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Was taking a pic of something in my local chemist ( due to OCD? and as I was taking the pic, a small girl lept into the photo and now im worried incase her dad thought i was taking a picture of her. I even have a what if the dad said something to me and I cant remember.

i’ve been missing working out a lot. decided it was time, got a lot of courage. i go to my tiny apartment gym, in the past there’s been 3 people in it maximum. i figured i could handle that without wearing a mask. big mistake. when i came in it looked like there was 2 people, then after my time on the treadmill i saw a 3rd. then i went to the second room to get a foam roller and there were 2 more people. i started feeling nauseous while i was foam rolling. then 2 more people walked in. i left, cried walking up the stairs back to my apartment. this is the most unknown people’s air i’ve exposed myself to in a long time, during a peak covid wave. right now it’s 1 in 21 people in texas. that’s a 30% chance someone in that room had covid recently and could still be contagious. what the fuck is wrong with me? why would i risk my health like that? truly hoping and praying everything will be fine and that i don’t show symptoms over the next couple of days. but it’s all im going to be thinking about until those days pass. fuck.

I'm going to put this in its simplest form. Growing up I believed that a 3 year age gap was normal. I saw it for almost the entirety of my childhood, growing up with cousins, and friends, as well as relationships around me in school. I didn't see it as a target, but a boundary. When I was 18, I fancied someone 3 years younger, I had a private fantasy but stopped because I realised it was inappropriate. When I was 19 something similar happened, but because the girl was 16, the age of consent, it felt more normal. But then I was hit with immediate guilt. I've not pursued anybody underage. I've not interacted with anyone inappropriately underage. As a matter of fact, I'm now in my 20s yet I'm stuck on the guilt of my past actions. My dad said that it's normal teenage sexual curiosity, and just because you become by legal definition an adults you're still learning. He said what matters is who I am today. But I cannot let go of that guilt.

I am scared of kissing bugs and the Chagas Disease, I know it's been around but it was something that I personally didn't know. Now that I do it's like bed bugs all over again but way worse. I'm so scared I'm infected, or that I will, or the bugs get worse, or I kill one in accident and I then get infected. So many things that I'm just scared of

So, my therapist recently recommended nocd, because they have more therapists qualified to treat OCD. Mine is pretty mild, but it has escalated since I moved out (or, maybe it's just more apparent). Either way, the website says my insurance is in-network, but I got an email saying this wasn't the case. The out-of network cost is expensive, and the amount of debt I'd incur with the payment plan is exorbitant. I've emailed to double check, but I am a little frustrated, because I want to get better, but the economic cost of getting better seems too high with the options I currently know of. Does anyone have recommendations? Thank you!

As at the end of the day yes we are in control, but i mean with my brain. it continues to send those unwanted thoughts and every time they play through i feel nothing but complete dread as it upsets me so much i just bawl . for a week iv felt nothing but vulnerable, and i try to be reasonable and say to myself this is only a loop and you will figure it out at the end and you’ll find the light. but there’s always the other half thats like . “but what if not” “no you’re gonna get worse” . dude like what i genuinely cannot find comfort in anything and with even distractions it’s still there . i cannot feel comfortable with myself and i hate that it’s putting me in this little depressive episode. “ just accept it, and don’t fight it” “tell it i don’t know” . that never works either it’s just there it’s like a brick wall and you’re trying to push it . and if you were trying to push a brick wall what do you think is gonna happen. nothing , it’s not even gonna budge. it makes me feel hopeless, i miss who i was the week before this one.

