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How do I not let myself get obsessed with the thought that my boyfriend will be attracted to other girls sometimes? I know it’s harmless when it’s just a thought in his head but It feels so hurtful and disloyal to me

Constantly struggle with the battle between saying ‘thoughts are just thoughts and OCD thoughts are ego-dystonic so you know they don’t represent who you are’ and the acceptance route of ‘it’s just a thought, maybe it means something, maybe it doesn’t me - in my mind I’m like ‘well if it maybe means something then how can it be ego dystonic?’ - I really need help getting my mindfulness together!

I'm just completely screwed. I tried to call the ocd institute and the lady didn't sound nice at all and the lady's schedule is full. I also tried to call back walmart for like the 100th time and they still wont answer me. I'm sick of trying and getting nothing I need fucking help badly and no one will.

It's not a feeling of being unsure. It's a feeling of being sure and being horrified about it. I don't think I have OCD.

So OCD and trying to challenge it is at the forefront of my mind but I think this is making it worse but if I dont try to challenge it then it's probably just going to maintain itself or get worse so what should I do?

I just saw a new therapist near me via video chat and he just told me that there’s a purpose to why I have all these thoughts and now I’m nervous gr8 :)

Ok everybody! Let's talk about dreams for a hot second! I notice a pattern of members posting about dreams that involve their OCD obsessions. The dreams trigger distress, which is followed by rumination and reassurance seeking to get temporary relief. I wonder if part of the issue is that our cultures often do a bad job of educating us about dreams in general. So, psychoeducation time! We often think that when we fall asleep, our brains "turn off". This couldn't be farther from the truth. Our brains are just as active when we are asleep as when we are awake. They are just active in a different way. We cycle through multiple phases of sleep every night. The cycle where we dream is called REM sleep. It stands for "rapid eye movement" because during this phase of sleep our eyes dart around under our eyelids as though we are watching something. Everyone dreams during rem sleep every night, some people just don't remember it in the morning. All mammals have rem sleep. You may have noticed your dog or cat twitching as they sleep, maybe making little running movements. that's them dreaming in their REM sleep. Unlike during the other phases of sleep, we are mostly paralyzed while we dream. in fact, in experiments where scientists damaged the part of cats brains that are responsible for the paralyzation, the cats wobbled around acting out pouncing and chasing in their sleep- presumably actually doing what they were dreaming about. We don't really know why we need it, but we know it's important. Anything you can think about while you're awake, you can dream about. In fact, dreams are often much less loosley tied to reality. It's like our imaginations have totally free rein. We do know that things we spend a lot of time thinking about when we are awake (like obsessions) show up more frequently in out dreams. That's not surprising. After all, the same neural pathways that are responsible for our obsessions during the day are still there at night. Dreams are not inherently meaningful, despite what dream dictionaries or fortune teller a might insist. There is no reason to out loads of effort into interpreting them. They are just something out brains do to stay healthy. Maybe with the exception of trauma nightmares. Does that information help? If you've got more questions, ask them in the comments and I'll do my best to find resources to answer them

Anyone in the UK experienced therapy on the NHS? What was your experience? It’s the only route I can feasibly take but I want to find someone experienced in treating OCD/more specifically pure O.

I’m sad and kind of scared to stop working with my therapist. I’ve been doing therapy through the app and my therapist is great. She’s super nice and understanding and I’ve enjoyed my sessions with her, as well as seen progress with doing ERP. Today was my 8th and final session but after talking with support we are able to have a couple more check in sessions. I just don’t feel ready to be on my own I guess, without a therapist to check in with and talk to when I’m dealing with something. I was so happy to work with not only a therapist but an OCD specialist. Whenever our sessions wrap up I don’t know if I’ll have to find another one, and from my previous research it’s a psychologist in the next town over, but that means starting over yet again with another therapist. I’d love to keep working with my own but I don’t know how long I am supposed to be with a therapist so am I supposed to start learning to let go now or what do I do?

Currently going through the process of how do I know I don’t like these thoughts if I can’t feel ? Ocd has made me question everything and feel nothing now ... currently going through ERP but I see so many posts about how it hasn’t helped them and I’m so scared I’ll never get my feelings back.

How did you come to realise that you have OCD? Did you find out through a therapist or did you discover it yourself? And what were your early signs of it?

I know I probably shouldn’t but I feel like begging for help right now I’m not sure if these are intrusive thoughts or if I really am a horrible, racist person I’ve done so much research and everything and learned so much about the Arabic language and Islam to educate myself and act as exposure but I’m so so terrified this uncomfortable feeling I have when I hear Arabic music isn’t just my OCD and I really am a monster

Does anyone else feel that they could be really great and really happy if they would just get out of their own way? I’ve had anxiety issues all my life, and am only now learning how my anxiety stems from my ocd. I can see that its been the basis of a lot of choices I made, and I fear it always will. I now feel like I am unhappy with life because I do not let myself be the person I am due to fear. I think naturally I am a free spirit, I love nature, adventures, and learning new things. In my heart I’d love to explore the world and make a difference, but I’m scared my OCD won’t allow me to do this. Its hard when all you want is to be free and you feel so confined by your own mind.

Suicidal OCD I went to a psychiatrist today because I was fed up of how bad my Suicidal OCD was getting. I have been suffering so much just trying to figure out whether I’m actually suicidal or just having intrusive thoughts that make me REALLY feel like I want to die (which in turn makes my anxiety extremely high). I feel like I just want to die and am hopeless that I’ll get better. The psychiatrist assured me that it was an obsession but for some reason, I feel like I didn’t give him enough information for him to find out whether I am truly suicidal or just dealing with intrusive thoughts. I also struggle so much in the mornings because I feel complete hopeless and that life is meaningless. I just don’t feel like Suicidal OCD can get you to the point where you feel completely hopeless and lack of interest and just make you want to stay in bed ruminating and suffering all day.

