My ocd this year has been horrible but all of a sudden it seems to have settled. I’ve proved my fears wrong from every angle but most importantly, the research is dying down. Now I’m lying in bed not feeling right. I should be happy. Why do I feel like I am going to snap or something?
I was prescribed it recently and have heard it’s relatively new, was wondering if anyone had any luck with it.
Kind of a vent, or a dairy entry idk, sorry Tldr; I worked hard to start loving myself. I'm a troubled christian but also crave a relationship. I don't know if I should completly devote myself to be a good christian. I don't want to ever give up my faith Lately I can't help but think about life. My main theme is SOOCD and after months of fighting it I'm much better. But I'm in that weird phase where I'm mostly concerned about how my future relationship will look like. I've never been in a relationship due to my social anxiety and horrible self esteem. I started to fantasize about being with that dream guy, but whenever I think about anything sexual with him it's high anxiety. I had a phase before where I was crying because SOOCD and being scared of being asexual. Now I think it's just my social anxiety, but I also observed that it calms me down when I imagine him and me with wedding rings. I'm a christian, but a horrible one. I sin a lot in my thoughts and start daydreaming whenever I pray. I'm trying to fight it, but it's hard. And I was always looking down on myself because I'm not perfect and that I could do so much better. Lately I was working on myself and I finally started thinking more about myself than others. I wanna do what I wanna do and be myself, no matter what they think. And I think that I don't want to wait until marriage. I'm not sure tho, but I have a strong urge. I feel like if I found the right guy and I would feel super safe and comfortable with him, I would want to have sex. And this drives me crazy lately. If I want to sin, how can I be a christian? How do I give up something that I want, when I was working so hard to learn to do what I want? Why do I have to belittle myself and be humble, when I felt like actual human trash all my life and just started to feel good now? Should I give up all my wants and my human value? I don't want to, but I love God so much I want to be His child. I will never ever give up my faith, but I feel like I'm blasphemous for calling myself a christian. If needed, I can completly devote myself and be a piece of sh** again. But I worked so hard and finally feel good with myself. I feel like if I don't belittle myself and give up everything I'm being blasphemous for even praying or thinking about God. I feel like this may be ocd, but I'm not sure. My ocd likes to jump around and be different types, I literally had half of the existing themes already. I'd appreciate if somebody commented and shared something, I feel awful sitting with this by myself Thank you
I have always been a very empathetic person (or so I thought) and I don’t like much about myself but I do like that I used to care a lot about keeping space for other people’s feelings. I now find it almost impossible to feel anything towards life, myself or others. Everything other people share with me now just agitates me because I feel completely unable to relate despite deeply wanting to. I don’t know what is wrong with me. Has anyone else experienced this as a side effect of OCD?
I have had a headache that comes and goes with visual auras and sometimes noise sensitivity for almost a week at this point. I’m on about day 13 of taking Prozac. The pain comes and lasts for about 15-30 seconds then fades away, then comes back multiple times a day. It started off as more consistent pain/headache. Can anyone relate to this?
Is it normal to have really bad thoughts about your mind and to really hate yourself and also feel like your thoughts are taking over i mean I keep having just bad thoughts and I need to calm down but they are very disturbing and I need reassurance
Any advice for, or comments, on intp-t personalities
i’ve been dissociating so badly this week and just can’t stop thinking about what the point of everything is. i lost my mom last year and i’m just in so much pain and depressed and miss her so badly. i’m also having like a religious crisis. i’ve never really believed in god very much and i especially haven’t since my mom passed. (please don’t try to change my mind) it’s just so hard to believe in a god that took my mom away so young and when i was so young. anyways most people around me and one of my best friends has now become super religious and i just feel so distant and lonely and keep obsessing on what if i’m wrong and just stuff like that. it’s just so exhausting and lonely and i was just wondering if anyone else relates.
How vivid are your intrusive images??
Hello, I have hypochondria, gad, ptsd, and panic disorder. For the past 5 months I have been in a deep episode of what I’m hoping is just hypochondria where I’ve fully convinced myself I’m psychotic/developing schizophrenia. This theme has become so debilitating I lost my job and was completely bed bound for a while. Anyway, I have the extreme fear of developing delusions and hallucinations, so I’m constantly on the look out for symptoms like that. For whatever reason I have become extremely sensitive and afraid of anything demonic or horror related, I literally used to be a horror junkie, listen to Marilyn Manson etc. I am literally an atheist, I don’t even believe in the devil or superstitious things like this, but for some reason I have started getting extremely fear inducing demonic type intrusive thoughts, like one night I had the terrifying thought “what if my wife is possessed by a demon and isn’t really my wife” this thought scared the fuck out of me and actually changed my behavior towards my wife and gave me a panic attack, the fear of that later passed, but the uneasy feeling still linger. I’ve been getting all sorts of terrible demonic type intrusive thoughts like that about everybody and random places and even objects and they cause a panic attack everytime I get them, it used to be a panic attack about struggling to fight the urge to believe these thoughts but now I feel like it’s gotten to the point where it just straight up feels like it’s happening and I’m afraid for real and not even questioning the thoughts anymore. I’ve completely stopped listening to any music that references the devil or any type of media that may have dark references, to avoid getting these types of thoughts. When I am not anxious and I take my anxiety medicine (clonazepam) I can laugh these thoughts off and confidently shrug them off as ridiculous, but other times it feels real!Why is this happening to me? Keep in mind I am a literal atheist and do not believe in superstitious things like this, why am I suddenly afraid of things like this? And better yet why do they scare me and “feel real” if I don’t believe them. I feel like I’m fighting for my sanity every single day. I literally dread the anticipation of getting these thoughts. These strange new fears about demonic shit is only solidifying my root fear that I am developing psychosis. Can anyone please help me?
