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I feel really bad right now.And really scared.I am scared I am a horrible person.Like I wnjoy horrible things.I am scared is getting really bad again

Does anyone take sleeping aids to help with sleep? Does it affect your OCD?

(I’m not sure if this has anything triggering but just in case—know that I bring up my OCD but not what it is specifically so I think it’s fine? ) Just really struggling right now and was wondering if anyone had any words of advice or encouragement? I’ve had OCD my entire life but it didn’t start becoming severe until I was around 14/15. It reached the point of extreme where going anywhere or socializing at all caused embarrassment because I had NO idea how to control compulsions and had no idea that’s what they were in the first place. I would also get lost in intrusive thoughts and physically couldn’t communicate. Fast forward and I was isolated throughout the years important to my development. Didn’t go to school, didn’t go to any social events, didn’t get a job (and then 2020 came along and I literally couldn’t.) and just stayed in my room letting my OCD consume me. It was really bad in 2022 and destroyed a very important relationship I had and set me back once again, it hit me extremely strong and a few months later I was once again just -stuck- these were years I was supposed to get ready for college but I couldn’t, and now this year I’m turning 20 and I have nothing to show for it. I’m still stuck and at this point I just feel like there’s no hope for me. The only job I can muster up anything for is creative writing but I feel like such a failure. I’m in such a dark place and I just can’t convince myself it’ll get better. Any words of encouragement would be nice because I just don’t know what to do.

I just started dating this guy not too many months ago. he is everything i ever wanted and he treats me right. but now my OCD intrusive thoughts are creeping back in. ones like “do i love him/like him” and like “i have to tell him im having these horrible OCD thoughts or we will never know how i truly feel.” but i know i love/like him. And sometimes I’ll be having a good day and then BAM, the thoughts smack me in the face and i get stuck in an anxious loop and it ruins my mood. how can i break this compulsion without feeling so anxious and do i tell him i’m having these thoughts to relieve the anxiety?

Hey everyone, I’m about 4-5 months into my OCD recovery now and feeling a lot better overall. I’ve been thinking about a bunch of stuff lately, and one thing that keeps coming up is coffee. I used to be convinced that coffee made my anxiety and intrusive thoughts worse, but now I’m wondering if that was just another one of OCD’s tricks. I’m really thinking about giving coffee another go because, honestly, my work days can be so draining, and I feel like I could really use that caffeine boost again! 😂 But I’m still a bit on the fence and wanted to hear your experiences. Have any of you noticed if caffeine actually affects your OCD or anxiety? Does it make things worse for you, or have you found it doesn’t really have much of an impact? Would love to get your opinions! Thanks!

I've seen numerous posts about changing themes and introducing new ones. Could it be that these categories are merely artificial constructs we've created to impose order on a disorder that isn't truly related to the themes themselves? It seems like they might provide a misleading framework for addressing issues and could potentially confine both patients and caregivers to a limited perspective. What are your thoughts on this?

I am still spiralling more than a week later about a situation with my cousin’s son. He is nearly two and I had my foot off the couch when he walked by. Im scared his private part touched my foot but he was clothed. No I feel like I traumatized him and ruined his life and mine. I feel like I can’t live not knowing whether I hurt him or not. How do you deal with the terrible guilty and anxiety? It definitely comes in waves for me but today I have felt horrible.

I’m starting to feel like recovery is not possible. I want to love my boyfriend again. I want to be with him forever. The pain in my chest is becoming unbearable. The headache I have everyday is becoming unbearably exhausting. Losing this relationship will be the biggest regret of my life but I’m also scared that staying will be the biggest regret of my life.

Does anyone have any suggestions for coping skills for health concern ocd or contamination ocd? I’m trying really hard to not let my compulsions get the best of me but it’s so hard to not let the anxiety absolutely and completely spiral.

I wanna talk about psychosomatic symptoms. How powerful are they for you? Because sometimes symptoms start for me before I even know it’s linked to a disease—but then I Google it and it intensifies. I kind of wanna hear about the power of y’all’s psychosomatic symptoms bc I think it may make me feel better.

Can testing for groinal responses cause them to happen? For example i will think of an intrusive thought in the past or create a fake scenario in my head and i will start to feel something down there every time. It’s it a learned response for the trama of this thoughts? Or i’m an actually a P. Dose anyone else experience this with POCD or should i look into get more help?

I don’t know why, but my ROCD is really loud right now. I’m obsessed with the idea of our relationship being “right”. Do I need to work on myself more before I can be in a good relationship? (My relationship is great by the way) Am I really going to commit to this person for the rest of my life? Is he holding me back? These are just a few of the questions I’m obsessed with right now. It’s so tiring and I just want to be able to enjoy my relationship for what it is. I’m feeling so sad and down. I’m trying not to search for reassurance but it’s also scary because I think “is this my OCD or is this real and true”. Any advice on how to help this. NOCD doesn’t take my insurance so I can’t go to therapy currently.