Yay! Another acronym! What should you do when you get an intrusive thought? ACCEPT it! - AGREE with the possibility it could be true. "maybe it could happen" or "uh, huh, it's possible". - CALL ITS BLUFF by doing a behavioral experiment. "I'm going to touch that toilet anyway, OCD. Go ahead and prove that I'll die before tomorrow comes around" - Boost your CONFIDENCE. "I have coped with hard things before and can do it again". "That would suck, but I'd find a way to be ok" - Add an EMOJI ? Emojis are so popular because they are pictoral gestures. Gestures and body language are an enormous part of how we communicate. Adding an eyeroll ? or shrug ?‍♀️ can go a long way towards changing the attitude you respond to the thought with. - PAUSE and PUT IT OFF aka POSTPONE. "I'll cross that bridge when I get to it". "if it's still a problem tomorrow, I'll reconsider what to do then". "I'll think about this later" (ps, you can totally just keep delaying indefinitely) - And finally, TRANSITION to another TOPIC. "Right now I'm going to keep doing my homework". "I'd rather continue a conversation with my friend about his vacation". "I'm more interested in noticing the nature as I walk rather than ruminating. Look! A cool mushroom!" - I've ? starred the AGREE and TRANSITION because those are the most important bits. As long as you start by agreeing with the possibility and end with transitioning to another topic, you can sandwich in any of the other strategies that suit your needs in the moment. - Did you like this? Is there something you think I should change or add? Is it something you can use? Tell me all about it in the comments! I love hearing your perspective. -

Hello, I have posted before regarding my 13 year old daughter and wondered if anyone else had the same triggers, hers is mental contamination. She doesn’t like bogies, snot , anyone touching their nose, Nose breathing - can’t stand near her pass her things, have to look away when she comes I. Same room so don’t nose breathe near her, She has done a week of Skype sort of intense therapy/ she has done some ERP - went into her sisters Room, Opened cupboard doors, touched things, Went into her room without washing her feet, Touched her remote Control but won’t try anything more and to even get her to repeat these things over again she says I am nagging and all I want to do is talk about ocd, she can be very Bulshy and repeats what I say is a sarcastic way - I’m finding it hard at the Moment to figure out what is her being scared of doing things, or is she is just being a teenager and a bit lazy, and when she speaks to Me Like rubbish - I try not to retaliate as she gets stress and panicky and then it goes on and on but she doesn’t even clear up the mess around the only sofa she will sit on and no one else is allowed over ther or in that area incase we nose breath or something falls out of our Nose. She Knows what she needs to do but when I suggest anything she says oh you were proud of me yesterday when I did. That now you aren’t and you just want more All the time / I don’t care about me I just want her not to lose anymore of her life to this horrid bully- it is like we are the contaminated horrible ones and not the ocd! Any help would be greatly received thankyou

HOCD I don’t if I have habituated to the thoughts these says but the thought in my head of doing anything gay doesn’t cause me any disgust or dislike or make my stomach turn and feel like it’s the opposite. It doesn’t excite me in terms of arousal or an erection. My therapist says this is called conditioning and habituation but with out that level of dissatisfaction I feel like it’s the opposite yeah I can do it. So ultimately can Hocd people realise they are Gay and just in denial. Can anyone relate. I feel like i don’t do any reassurance that I am straight because all I think of his gay acts 24/7 trying to find some level of dislike. I have been diagnosed with OCD but I thought this meant I wasn’t Gay like people with PoCD and harm ocd mean ls they aren’t killers or P...

I thought it might be helpful to share my story of POCD, and how there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I began this obsession in the middle of high school, due to a variety of stressors and past experiences. The thought of being aroused by children was so revolving that it took over my life, silently. I thought it would go away on its own, but it never left. At the worst point, I spent probably 8-9 hours a day obsessing. This went on for years, untreated, and, I became very depressed and felt so lonely. I started seeing a therapist, but they only saw the depression and not what caused it. I eventually was hospitalized for a while for the depression. I had considered that I might have OCD before, but since my rituals were mostly genital checking and avoidance, not something like hand-washing, I didn’t think it was OCD. But finally, my therapist suggested that we use an OCD framework. I saw an OCD specialist, and although I still thought I was a pedophile, I tried ERP and Lexapro. Now, I spend very little time daily, or even weekly, on my POCD, and I usually only do checking if reminded. It took nearly a year and a half from my diagnosis to get to this point, but I have slowly turned my life around and have reclaimed my life from that specific obsession. The biggest thing for me was learned to overcoming the stigma of my thoughts. The first step is being able to say your obsession, as terrible as it may be. Even writing down ”the P word” over and over is a huge step. You’re not evil, you’re not a bad person, and with hard work, you’ll get your life back.

Hi everyone. I’m currently struggling with my ROCD. I get really caught up in social media and I have this idea in my head that if my boyfriend likes other girls pictures I feel like he doesn’t actually love me and would rather be with other woman. It’s made me really upset and it’s starting arguments. I don’t know if breaking up with him is irrational for me to do. I don’t know if it’s my ocd or my insecurities. Or if it’s my ocd heightening my insecurities. Either way. I’m really struggling. Every person that has confessed their love for me romantically, I’ve struggled to truly believe them bc my thoughts tell me that they could be lying and they don’t love me as much as they say they do... any advice or opinions?

How can I help people on this app and write helpful posts without reassuring them? I always feel that I reassure people by accident and actually end up obviously harming instead of helping. :( some of you guys on here are such good advice givers, I want to be aswell.