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the NOCD Community

I'm curious how often people are able to taper off their meds after they get a handle on their erp? For those comfortable sharing, I would be grateful to learn how common it is to come off meds after achieving success with erp.

Can OCD give you a sense of feeling “on edge” or irritable all the time? I feel like I am walking around in life about to lose control then I start spiraling with harm ocd and mental compulsions. I then start wondering if I am bipolar or something worse. I am so hypersensitive of what I am feeling mood wise that I am just questioning everything . What I do know is I am not relaxed at all . What really is upsetting here is I start thinking to myself … do I have the right doctor? What if there is something worse and no one knows? I start questioning my entire diagnosis ! How can I handle this uncertainty in a productive way while gaining more confidence that I am going to be alright ? Got two kids and a family to worry about and this is a giant distraction.

Are they really intrusive thoughts when I find myself not knowing and questioning if they really are?

My OCD has kept me from Getting serious with a guy I really loved because I was afraid he wouldn’t want me when he realized how bad my OCD was. I married somebody who wasn’t right for me. I took a job out of college that I really didn’t want because I was afraid of getting an important job and getting fired over my OCD. my whole career path was affected . After I had my son, I had so much postpartum anxiety and OCD that I didn’t have another child and I really wanted one.

My ocd is really bad, it’s making it hard to be motivated to do anything, and that in it’s itself kind of scares me. does anyone have any tips on what to do to stay motivated when your OCD feels like it’s sucking you dry and you’re feeling really depressed?

anxious because I’m always annoyed at my bf and I know it’s just ocd in the form of anger but read a comment on TikTok saying your body is rejecting ur bf if you’re always annoyed and now I’m so scared :))

My real event went from the age range of 12-17 and since it feels so recent I am struggling to forgive myself and move on. I went into more detail in my other post if you’re curious. The guilt and shame I feel for things I did as a child is ruining my life at this point.

Do you have any tips to deal with false memory? because i lack the ability to recognize if the events were real or not…

Who has had challenges with this and how have you coped? I have found this extremely tough in my 6 year relationship.

One thing that I’m struggling to bear with, is how isolating this feels… I spent all evening yesterday ruminating over intense groinal responses in response to intrusive thoughts. And then I had a dream where I experienced sexual arousal due to being in bed naked with someone… Not sure who, and I didn’t touch the person in the dream… But now my ocd is putting the two together and I’m triggered to the next level right now… I’m trying so hard to dismiss this as a stupid dream but I’m finding it increasingly difficult. I’m so lost, I don’t know what to do…

unfortunately i’ve been having more any more dreams of my dad. in these dreams he always tries to initiate intimate acts with me, and that scares me. i’m never able to speak up and yell no. but i have these dreams so often. i start thinking, did stuff like this happen when i was young? my dad and i have always been close, especially after my parents divorced. I used to sleep in his bed as a kid. i know i don’t remember anything. but that’s where the false memories come in. it’s like i can imagine this stuff so vividly.

I’m still early in my journey and have only had a few erp sessions. After the sessions, I feel totally defeated and depressed (even if I “did well”). I am totally overwhelmed thinking about the past 15 years I’ve spent reinforcing safety behaviors and ruminating. It seems like it will take a very very long time to see and feel meaningful progress. The sessions are exhausting and I have a family- is it really worth triggering myself like this? When did you start recognizing progress?

Those of you that partake in marijuana, how does it affect your OCD? Sometimes I feel like it calms me down and rids my brain of all intrusive thoughts, sometimes I feel like I take one hit and I'm spiraling. Just wondering how it affects other people. Love you all and am very happy I downloaded this app. I feel so much less alone. ☮️

One of my obsessions is always convincing myself I’m pregnant even though it’s impossible, I’m trying to not google symptoms and get reassurance for the first time. I’m really struggling rn. One of the thoughts that usually makes me spiral is the idea if you’re stressed your period could be delayed. So then I’m trying I hard to not be stressed about it and get caught in a loop

Anybody else get depressing thoughts and feelings with their existential ocd? Like you have convinced yourself so much that nothing is real that you literally start to become emotionally detached from things. For example I’ll be watching a YouTube video about the war that’s going on in Gaza or even a tattoo video on YouTube and I’m just getting thoughts like “so what? None of this is real anyway, why should I care?” Etc etc. and it feels natural, like it’s 100% fact but at the same time you know something is wrong and you try and reality test your way out of these feelings but it just doesn’t work. I can’t enjoy anything anymore because of this.

Whenever the topic of mental illness is brought up or the possibility of medication being involved my dad does not like the idea of it. I want to and need to go on medication I feel like I’m getting worse and with the recent news of my school work being effected I cannot do that anymore. I’m 19 years old so I can technically take medicine if I want but I live with my parents still and I hate lying and keeping secrets. How do I tell my dad I want to start taking ocd medication?

What was a recent ERP win? Big or small, every step forward matters

Hello! My name is Erika, I am 24 years old and I believe I have shown signs of OCD since I was about 14 years old. I have gone to therapy along this journey, once for about a year or so when I was 14 due to self-harm and depression (which I believe may have been from an OCD flare up) and for about 6 months when I was 22. I was diagnosed with PMDD and ADHD and I have been prescribed Wellbutrin (was on it for 4 years) and Prozac (was on it for 3 months). I am currently unmedicated and not in therapy due to being unemployed and not having insurance or enough income. For the last couple years I suspected there was something else going on besides ADHD or PMDD and I thought maybe it was autism, but after doing lots of research, I believe it may be OCD. Does anyone have any recommendations for seeking a proper diagnosis as a low-income individual? Or just where to go from here? I have been getting worse and worse this past year and could really use some tips and guidance ! Thank you for listening 🙏

Hey, all! I am struggling. I’m in a bit of a relapse after success with treatment, specifically with mental compulsions. I am a champ at response prevention with physical compulsions now, but have never quite conquered my Pure O/mental compulsions. I find this difficult to understand. If we can’t control our intrusive thoughts, aren’t our mental compulsions thoughts that we can’t control as well? I know rationally this isn’t true, but it’s incredibly difficult for me to grasp the concept that I can implement response prevention for these as well. I struggle with rumination, replaying events, trying to problem solve, etc. Does anyone have any tips to identify when you’re doing mental compulsions, and tips to implement response prevention? I don’t even realize it sometimes before I’m deep into the anxiety, and it’s very distressing. I am practicing self-compassion, acknowledging my suffering, and trying to accept where I’m at. It’s hard, but I’m doing it. Any advice and support is appreciated ♥️

well, we had a good week! and i’ll be seeing him as soon as tuesday! but i was up a lot of last night, feeling anxious and worried about all the things i want to talk to him about. about loving me, choosing me over other people. i just want us to be perfect. but i also can’t ask too much bc that’s too much stress on him. why does it bother him so much to give me reassurance! like… it’s not hard and i would give it to him, and do when it’s necessary. all i want is for him to like me, love me, care about me, and choose me other all other people. yk what? he called me his favorite person. and when we listened to a podcast, someone in the podcast was talking about the husband not wanting to spend time with the wife. and we were both like “you should want to hang out with your person.” stating that when we are together, he wants to be together. he likes that. i hope he tells me he loves me soon.