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I’m very anxious that I’m making the wrong career choice (I’m two semesters away from getting a bachelor’s in software engineering) and I’m worried my real passion is in being a life coach/filmmaker. I get so anxious that I’m making the wrong choice that I’ve dropped out of school three times in the last six years and I have no idea how i’ve made it this far in my degree. On the other hand, whenever I quit school, I feel so much relief and then I pursue filmmaking and get equivalently anxious and end up quitting that. It’s gotten to the point where this is a weekly/daily cycle and completely debilitating. I tend to seek external validation on my choices but it makes it worse. Help.

Just got an intrusive thought and I’m having a panic attack as I write this. Someone called me weird today, somebody said I can’t listen at all, then someone else said something hurtful. Been feeling down today and then as I was eating I got an intrusive thought that said I am going depressed again. I’ve been going crazy. Fidgeting, bouncing my leg, sped up breathing… And I feel light headed and I just need somebody to tell me everything is okay. I can’t tell my mother because I told her I think I have OCD and she simply brushed it off and she will get frustrated with me if I tell her I am having a panic attack…

I have been with my boyfriend for just over a year now, I have been having rocd like thoughts and confessing since February. There was a situation when I’d just turned 16 where I was immature and feel like I cheated and I am struggling to forgive myself and keep seeing myself as a horrible bad person, even though my boyfriend has forgiven me because it was almost 2 years ago and he knows I was just silly and immature and he said it wasn’t cheating but close and still not good. When I was 15 I was friends with a guy who I had a crush on for a few months, but he was giving mixed signals and I have autism and don’t understand things unless it’s straight forward, so I was confused on if he actually liked me or if he was jokingly being flirty for fun but was too scared to really ask. Then that August a diff guy messaged saying he liked me. This guy was acting more mature/serious, so I took it as him actually liking me. A few days later I was 16 & the second guy said he was 18. I was a little bit funny with the age gap so it was more of a “let’s wait until we are older” situationship thing. There wasn’t really boundaries set or any talk of being official/exclusive. Before I had met this second guy in August, I send lewd pictures to the first guy I had a crush on. After I met the second guy I sent lewd pictures to both guys when I knew them both. So basically after meeting the second guy and sent him lewd stuff, I also continued to send lewd stuff to the first guy. This was stupid of me, although I had no bad intent and just didn’t really think about what I was doing and didn’t have much relationship experience, it was still a stupid idea and I feel insanely guilty and like a awful person who can’t be forgived. The first guy found out about the second guy and shouted at me and made me realise maybe the first guy was actually serious but I didn’t pick up on it so talked to the second guy. After he told me off, I realised yeah that was wrong I won’t do it again, and any situationship/relationship I had after that I never did the same thing again because I realised it was wrong. Also within the same week of the first guy finding out about the second guy, I stopped being in a situationship with the second guy cause i found out he lied about his age. So I stopped talking to both of them. I always think of wanting to be a really good person in a relationship, but whenever I remember that situation despite never doing it again I’m just like ugh I did that I’m not a good person I hate cheats but my ocd is like “you cheated so ur a hypocrite u can’t say u hate cheating” I feel so horrible and guilty, I confessed it to my bf a few months ago when I was having these ocd like thoughts. Am I a bad person who shouldn’t be forgiven? Is it cheating???

Guys please I can't stop these thoughts at all. They're stopping me do so many basic things. I can't bring myself to take part in practical lab experiments at school which I need for a pass mark. I just can't do it because of the stupid harm thoughts. I can't let myself enjoy anything either, I got some mock exams back and I did really well all As/A*s even whilst I sat them when I wasn't okay at all. I should be so proud but I can't help but use these results as proof that I'm not really sick and I'm just faking it and having the bad things come to me when they're useful like missing the practicals and other things. I've gotten so distressed by these thoughts as of late I turned to actually hitting my head against a wall to get rid of them and I don't know how to bring this up to therapist bc it sounds absolutely mad but it was the only thing i could think to do to get rid of these.