Im so depressed... and I feel alone... theres no hope... My pocd keeps saying that my worst fear of unknowingly cybering with a minor has actually happened and it's really triggering the hell out of me... I feel so horrible...My pocd keeps saying I "unknowingly erotically role played with a minor" when idek if this actually happened or not... this was nearly three years ago... (september of 2021) for context we were erotically role playing on an 18+ discord server, (she wasnt verified, but I assumed she was 18+ because we were on an 18+ place) and then she suddenly stopped responding, before leaving the server shortly after an unknown time... im so freaking anxious and scared... her grammar was fine at first, but then as we were going on, she kept making errors like "boxer" or "then" instead of "than"... my pocd keeps saying that I "UNKNOWINGLY EROTICALLY ROLEPLAYED WITH A MINOR" when idek if this happened or not... some people told me she sounds like/is a young adult... chatGPT tells me she sounded like a teenager... I genuinely dont know what to believe anymore... (these two photos are from her account, and the beginning of our ERP... I hope she wasnt a teenager... I really hope she wasnt...)

a few months back (i can’t remember exactly) i had just started the pill and i think the day after i started me and my bf at the time did it no protection. now i’m worried i might be pregnant because i keep feeling weird kicks in my guts. i already had taken like three different tests and they were all negative but i’m worried i did them wrong. please help. i looked it up on google and it said it was phantom kicks but even then i’m just not sure.

TRIGGER WARNING TALKS OF CANCER AND INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS ARE TALKED ABOUT. Hey everyone just kinda wanted something to vent to. Unfortunately my mom got diagnosed with cancer again and my intrusive thoughts centered around her when my harm ocd was bad. I feel so guilty and ashamed for these thoughts I almost feel like it’s triggering to be around her since the recent relapse in the ocd cycle. I just want to hug her and be there for her and tell her everything is gonna be ok. I start therapy again tomorrow which is good but I just feel really bad. Thanks to anyone that reads.

Hey everyone, looking for advice! Or just to talk about this.. I have suicidal ocd and have for awhile. I go to therapy for it. I am just scared that I am depressed and actually thinking about suicide as an option. I don’t want to be thinking about that. Sometimes the thoughts feel quieter so it tricks me. Anyone else deal with this? I get thoughts like “you don’t care about life, you don’t want to be here” blah blah. It feels like it’s trying to make me think I’m depressed.

Do any of you mix up dates and sometimes find that you stress if you did something whilst in a relationship which would result in you being a cheater I remember something from 6 years ago but my brain is saying it was 5 years ago or potentially overlapping when i met my now boyfriend but its not true, im sure of it - but the ocd wont let me be sure…. Hate this!! Anyone relate?

I know I love my boyfriend but I have this constant weight in my chest then I get anxious that I don’t actually love him. What can I do 😭😭 We almost broke up yesterday and I finally had some emotion to the fact of him leaving bc of my rocd. I lost it. I don’t want to lose him but I have no feelings towards him. I’m not excited, I am fearful. I’m scared. Please help me

I grew up very Catholic, but maybe that doesn’t matter here. How can I untangle from the thought that every coincidence is a “sign” from god or the universe? This has latched onto so many different areas of my life and now it’s on my daughters health/safety. Reading a story and there is a dead kid in it—must be a sign!! Getting a random name in my head and it’s someone who died—a sign of the worst to come!! Signs, jinxing, manifesting, etc. were always reinforced when I was growing up (and today in some cases too)—“it must be a sign!” Any ideas on how I can untangle from this?

I've discovered recently that around a few hours after waking up my OCD and anxiety flares up and even when I'm "done" with a compulsion, it just keeps going regardless, because my brain is active and goes back to the thought and keeps adding. The different thoughts are spread out through different hours of the day, but in the morning I can resist, then more in the afternoon it's like I don't have the ability to resist anymore and the anxiety takes over, even if I'm out doing things. It always calms down when it's the next day in the early hours of the morning, the time I also feel the happiest or calmest too. If I "finish" a compulsion or ritual, which is a compulsion, or tell myself this is the time to stop, and wait around 1-3 hours the feeling wears off, but i still get scared I'll do it again which most times i don't do because the anxiety leaves, only at night tho when my brain gets tired. I don't go out a lot so that's the reason I think my brain is becoming more active, and maybe a bit too active. It's become manageable and predictable but obviously still irritating.