I know I keep coming back with this exact issue lol Idk why it happens. It only happens and stays consistent around my boyfriend of close to 2 years. I am happy. I love him. I enjoy being with him. So why am I nauseous? It happens when I get triggered like when I have a groinal response but when I’m just SITTING with my bf doing nothing- i feel this like. Almost wanting to throw up? But not really? Like I said- I love him, very much. He’s wonderful and kind. He looks at me with such care. And I look at him the same. I love to be next to him. Cuddling him. Telling him I love him Even typing this I feel nauseous, google said lovesickness but idk. I feel like this nausea started after I got on birth control last October? I seem to be having issues with it I think(I’ve been having 3 week long periods since April. Not consistently. But it’s like my 3rd period now and I passed a massive clot so I’m seeing a doctor😃😃) things are. Odd. I’m worried all of this means I’m gay or don’t love him and should leave him wtf etc. We have been discussing marriage so maybe that’s where it’s coming from? And also we’ve been sneaking around for the last 2 years and his parents are getting less and less happy about it (very traditional Muslim family). We’re serious it’s not just a fling I can assure you. We talked about marriage like 4 months in, kinda when my ocd started actually, and it helped relax me and remind me hey things are going well. He’s great. You guys align and can talk about anything. It’s smthn I dreamed about honestly. He makes me laugh. I make him laugh (not as often, I’m not that funny). Idk. Maybe I’m worried I don’t deserve it or it’s all gonna implode Also this frog in my throat seems to make me hungry? But also I can’t eat when I have it. It’s hard to swallow food. That’s always happened so it is an anxiety response ig but. Why? When he’s with me and we try to eat food most of my hunger goes away after a few bites. I can usually eat quite a bit depending on the day. Idk. I’m tired. I don’t feel like myself anymore Advice or related stories would be great🫶🫶🥹🥹

Since i was 16 (18 now) it all started with pocd related intrusive thoughts I would have panic attacks in my closet almost every single day sat there all day every day just having horrible horrible gut wrenching anxiety all day long. I would have a thought and tell myself if were to ever harm like that that i would end my life and I would repeat it in mt head every time a thought came up. I started looking up what I was experiencing and it said something about pocd. It went from pocd to monitoring my every breath and movement for a fear I was breathing too much and people would think I was strange for breathing so heavily and it even happened when I was alone. I even hyper monitored my walking because i though people though I walked strange. It then became something that I think might be something called staring ocd. Where im afraid to look down because im afraid someone will see it as inappropriate and think Im weird. I still monitor where my eyes go 24/7 and im very hyper aware when im around people. Idk if this is a symptom or if I really am just strange but random thoughts like weird sentences about someone would just pop up and Im usually pretty harsh to myself when even the slightest sexual thought pops up now. Idk if its just a dirty mind but its images in my head, thoughts, words, sentences. I dont like them I want them gone completely if i could shut my thoughts off entirley I would. Recently I feel like I may be going through something called exstistencial ocd. A week or so back. I began looking into philosophy because it sounded interesting and that then lead into spirituality and then somehow it got into how the government was controlling us all and the free masons own everything. for about a week I was afraid the government was always watching me at night and sometimes I would get extremely paranoid. Idk what to do how to get help if I even have it. Also idk if this is a symptom of real event but if I perceive that someone thinks something I said is weird or awkward I beat myself up over it for sometimes days. Ive become extremely quiet because im afraid if I try to make a joke or say something that I will accidentally say something socially wrong or inappropriate. Im scared im miserable please help. What do I do. Does it sound like I have it?

My partner always says if it’s in my head then I “didn’t do anything.” But liking another person is doing something wrong!!!!!! (this is just one example I have more) I feel sick

Day 7 of being back on medication! It’s so rough… I can’t even remember the last time I felt this way. I started taking it back in 2017 for the first time and it worked. For the years to follow up until now I’ve had my moments where OCD has come back but not as strong and sticky as when now that I wasn’t on medication. Today is day 7 and I am feeling discouraged because I wanted to feel better already and i am till having anxiety attacks, the thoughts are racing and I can’t sleep well. I’m not hungry The reason why I stopped my medication 5 months ago is because I got pregnant but I regret it so much. Please send words of encouragement if you have experienced anything like this and medicine worked again for you. I’m 21 weeks pregnant

So am I'm beginning to understand my anxiety more, I feel like it's becoming harder to understand. I'm not really sure why but I have steps that I'm taking to truly try and get through handling these feelings. Adults only please . . . . . It's made me realize why I watch porn because it's to get away from the anxiety and it's the only time I'm not feeling anxiety but it ends up coming back stronger and I end up feeling worse afterwards. What bothers me even more is when disgusting pedophiles post stuff with fictional child characters in it (People say it's legal because they aren't real and that's just sick to me and it means creeps and monsters can use this and have no consequences) on YouTube and I just happen to be scrolling by videos and boom stupid stuff like that is just there and it feels intense anxiety and pretty much dying on the inside because of nasty shit like that. I just want to be able to control my anxiety and not have it control me anymore. Does any other adults and ONLY ADULTS relate?

