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What’s the difference between phobia and ocd

I posted awhile back that I had just moved into a really nice apartment and was there a week and pest control came and sprayed bug spray All over the carpet we had just moved in so there wasn’t really anything in there so he sprayed everywere the carpet was wet I panicked I shampooed the carpets for hours my bf took off work cause I was so upset I have an issue wit bug sprays and bombs and some cleaning products it’s like a phobia this bug spray I felt was everywere it helped a little bit that I shampooed but I just felt when we wlk on it from carpet to the floors that it was transferring to the floors and would transfer into the bed from our feet so then the bed was contaminated if you set something on the floor then on the counter it would transfer it was very exhausting I no there wasn’t anything rong wit the bug spray I no it’s safe to spray inside I no my bf wasn’t bothered by it so therefore I shouldn’t be bothered by it but I couldn’t get my brain to believe it it was like someone haveing a fear of hights and trying to get them to go up high somewere that nothing would happen everyone else is going up that it’s not that big of deal but it is to the person that has the fear I was so upset so tired everyday I couldn’t and didn’t want to do anything nothing got done in the apartment we had just moved in we didn’t bring anything else in everything staid the same for along time till months had gone by and I was trying to make the best of it but it was so hard bringing stuff in I could literally only do like 1 thing a week it’s been several months and finally the guy below us moved out and we were able to move into his place redoing our deposite and lease it was stressful comeing up wit more money to move but all my stuff was dirty to me and I didn’t want to bring that stuff into this new apartment so we put everything on the porch and I wiped everything off down to the cords we had 1 clear day then that weekend it rained all of our stuff got wet cause I had to leave it on the porch to not bring any dirty stuff in I eventually just threw shit away gave stuff away cause I couldn’t clean anymore I was getting overwhelmed it was so hard the guy left his bed and a table so we kept those so we didn’t have to bring in our bed which saved me alot of cleaning we also had stuff that had been sitting in storage we never brought to the apartment cause I was haveing such a difficult time bringing stuff inside so now we have our stuff from the storage unit I’ve cleaned everything and for the first time in months I’ve left the house I’ve gone to the store I’ve gone outside I’ve gone to do laundry when I was in the old apartment I probably left 4 times in 7 to 8 months I didn’t even go outside moveing downstairs has helped me feel better I tried getting help I’m on ssi and have tenncare noone accepts it we’re I live there’s not really anyone that understands ocd here I’ve been dealing wit ocd for years seen doctors therapist gone to hospitals I’ve gotten better but have learned ocd needs to be treated by ppl who understand that ocd needs to be treated wit exposure and response therapy which I had never even heard of and that all these years noone was realy helping me Unlearn these ocd rituals and habits and I’ve always been weiry of getting help cause I had no idea wat they could’ve done to help cause noone ever has helped I’ve also learned there’s not alot of ppl trained in treating ocd alotof doctors don’t understand it and I just want to see a doctor that’ll listen to all my problems and prescribe me the rite medications not just give me an antidepressant and that’s it I want to do therapy wit an ocd therapist I make 560 a month and can’t afford to pay therapist 100 something a week for session I’ve also been struggling wit showering rituals that I’ve been doing for years have just been so hard the contamination ocd has been so hard it makes showering hard my bf helps me wash my hair cause for a couple years I literally showered a couple times a year I have noone that realy understands ocd and the stuff that comes wit it I’m up late always on my phone I’m always stressed and tired I’m always thinking bout wat I’ve got to do next I gotta chnahe my clothes I gotta shower I gotta shave I gotta pluck my eyebrows and noing it’s hard for me to do any of those things cause of the rituals even if they don’t take long it’s just aggravating I just wanna wash my hair by myself and also do it like a normal person I’m greatful to be in this new apartment that’s took alot of stress off of me I just want and need support someone to tlk to that understands me and the laying in bed all the time being on your phone all the time scared to lay down the nite terrors the stress the anxiety the panick attacks I’ve got ppl in my life that think I can just do things and tell myself these important things need to be done cause there important and just be able to do them but I’ve not gone to court for my insurance ticket i stopped going to my suboxene doctor I missed Christmas and new year my bf birthday I’ve not done anything I’ve not washed my own hair I’ve not been able to shave and pluck my eyebrows and those are important to me but I just can’t make myself do them I just need atleast a free support group that’s not early I’m up so late and ppl shit tlk me but I don’t want to get off my phone and lay down i just hope nocd will accept my insurance so I can do over the phone sessions!!