Same old story, loud loud thoughts playing on repeat telling me this. I think OCD uses is as a way to open the door to disparaging self talk. After all, if it gets you to believe that everyone around you doesn’t value you, maybe you’ll fall in line too. I’m trying to exercise self compassion when I can catch those moments where I’m piling on to myself, but it’s so much easier to not do it. I always underestimate the shear amount of energy it takes to be kind to yourself. Beating up on yourself is a low effort solution to momentary discomfort. Self compassion is a skill that is honed with time.

My mom passed away on January 24th but my husband and I didn’t know till Sunday a few days ago. Since Sunday - I have not showered, brushed my teeth, have over ate and binged on junk food and drinks. My support groups and therapist is in the know but I have unable been able to respond to texts or calls. I have my finals due this week and my processors said I can have another few days after the submission. I just feel like my life has stopped. I’m only 27. My dad is gone too. And I don’t have a relationship with my other family members - I’m not asking for advice please. I’m only sharing this as a way to literally just share that I am someone whose mom has passed away and I needed to say that. And that I feel complusions coming on but also for a moment … I felt like I wasn’t someone with ocd for a few moments when I got news my mom is gone. But then I also got reminded immediately when I thought how do I get through this now ? Send prayers to me everyone.

does anyone have like the strong fear to be always distressed and is hypervigilant all the time for signs it's true? and then get triggered when noticing even in the slightest?? how to handle that? I've traed ignoring but it doesn't work

So, last night i atarted my sertraline journey and i halfed 25mg into 2 halves and took one in the evening and one in the morning just so i could gauge how sensetive i am to them and after i took the first abt 12mg after an hour i noticed my head was instantly a bit more clear. Whether that was the medication or the fact that i was distracting myself i dont know but that has turned into a fear that the meds are working too fast and thats somehow a bad thing even though i cant find any reason why it would be anywhere. Then it turned into thoughts that im going manic somehow every time i laughed at something or smiled i would get thoughts saying im going manic or the next time i take a pill ill go manic or have an alergic reaction or something. The worst part is that my anxiety has been a bit better today than yesterday, but im still also obsessing and afraid but i dont feel it? Im genuinely really worried about what this means because i cant find a lot of info about it.

I had a great childhood but one bad thing happened and I feel like things just haven't been the same anymore. My teen years sucked and the start of my adult years aren't the greatest. I have good moments still, and there are very high moments but I'm mostly just not happy. I'm just not feeling the days anymore and OCD makes it so much worse. I just hope I can work out the past hurt, guilt, and shame. I try to shake it off but I just can't. I just remember it all over and over again and it's hard to let go of it. I really hope I can somehow get back to where I used to be. I'm mostly worried about how my addiction abuse affected my physical health. I'm always afraid that I'm going to catch a bad disease or that I won't make it the next day. I hate it. I just want to stop worrying and just live my life. I have a lot of good things in my life but I just can't let this stuff go.

I feel like there are times with my OCD that I don't feel anxiety but just feel this low grade, nagging, constantly under the surface guilt/sense of dread. Does anyone else have this? Like this morning I woke up and remembered something that happened yesterday that wasn't great and now it's not even specific "what if" thoughts or fears, just like this feeling that I did something wrong and everything is wrong because of it. I listened to an OCD podcast yesterday and they mentioned that there's also a lot of guilt and shame with OCD but that anxiety gets focused on more and that was helpful because there's this whole other set of experiences I have that I feel like are related to OCD but aren't necessarily anxiety or fear feelings. Anyone else have this experience?

Hi, guys! Can ocd thoughts be ego-syntonic? I feel that usually I really believe them. For example, while having retroactive jealousy, I usually believe that the past of my partner is important and that asking questions about it would definitely help me decide if she is right for me and that I should ask those questions to make sure that her past is fine. Like usually I WANT to ask them. Sometimes, I am even looking for things I haven't asked yet.

My OCD is focused on preparing myself and my cats for an emergency. The regular preparation isn’t a bad thing, it’s the fear that’s building inside and the panic over needing to get this stuff “NOW!” What do you do, when your world is black or white and the world is doing well or a catastrophe is about to happen? I have no grey, no balance. Please and thank you :)!

hey do i recent started taking birth control pills again and i noticed that my moods are really bad and i am feeling very depressed and suicidal should i stop taking them is this normal ?