you know how cat likes being tapped stiffly in their lower back? i was doing that and then i tried it on his forehead and he didn't react he was being cuddly with me, i dont think he was hurt the slightest as i kept tapping but im afraid that maybe i did hurt him. i was in a trance. this happened because i was afraid that in the past i might have tried to discipline my cat by tapping on his forehead lightly but i didnt remember so i tried that again to try to remember. i was like costantly tapping his head and he didn't seem to mind. but now i feel like an abuser. the more i tapped the more i felt the urge to do it again to check his reaction. he's totally fine and he didn't seem to care, he was rubbing against me. they were light-stiff playful taps

I started talking to this girl a few weeks ago. At first, everything seemed great, she asked questions, planned a date, even rescheduled when she couldn’t make the first one. Then, out of nowhere, she ghosted me for about eight days. When she came back, she apologized and said she’d been going through a tough time and was scared of going back in the dating world but really liked me and didn’t want me to think I did anything wrong. We started texting again, and it felt like we were back on track. But over the past few days, she’s been inconsistent with long gaps between responses. So last night I basically asked her if she was actually interested in talking or not, to which there wasn’t a quick response so I followed up calling myself dramatic and apologizing. When I woke up there still wasn’t a response and I went into an OCD episode where I thought I had messed everything up and felt the need to overly explain myself with a few more texts even mentioning the OCD because I know how double, triple or however many texts come off. My OCD spiraled, and I ended up sending multiple texts trying to explain myself and apologize, which I now regret. I didn’t say anything mean, the gist was trying to explain myself and apologizing. She hasn’t responded to those messages yet, and I’ve managed to calm my nerves a bit but has anybody had their OCD act up in similar ways? I feel really bad for sending multiple texts but in an OCD episode it felt like I had to in order to calm myself; which I know is irrational. Has anyone been through something similar or have strategies for handling this kind of relationship anxiety and overthinking?

I know I’ve posted a lot today and I’m very sorry I’ve just had a lot on my mind!! I’m only a teen and I’m really curious what I can work to do to get a diagnosis? I’ve never been to the dr for anything besides anxiety as my parents haven’t really let me and I’m finally starting therapy for the first time on the 25th. I feel really embarrassed at the idea of talking to a Dr about thinking I have ocd because I’m scared they’ll think I’m childish or faking but I’ve been dealing with all do this for 6 years and it’s been eating me alive every moment. I feel like I can’t do anything normally anymore. I want to live.

Yesterday I was really worried about something that happened about 10 years ago and it was causing me anxiety to the point I was struggling at work. So I texted my mom and asked if I could come talk to her after work but it got to the point it was consuming me to where I just texted her about it because I couldn’t move on with my day. She is usually very good about helping me understand the situation so that I can calm down. However, yesterday once I told her about my worry all she said was ‘Oh well? I’m not judging you’ to which I completely lost it and felt like she was confirming that what I did was bad. She said she doesn’t want to feed the obsession. I know that she is trying not to reassure me but I feel like it’s sent me into a deeper spiral. I have had some bad experiences in the past where I’ve trusted some people with my OCD themes and they back stabbed me and even spread rumors about me. I’ve been able to trust my mom up until this point, but now I can’t even get myself to text her. I don’t want to see her and I have this extreme feeling of anger towards her. I feel like this is finally the thing she’s gonna hate me for. I once heard that on earth we see sin on a spectrum or a scale that some sin is worse then others. However, to God who is looking down, where we see a stack, He can only see the top of the stack so it just looks like red dots to him so all sin is the same to Him. I really struggle with the idea of God, but I feel like I see it the same way, bad is bad regardless of how bad. At least that’s how I see it within myself, not others. So when I do something I perceive as bad it is just bad and makes me bad and to me that is logical. For example, when someone commits murder they are labeled as a bad, awful person, regardless of if they have done 1000 amazing things in their life. Even if they aren’t convicted for 30 years and they completely turn their life around and do amazing things, it does not matter. They still did something bad and people will hunt them down so they can be punished. So why is any other bad thing any different? People say it’s real event OCD and that these things I worry that I’ve done are not a big deal. But, if I’m worried about something that really happened then how can it be irrational? I have never murdered anyone but I feel like I have given that’s they way I feel about any potentially bad thing I’ve done. So when I can’t get reassurance sometimes I feel like it confirms that feeling of bad and makes me spiral more because then I think not only do I see myself this way, but now so does this other person. I know that this is a long post, but can anyone relate? Is reassurance sometimes okay?

