Prozac? I’m off of them now (for over a year) but after a lot of work I STILL have residual thoughts from it.

Sometimes I don’t feel all the anxiety anyone and then I think I don’t care. Then I’m worried that I might not care and if that means something. Then I have a thought and it doesn’t completely gross me out and then I’m like what does that mean? Like I don’t want it but it doesn’t bother me... Then I question if I really have OCD/HOCD or if I somehow made the whole thing up? I just took the same HOCD quiz twice just to make sure I didn’t lie and that it still said it’s a high chance I have it. Anybody?

If anyone can relate to this it would be greatly appreciated.. I’ve been struggling with the same “image” for months of me on a child, humping/sexually abusing it. I would never ever hurt a child- I work with kids and I love them and when I’m around them the thoughts aren’t so bad cause I am now able to dismiss them it’s just this image.. the reason why I am struggling so much is because I’m sexual and I get intrusive feelings that I might like it and stuff. As a child I used to sexually explore even by once humping my baby doll. I don’t know if im just messed up but i don’t know what to do anymore these thoughts have stolen nearly 5 months of my life and I want to go back to normal..

I just wanna completely give up. Its impossible for me to focus on the things I used to enjoy. It's so hard to have the will to keep going when this world is so evil and bleak.

Hello, I know my text is too long but please read until the end and sorry for my english it's not my maternal language. I am 23 years old and we have discovered at the age of 15 that I was suffering from depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) such as intrusive thoughts that are like unintended thoughts, ideas or images that provoke anxiety, fear, or discomfort. The content of these thoughts is often about pain, violence, aggression, sex, mistakes, physical appearance and many other things. I live constantly in anguish and when an event occurs due to emotions I lose control and I do what is called a panic attack or also called crisis of anxiety that comes under the sudden onset of a sensation of intense fear. It is usually an episode where feelings of fear (anxiety) and intense discomfort, brutal installation and for a few minutes to several hours. Physical symptoms may include sweating, palpitations, a feeling of choking, chest pain, nausea, tingling that causes a feeling of loss of control in the body. These symptoms are associated with feelings of loss of control or imminent danger unrelated to reality. These OCD are due to an excessive activity of the prefrontal cortex, it works more than the norm and because of this excessive activity it sends signals of danger even without reasons and it is what causes the anxiety and the panic attack. I have been on antidepressants for all these years and I still have some sedatives in my pocket in case it turns into a panic attack. Today I come to you because I am exhausted emotionally tired and physically it has become extremely painful for me to live with...I need to be understood... I read a few comments and I find myself in a few of them...you have to know that you are not alone...we must be proud of ourselves... THANKS FOR READING ME...:"(

I haven’t found anything online/ met anyone with OCD like mine. I’ve always had it, my mum suffered with it too and committed suicide two and a half years ago. Throughout my life I’ve seemed to suffer with all of the various types of OCD but the one bothering me the most at the moment seems to be not talked about. I have to wear specific clothes and underwear, wash, apply certain make up products before I go out socialising. All in the fear that if I don’t people won’t find me attractive, it now takes me up to five hours to get ready before going out. The main issue is, if I don’t do these compulsions people actually don’t find me attractive, no one talks to me etc. I know it sounds so vain and I remember the exact point it started and why I’m so bothered by people thinking I’m good looking. It’s widely accepted that by not completing a ritual the terrible thing won’t happen, but for me it does. It’s a similar story for me if I don’t do certain things e.g check the doors, oven etc I will miss my alarm, every time I don’t do these rituals I miss my alarm! It’s a bloody catch 22 for me!

Rocd kicking in again :( I feel like my man is kind of boring .. all he does is go to work and to the gym and play video games, is that normal for a 26 year old or ? #fml

I fear of hurting my loved ones i obsess over the what ifs every single day from the minute i open my eyes to the minute i shut them. It wont stop i try to distract myself i work a full time job and try to work over time as much as they will let me yo keep me ditracted an i feel like the thoughts, worries, fear & doubt i am obsessing over are getting worse. Please help me i dont want anything to happen! Ill try anything that will give me a postive outcome please im begging anyone and everyone to lend a helping supportive hand.

The past year I’ve been dealing with OCD about free will, consciousness, and instincts. The latter two stem from the free will problem, but basically I’ve been having anxiety and OCD about having no control over my life on a biological basis. It all started because I watched a YouTube video called “Why we Don’t have Free Will and why that’s OK” from a health channel called “What I’ve Learned” about a year ago. After the video, I started panicking and thinking what if I have no control over my life? What I really am just a product of my environment and I have no freedom? I went and scoured the Internet for counters to these questions and actually found some really good stuff, but my search for answers kept leading me to other topics that threatened the idea of free will. This is where consciousness and instincts OCD come into play. From this research, I found out some scientists say that a lot of our actions are unconscious, but luckily however I did more research and found out that a growing number of psychologists don’t think the unconscious mind actually does not even exist. As for instincts, it all started because I saw a Quora questions that asked “Why is human instinct generally considered to be overriden?” I thought I would get more answers about how human have free will, but instead the top answer was the complete opposite. That answer to this question talked about how humans always act on instinct and that the reasons we give ourselves for acting a certain way are always an illusion. He claims to have done 20+ years of research on human instincts to further his business. The guy doesn’t have a bio degree or anything. I want to be suspicious about these thoughts, but I STILL think about the possibility of him being right about how humans might not be as free as we think. All my research and counterpoints to my own existential crises are nice to know, but I still haven’t been able to shake the thoughts “What if all these people are right? What if we really have less control than we think?” One thing I try to still tell myself is that pretty much everything we know is not a certainty. There is so much uncertainty in the world, and we shouldn’t try to find certainty all the time. I want to just live my life without thinking about all these existential things and just enjoy it. Please let me know if any of you have had similar thoughts or experiences. I’d love to hear your tips, tricks, and anything that can help. Thank you, and have a great day, wherever you are.

In the last two days, I was deeply sad and unmotivated (If you read my posts, I think you noticed it). So, today, I woke up "better". It's just like I'm in a tiny moment of clarity. I'm so sick of this. It isn't true, but it won't leave me alone. I just feel mentally and emotionally exhausted. And when it comes back, it just feels so real. OCD screams that I'm just in denial, and it takes all my will to live, like it's taking my identity and ripping it to shreds. "What ifs" flood my mind. It puts a weight on my heart. It makes me believe I need to "come out". It takes my attention from other areas of my life. I am always in a bad mood. I mistreat my parents. I'm cold towards my colleagues. This lie is destroying my life, treatment is expensive, and I have no one to talk about this who would really understand. If it wasn't for this app, I'd be completely alone in this dreadful illness.

I have this amazing boyfriend. But he communicates in different ways than I do, which my OCD tells me means that there’s a million red flags, we won’t work, he doesn’t love me the way I love him, etc. This causes a disconnect between us because I’m constantly seeking validation and getting triggered and having obsessive thoughts that constantly ruin my day. How do I keep my triggering thoughts from dictating how good of a day I have or how happy I am? How can I stop depending on my boyfriend for validation on our relationship’s health and strength, or his family’s thoughts on me? Because my OCD could turn this relationship sour and unhealthy real fast. So how do I put a kabosh on it? Anything helps. Em

Anyone here effected by the cognitive distortion of magical thinking? If so how? Looking for help.

how do you PROVE you’re not a paedophile

Ugh, my sensory OCD gets triggered whenever I have a fight with my husband and we are in a phase where we’ve been fighting lately due to stress and business at work plus doing a lot of work on our home. So now I’m focused in on every time I swallow again, convinced it will never go back to normal.