I think I have P-OCD. I am scared to be around children, particularly girls. This hasn’t been an issue for a long time. I had it once when I was younger but it’s happening again. Groinal responses. I fucking hate myself for it. My first intrusive sexual thought when I was child was n*crophillia. I don’t know why. What the fuck? I would never touch a child nor will I ever touch a dead body. What’s worse is I get full blown urges! Then I feel like I need to relieve myself because it makes me less anxious. But you see a problem! Does that mean I like those things I described? I don’t know anymore. My parents used to touch me against my consent in my groinal area since I was a baby. That’s why I touch myself a lot to feel less anxious about literally anything. I just hate how my sexual organs react. I actually can’t take it anymore. I am not Jimmy Saville. I’ve never watched CP (the thought of it makes me sick). I have tried to reassure myself by looking at pictures of children in a normal setting. Which was fine. Then I tried to look at bikini ones. I got so weirded out but again, no urges. I am happy from that result. I’m not a menace to society. Then I tried the same with teens. But it gets into a grey area because some of them look like adults. So it takes time to reassure myself (which makes me anxious). But again, I know that there’s just no way I would do that. It’s weird and it feels wrong. Does anyone else have this too? I just don’t understand. I don’t go around playgrounds looking at children. I just get an unwanted response or was it wanted? Because if somehow I am, then I will just end my life. Sorry to trigger anyone.

I just asked my husband to come home from work because I was having scary thoughts, I immediately started thinking I was about to lose control and go crazy, and it terrified the hell outta me, I started trying to think of what I could do to escape that feeling, who I could or would call if I were to lose control to help me, I went into a full blown panic attack and my heart was racing, I was shaking, sweating, thoughts were overtaking me, and I was scared to death! I told my husband I felt sick, and to please come home, but I’m not sick I have crazy thoughts that I’m scared to be alone with! I am a complete fking failure, why and I’m sick of living this way! Why must this be so debilitating and fkd up?! What did I do to deserve this?! I’m growing weaker, how much longer can I do this? 😢

OCD absolutely does NOT tolerate me being human and making mistakes, particularly as a parent. If I make a mistake, or if I think I MIGHT have made a mistake, my OCD tells me I’m a horrible mom.

So I’ve been terrified of taking antidepressants due to my suicide OCD, but my mental health has gotten so bad I’m finally deciding to give it a try again cause idk what else to to, I’ve tried natural stuff and it never works. But my question is, when you’re already having really bad intrusive thoughts how can you know it’s not from the medicine? My main fear is the medicine making me suicidal for real and me not being able to distinguish between the two.. I’ve taken an SSRI before but stopped after a few days cause I got scared like well what if the medicine is causing and will make me act on these thoughts?? (Hope this makes sense lol)

Results were just released from the largest study of OCD treatment ever recorded. Validated by the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR), one of the most respected journals in healthcare research, the study documented treatment outcomes of over 3500 people over the course of NOCD Therapy. What we learned was remarkable: NOCD Therapy members experienced a significant decrease in OCD symptoms: Treating the root cause of OCD also resulted in dramatic improvements in levels of depression, anxiety, stress, and overall quality of life. Results came sooner than in standard treatment: NOCD Therapy members achieved meaningful results in less than half the time needed for standard ERP treatment on average, resulting in potentially substantial savings in time and money. Why it matters: The study suggests that for many people with OCD, outpatient ERP therapy can be more efficiently delivered in a face-to-face virtual setting than in person. This means that virtual-first therapy may shift from the “alternative” to the “standard.” Rigorous, peer-reviewed research allows us to consistently provide our members with the best possible care for OCD and related conditions. Read a full summary of the study’s findings.