Everything is filthy and it’s because of me. So I’ve(16m)been kind of getting better at handling my cocd but recently I was in bed and had a ‘physical reaction’ I won’t delve deeper into that and my fear revolves around bodily fluids so this is obviously something that would trigger it but I tried to just sit with it and just told myself ‘ok I’ll just washed my covers then’ and I take the covers off and to my horror my mattress is discolored and idk why I use a protector on it but I guess only a few years ago. There’s like discoloration on the top and yellow discoloration on the side and the side that touches the wall has black discoloration and I’m just so disgusted. But I go wash my covers and then my mind just wanders to the fact that my little cousins are coming over for my brothers birthday and I panicked I need to clean and that’s when what happened earlier really bothers me I basically just turned my room into a biohazard I look and my mattress is like touching 2 things those things are infected now according to my brain and I panick now the whole room is dangerous my dirty clothes that fell on the floor now the floor is ruined. So Im now slowly cleaning over the past few days and its not helping im just freaking out more and on top of my room the bathroom is dirty and idk how to clean it I mean IM guess im scared i won’t clean good enough because im the only one who will clean it even though 2 other people use it and dont clean it its dirty and it irks me so bad every time i use the shower I spray it with bleach and the floor around the shower but the bathroom counter is dirty and I need to clean it but idk if it’ll be enough. And I need to mop but every time i mop my feet still get dirty from just walking on the floor so i must be doing something right. Idk what to do im panicking everything is dirty idk what to do I need advice.

hi everyone just wanted to share what i’ve been going through lately. i’m a 24f and im a masc lesbian. i’ve been lesbian for as long as i can remember. i’ve had crushes on girls since i was very young, my first kiss was even with a girl in pre school. growing up i was told it was wrong and didn’t even know what the lgbt community was or anything like that and as an adolescent i wanted to fit in with all the other girls and have a boyfriend or like a boy but it felt forced and unnatural. middle school was when i really discovered my sexuality. i had a crush on a girl and it felt so real and different. from then on i knew i was lesbian. since then ive been very comfortable in my sexuality and i should mention that i can admit when a man is attractive and have always been secure in that there was no other meaning behind it, that’s how secure i was. as of late ive had small triggers that made me question if i secretly liked men but id shut it down quick. i often get gender envy and if i were to find a man attractive it’d be because i wish i could look like them but then the fixation started where my brain started asking if this meant i liked them and it completely derailed me. ive also seen so many tiktoks of lesbians who are suddenly straight which added to my fear. it got really bad this last month where i started going on chat gpt for reassurance. my mind started imaging scenarios with men and asking if i was aroused or if i would enjoy doing things with men. it got so bad i would dread going to the gym. these last couple days have been okay ive been letting the thoughts pass but now that ive been more passive my brain tells me that it must be true that i actually like men because now my brain doesn’t feel anxious. i’m ts a continuous loop does anyone have any advice ?