What does your thoughts get like? i start having severe panic attacks to the point i can’t breathe. i also freak out and start thinking i have to go to a mental hospital because of my thoughts. i would never act on these thoughts but they are killing me and my panic attacks are getting out of control. i’m scared that my ocd is going to give in and im going to do it but i know for a fact im not but im freaking out because these are so distressing.

I am angry 24/7. I’m in a constant war with my mind, and the images I get inside my head are unbearable to say the least. My mom passed when I was 17. (I’m 24 now)my two older brothers died this past November 2023 in the same week. I have no way of expressing my grief. I feel like nobody understands me. I’m not an alcoholic, but I feel like the only times I’m able to feel genuine emotion is when Im out with family drinking. My OCD is a battle from the moment I wake up, until the moment I drift off to sleep. And I feel restless because I have no relief while I’m sleeping, because of the kind of dreams I get, that are based off of the themes of my OCD. This is my first time seeking help with this, and I have had OCD since elementary school. I don’t wanna carry this anymore. Please, any advice you can pass along, share it. I feel alone.

I literally can't sleep and I had a mental breakdown. I am afraid because guys don't find me attractive because I am a calm nonchalant female (often mistaken as a stud). Females always find me attractive but I only like men. I am masculine because of the constant stress of being the oldest daughter and having a father who is a narracist (cheater) who never showed me how love should be from a good man. My last relationship the guy was also a narcissistic and he saw me as competition because of my personality. It makes me very upset and emotional. Men will come up to me and say “ maybe if you acted more like a girl I would give you a chance” “ your not crazy like the others” “ don’t call me bro” “ your built like a man” I literally get used in relationships for my body. I have never been loved correctly by a man ever. And that's all i want.Every time I think about it I feel like I don’t want to date anyone anymore and save myself the trouble in the future.I just want to be taken off this earth. I feel like God is watching me struggle because he knows eventually I have to let my guard down but I can’t. Can anyone please help me? I feel like I am going insane.

Like, a specific time? I find mornings a struggle. I'm usually a lot better by afternoon. But the first 2-3 hours in the morning, it's just relentless.

Everything I see or read or hear, I seem to find some connection in the thing that I obsess about. Been going on for about a year. Is this normal?

I just looked up if ocd thoughts can be right on ChatGPT and it said yes. I cannot do this. That answer literally put my anxiety through the roof. I’m so scared right now. Like I can’t even explain it. For the last month, my ocd has been revolving around having a certain fetish. It’s been telling me that if I were to go out and do anything related to that fetish in a sexual context, that I would enjoy it. My thoughts are telling me that I would enjoy it which is why I don’t want to explore it. But the truth is, I don’t want to explore it and im disgusted by anything that has to do with it in real life. I know I DONT have this fetish but my mind keeps distorting everything and literally ruining my life. I don’t know what’s real and what’s fake. Like I literally cannot tell anymore. Like this is literally the worst thing ever and im so terrified of my thoughts being right. I keep getting intrusive thoughts about this fetish and it gives me a groinal response which scares me so much. I wanna throw up.

I have been boycotting McDonald’s and all the fast foods and most brands that I know of that support Israel. Especially McDonald’s I haven’t eaten it since the news came out back in October but recently I ate it because my brother and his girlfriend were paying for most of my food from other places on Uber eats. They had limited choices as well because we were in hotel and they kept spending money on Uber eats to buy all of us food and they were running low. They didn’t want to eat McDonald’s because they know who they support but my brothers head was hurting and they were hungry , so we decided to eat some but they were telling me it’s okay you’re not gonna eat it again it’s only for this one time because ordering Uber lift or Uber eats is too expensive. But now that I ate it just feels like I broke a value or moral and idk if they’re that easy to break because I thought about it now but I could’ve easily just starved until the next day when I got back home. I know I only ate one time but that one time was enough for me to feel ashamed , which I feel I should be for knowing what’s going on. I do what I can to support Palestine but after this I need reevaluate myself.