I am suffering from religious OCD for the past 32 years. When I am practising disregarding my OCD fires back with strong thoughts of until when u r going to disregard. When I say to myself God is with me it fires back with thoughts of what God has done until now. You will never recover. May I ask you what is this. Azhar from India

I've called my GP twice and the first time I just hung up and cried. I called again just now but as soon as they answered I hung up again. Is there anyone else I can talk to so I can ask for these?

OCD makes me feel so alone. These last few months I feel like I’ve been unable to be honest or open fully with anyone. I’m so ashamed of what’s inside me and I’m scared. I feel like everything is my fault and I’m lonely despite having wonderful people and things in my life. I am alone and feel so fake and disingenuous.

How do I get my family to understand some of what I am going through and how the actions that they do could make it worse? I wish they weren’t so judgmental of the things I do. I truly feel like I can’t help it.

Most of my thoughts during the day are about rocd. But if I spent 5 minutes without thinking of them or thinking of my girlfriend my mind tells me that I’m falling out of love. What do I do?

Ok so it seems my OCD has resorted to being in my DREAMS .. I’ve had three dreams in the past 2 weeks about men I had small crushes on in high school (not even people I’ve HU with in the past.. weird)… and I just had one last night and we only did slight sexual things but what’s crazy is I could feel myself in the dream becoming anxious.. that i was comparing this guy to my boyfriend in real life and our sex life etc. it’s crazy how our brains do this. It’s SO HARD not to want to examine the dreams. Because it’s like .. why the hell am I dreaming this? why does OCD want to test me so badly? The dream is literally one big exposure and in the dream, I was checking/comparing my relationship to the person I was with. I couldn’t help it. I was dreaming! However, when I woke up, I felt anxious. I breathed deeply and told myself it’s just a dream and that there is no need to examine the dreams. Have you ever experienced this?

I have been avoiding so much, for years. I’ve had a lot of physical health problems on top of a divorce and Covid which have all been very triggering for my OCD which revolves around health primarily, but also a lot of other things. So a huge way I’ve dealt with it has been avoidance and also just keeping certain areas as safe spaces and not really going into other areas so they end up getting really dirty because I have two kids and they don’t clean a lot and then I don’t wanna touch those spaces and it gets really hard to be in those spaces so I’m in my room a lot and it’s also hard for me to cook because I worry about foods and their cleanliness and if they’re safe to eat and I have a limited array of foods I will eat and I also have just a lot of racing thoughts and I guess internal type rituals, but I’ve been getting out more and starting to cook more with the help of my boyfriend and just trying really hard. But last night I was out with my neighbors after I cook some food and my boys are out playing with their kids and we were out sitting in patio chairs in the in the lawn and one of my neighbors who tends to be really obnoxious and not have an understanding of social cues says some thing nasty about my house being messy and I got really angry because the past few days I’ve been busting my ass and actually not been in bed for extended periods of time and I’ve been really proud and my boyfriend has been really proud and I just really didn’t need her comments and she even made like a shudder about the thought of going into my house. It was incredibly rude and I got very angry at her. And it was in front of all the other neighbors and she’s the type of person who will be so nice to you but then use it against you, Wich is similar to my abusive relationship with my ex husband. I have talked to her about struggling with some stuff and she’s had her struggles, but I talk more to her sister who’s had a lot of struggles and I think her sister has shared some stuff with her so that’s how she knows about my condo because her sister has been in my condo. She has not. So anyway I got extremely angry with her and yelled at her in front of everyone like completely out of control the kids were way out of hearing range. But it wasn’t good I didn’t stay in control and I’m not proud of that. She had also been egging people on all night it was like it was her goal to piss someone off. And today I just feel really sad and upset and I don’t feel good about who I am because I went through a 10 year abusive marriage and she just is so triggering because she can’t empathize and it reminds me of some of the ways he was. I have so many supportive people around me but I’m just so sick of being her neighbor and just putting up with her saying crap and just smiling and pretending it’s fine and also watching her be awful to her mother and her sister as well. And everyone was on my side but I don’t think it makes it OK that I lost my temper and said a bunch of things I should not have said. But now I just feel like I can’t leave my house and I don’t want to go back into isolation because that makes everything worse with my OCD, but I’m feeling a lot of social anxiety and I just feel like I don’t do well in the world. All the other neighbors seem to be on my side and were really supportive of me and angry at her but that doesn’t justify me behaving that way. And she’s right next-door to me so I still to deal with her every day and she was really mad after I left and talking about wanting to beat me up and stuff, I’m 37 and she’s 60 so this is like really immature for both of us, and I’m not going try to beat up a 60 year old but she claims she could take me. Anyway I guess it’s good it’s rainy today because she probably won’t be outside and I’m just gonna sit inside.