OCD master post Do's and don'ts of ocd: Don't : Try to ignore (avoidance) Try to make sense of it (Ruminate) Act on it (compulsion) Argue with it (basically Ruminating) Distract yourself in spite of it (avoidance) All of the above will make ocd worse and does not work. Do: Acknowledge it Accept uncertainty Redirect your attention once acknowledged to something else Have healthy distractions available (try to use different ones every now and then to avoid creating a compulsion) Exaggerate the thought until its ridiculous, borderline unrealistic and funny. Respond with "maybe, maybe not", " sure", "cool", "thanks, you do you, I'm gonna do my thing, feel free to stay though" The above responses can train your mind to not deem them as threats and over time will trigger the fight or flight response less and less. You'll most likely make mistakes here and there but as long as you stay vigilant and don't get complacent, this should help. Ironic process theory and our internal alarm system: https://youtu.be/xoSlOnUuw-U?feature=shared Ironic process theory is to do with attachment and the idea of non-existence. The more we try to not think about something that already exists as a thought the more it'll prove it exists and demands your attention. With attachment, people tend to ignore or argue against in spite of the thought. If you do this you are doing it because of the thought, therefore giving it more life. Thirdly your brain will start to set an internal alarm via thoughts and hormones or even bodily reactions every time you are stressed, just to see if you're not stressed about that trigger even if it's not what triggered you in the moment. To combat this, you'll need to find a way to deal with the thoughts directly and let them be and get through it via Erp, or being able to accept the thought as a thought and redirecting your attention without attachment (despite or regardless of the thoughts) Erp done effectively: When you do Erp in therapy sessions, it's done in a controlled way and on your own terms. A lot of people make the mistake of only doing it in therapy with only ocd related themes. Truth is, you can do it with any level of discomfort and it's good to practice whenever you can as long as you're mindful of other people. When you're doing it out of therapy and on your own terms, you challenge a potential trigger and then welcome the feeling that follows. I find welcoming or accepting the feelings existence helps a lot. I would welcome the fear and all the horrible feelings until I'm crying and trembling and on the edge of a panic attack, the feeling always fades and trains your brain not to deem it as a threat anymore. No more ocd firedrills. Why practice is valuable. Imagine you have a boxing match with an opponent coming up, and that opponent is tough. They train every day, and you don't train at all. Who do you think will win when the day of the fight comes around? The opponent of course. So train yourself so you stand a fighting chance or risk getting your butt kicked every time OCD enters the ring. Hormones and circadian ryhtm: So the circadian rhythm is your internal body clock. Your hormones learn patterns and release at certain times of day. Usually based on the amount of sunlight exposure you get. Cortisol the stress hormone is the one to wake us up and if you do not find a way to deal with those hormones first thing, your ocd alarm will go off and bring up scenarios or thoughts to fill in the gap as to why your body is stressed. ERP, Exercise, breathing meditations, cold plunges are great for the morning to eliminate excess cortisol. Sunlight helps too, roughly 30 minute exposures is enough to help keep your circadian rhythm healthy. Melatonin kicks in when it starts to get dark or you've went through your hormone reserves for the day. The more you go through in a healthy way, the better you'll sleep. Rough neuro science explanation : https://youtu.be/BJshegpcFv8?feature=shared So your brain will use one of 2 pathways to process external stimuli. The direct pathway, being the shortest route to process in case of a threat or perceived threat. This pathway is dominant in those who have ocd. The there's the indirect pathway which takes longer but is related to rationalising thoughts. This pathway is used less by people with ocd. This pathway requires sufficient seratonin levels in order to be used and that's why SSRIs are popular medications for people with ocd. Food and drink consumption: So I tested myself based on lots of personal research around what we put in our body and how it effects ocd. Sugar, fructose and glucose levels spike quite quickly depending on your source. It can lead your body being stressed and releasing the corresponding hormones to notify you are stressed, then your brain will try fill in the gap whether you're aware of this or not. Whole fruits tend to be the best source as they contain fibre, acting as a slow release of energy rather than flooding your system. Caffeine has the same effect without question, and also screws up your circadian rhythm if not taken at sensible times. Trans fats, saturated fats and processed foods are also bad. These may not effect your brain as quickly as sugar or caffeine but stress your body over a slower and longer period. All of the above are not just inflammatories for your muscles and organs, they are neuro inflammatories, making it much harder for your brain to use the indirect pathway for rationalising your thoughts, therefore supporting the direct neuropathway and your usual OCD patterns. The foods I started to eat are heavy in anti inflammatories to help my brain function better, anti oxidants to help lower the stress in my body, and food that support seratonin production to promote the use of the indirect neural pathway. The list below is vegan friendly, but you can look into this to suit your preferred needs ●Tryptophan - leafy greens, sunflower seeds, water cress, soy beans, pumpkin seeds, mushrooms, brocoli, peas ●vit b6 - nutritional yeast, muesli, avacado, pistachio nuts, butternut squash, banana, quinoa, brown spaghetti, chestnuts, hazelnuts, oranges, tahini, potatoes, chickpeas, kidney beans, peanuts ●higher b12 complex - yeast extract, Soya milk, almond milk, tofu, tempeh, seaweed, beetroot ●Vit D - portobello mushrooms, shitake mushrooms, orange juice, soya yoghurt ●zinc - beans, cashew nuts, Lentils, chia seeds, linseed, hemp seeds, wholemeal bread, blackberries, pomegranate juice, spinach, strawberries, pecan nuts, Brazil nuts, oatmeal ●Complex carbs - quinoa, brown rice, peas, corn, sweet potatoes, barley, lentils, nuts, legumes ●Thiamine / Vit b1 - beans, peas, legumes, nuts, brown rice ●Monounsaturated fats - extra virgin olive oil, other oils, nuts and avacados ●Vit c - guava, peppers, kiwi, mango, papaya, strawberries, brocoli ●Polyphenols - berries, dark chocolate, cocoa powder, nuts, flax seeds, olives, green tea, artichoke, red grapes, spinach ●Antioxidant - Brocoli, spinach, carrots, potatoes, artichoke, cabbage, beetroot, kale, spices ●Anti inflammatories - olive oil, avacado, walnuts, tomatoes, dark chocolate, leafy greens, brocoli, ginger, turmeric, berries, grapes, chia seeds, pepper, garlic, spirulina ●Raisins, red wine, grapes You can eat all of this and not feel the effect of the benefits. You need to tell your body to produce seratonin through what you do. Stuff like exercise, meditations, and walking in nature will help do this. Mindfulness and being in the moment: So our brains do not know the difference between a real threat and a perceived threat and will react the same regardless of how we can rationalise it. A lot of us are stuck in the past or the future and mindfulness promotes being present. The past and future are both illusions of the mind. They are not happening now but our ocd brains react as if they are real. Anything that is not happening now isn't real. So practicing anything that will pull you closer to the present moment will help to ground you in reality. Everything that doesnt exist in the present is infinite and we cannot be certain of any of it, all we can be certain of is the here and now. Core values, self judgement and breaking the cycle : A lot of us are stuck in cycles, going around and around. These cycles are due to a lot of our core values and the thoughts/ past actions not lining up with the. These can be caused by trauma and/ or conditioning. Usually we can't let go because something clashed with the way in which we judge things, but the problem doesn't actually lie in our focus, but the values in which we judge them. The problem isn't what we weigh, but the scale itself. This is where it can get tricky, especially if what we think feels justified. It's not that your judging the scenario, actions or thoughts incorrectly, it's that your values are a bit on the extreme side. For example, I had harm ocd for 2 years and it was telling me to hurt everyone and everything in every way possible. This theme came about because I had a random intrusive thought once that clashed with my extreme values on morals having been raised by a reformed ex gangster and animal rights activist. The fault was caused by the conditioning I received. So when you go into therapy, please try to understand your conditioning and challenge them through Erp and some self compassion because it's not your fault. Where the fault lies does not matter, because that doesn't change what you need to do. You have to heal yourself regardless of it all.

Wondering how long ya'll have had Real Event OCD, since I think this is probably one of the worst types you can have (I'm biased). 1. How long? 2. Have you gone to ERP? 3. What has it done to you and your life? 4. What's helped? for me -- 1. I've had it and tolerated it with no professional therapy for like 7 years (ugghhhh) 2. Have not been to ERP but I'm trying to do more research 3. I feel like it's ruined my brain, my peace of mind, my happiness, negatively affected working, being present, wasted so much time ruminating, less social, etc. So many terrible ripple effects. I feel like it's destroyed my brain health. So many headaches, migraines, feeling "off" all the time, less focus, less everything relative to where I was before. I feel like I'm in Purgatory, stuck in the same loop that never ends, perpetually fkd. It's a daily struggle. 4. I guess learning more about OCD, "delaying" compulsions (but that gets OCD'd too), this site has helped, How about you?

I've been watching a lot of mainly political videos recently. It started as trying to get a better understanding of everything going on in the world and how we got here in the first place, but one of the last videos I came across was about certain hateful groups of people that are becoming more active in recent years due to varying factors. The whole video made me so uncomfortable. Rightfully so, I think, even if it was informative. But now I can't stop thinking about how scary it is that humans can be sort of indoctrinated into such hateful mindsets and views... These issues have existed for a long time in the US, but recently, I've noticed that a lot of people are being more vocal about certain discriminatory views they hold and things. Maybe I'm overloading myself with too much information. I don't know. I'm just feeling really unsettled after that video. I can't imagine ever becoming someone like that, but it scares me to think about :(