Hi community, so I have a question. I’m treating OCD by myself, and I’m currently don’t giving my thoughts an importance that they don’t deserve while focusing on the present and avoiding compulssions. But when it comes to the term “exposures” by itself, does that means that I have to look for a quiet place and sit with my anxiety until is gone?, or an exposure can be done just by walking in the street and just making fun of my thoughts. Or are both different but useful techniches?

How can you tell if you’re healed? Like is it when there is no more anxiety? Bc it’s like my fear of not loving him seems true bc of how much I ruminated on it. I have no feelings for him or anyone else right now. I am unhappy I am unhappy with myself. My partner sometimes does things that upset me but not all the time. My friends said our mental state is what’s holding us back. That they want both of us to be happy. I don’t know anymore. I just know I am very unhappy with myself and I am tired of fighting. I don’t wanna break up with my partner bc I know I just want freedom from ROCD. But how can I tell him I am stuck believing I don’t love him? I want relief from this endless cycle of misery. Do you think this app will take Fedelis insurance too? I really want help. I know when I’m happy I love my partner. My friend said your brain is a huge mess right now and you need to get better

Hi everyone, My name is Alen and I am an OCD-patient in my twenties. This is my first time using this platform, so I hope I won’t make any mistakes. I was diagnosed with OCD five years ago. Back then, I struggled with cleaning, contamination, checking, and sexuality OCD. I started taking SSRI and all those symptoms almost disappeared. However, during this past years, I have still been struggling with relationship OCD. I currently have no official partner; however, I am getting to know someone, and my intrusive thoughts have exploded. I am anxious 24/7. It makes me so hard to distinguish “real” thoughts about whether this person is suitable for me, of the intrusive thoughts inherent to OCD. This anxiety has led me to kind of an avoidant behaviour. The idea of talking to the person I am dating makes me anxious. Which leads me to think I do not like them anymore. That makes me even more anxious. I am desperate. I feel like I was holding an enormous burden of thoughts that I can’t get rid of. I would appreciate if any of you who has relationship OCD could comment with their opinion or advice on this. Specially if you have had these intrusive thoughts while getting to know someone, instead of in a formal, long-term relationship. If you got here, thank you so much for reading.

Im 17, My pocd and incest ocd was getting better but then I went on a reassurance bender online and ended up reading a story from a 19 girl saying she had sexual activities with her uncle and describing it in detail and i poped a boner. I cant keep living like this ive already made so many excuses for myself im a sick f*ck

I think I really wanna break up with my partner!!! 😭😭😭😭😭😖😖😖 I am having very bad anxiety! I can’t breathe! I am still sick so it’s even harder!! This isn’t real!!! I know I love him!! This has to be ROCD!!! All I can think about is not loving him! I’ve been obsessing about it for 2 years and now my nightmare is coming true!!!