Hello, I have hypochondria, gad, ptsd, and panic disorder. For the past 5 months I have been in a deep episode of what I’m hoping is just hypochondria where I’ve fully convinced myself I’m psychotic/developing schizophrenia. This theme has become so debilitating I lost my job and was completely bed bound for a while. Anyway, I have the extreme fear of developing delusions and hallucinations, so I’m constantly on the look out for symptoms like that. For whatever reason I have become extremely sensitive and afraid of anything demonic or horror related, I literally used to be a horror junkie, listen to Marilyn Manson etc. I am literally an atheist, I don’t even believe in the devil or superstitious things like this, but for some reason I have started getting extremely fear inducing demonic type intrusive thoughts, like one night I had the terrifying thought “what if my wife is possessed by a demon and isn’t really my wife” this thought scared the fuck out of me and actually changed my behavior towards my wife and gave me a panic attack, the fear of that later passed, but the uneasy feeling still linger. I’ve been getting all sorts of terrible demonic type intrusive thoughts like that about everybody and random places and even objects and they cause a panic attack everytime I get them, it used to be a panic attack about struggling to fight the urge to believe these thoughts but now I feel like it’s gotten to the point where it just straight up feels like it’s happening and I’m afraid for real and not even questioning the thoughts anymore. I’ve completely stopped listening to any music that references the devil or any type of media that may have dark references, to avoid getting these types of thoughts. When I am not anxious and I take my anxiety medicine (clonazepam) I can laugh these thoughts off and confidently shrug them off as ridiculous, but other times it feels real!Why is this happening to me? Keep in mind I am a literal atheist and do not believe in superstitious things like this, why am I suddenly afraid of things like this? And better yet why do they scare me and “feel real” if I don’t believe them. I feel like I’m fighting for my sanity every single day. I literally dread the anticipation of getting these thoughts. These strange new fears about demonic shit is only solidifying my root fear that I am developing psychosis. Can anyone please help me?
How can you get rid of the feeling that you are losing your mind? I feel like my days are blending together, like I’m dying, like everything around me is weird, or out of order. Any tips?
I started Prozac a little under two weeks ago. I think it may have triggered a migraine the past few days but I’m not usually a migraine sufferer. I had an aura and a one sided headache. It just seems like my hearing has been sensitive? I don’t usually experience this and it’s making me worry.
I randomly got charged for something ridiculous that I have to call about in the morning and now all I can think is about money and hours and time and work and Christmas and how time is money and money is time and How much I have to work for just 30 dollars which is literally what would cover gas. And how much money I’m probably going to spend soon or how much I have spent in one day. I literally notice things around me and I know how much I spent on it. And now I can’t sleep bc I’m just distracting myself from thinking by watching YouTube videos. Im so so tired. If I don’t distract myself I keep calculating money and hours and what to do with my weeks to make myself work more. I’m sure I can fall asleep but I know that this won’t go away it’s not just this situation it’s all the time.
I have been dealing with thoughts of life and just what the point of life is and it worries me i think this thought. It makes me think to deep into life and my OCD is making me think to much about this concept and that everyday is the same cycle so what is the purpose/point of life? my brain just keeps repeating this thought and it’s frustrating me. Does anyone have tips on how to fix this?
Hey, I came on here to see if I am alone or not. I just got diagnosed with OCD a few weeks ago. But I’ve had it for a long time. Recently, I’ve been more depressed, having constant thoughts of offing myself, harming myself, and I constantly think about all the people (I think) that I’ve disappointed, may have offended, who has left me throughout my life time, and I constantly think how much I think I’ve ruined in my life. I’m scared to disappoint or ruin something just by existing.. I constantly think I’ll be better off not here anymore. Every time someone raises their voice at me, I break down. I’ve also been getting annoyed really fast, and I can’t stand people talking negative anymore. I just cover my ears or walk away and lock myself in a room. This all just started. I just really feel alone during all this. As if I have a weight on my back, and constant pain (mentally). Of course, I won’t act upon any of this, but I’m scared I will. Has anyone had this when they go through a relapse?
Does anyone have experience with their OCD obsessing over the rise of artificial intelligence? I can’t let it go and keep reading articles about how we’re all essentially doomed. I know I shouldn’t think about it because I’m one person and not gonna solve it, but it’s giving me severe anxiety and making me feel depressed. Usually my fears seem really irrational and this helps me to put them to bed eventually, but seeing more and more about how this really does seem to be our future reality, how could I possibly let this go?
I've been trying to work my way with overcoming my avoidance with food. It's nerve wrecking but I'm always satisfied with myself when I don't let my fears consume me.
I started taking Prozac about a week and a half ago and I’ve had an on and off migraine for the last three days. Has anyone else experienced this?
Well, we made it through another week! Maybe barely, and kicking and screaming, but, we made it. Any takeaways you want to share? Have any plans for the weekend? I had another flare up last night and am just trying to work through it. Every one feels like I’m getting closer to a full breakdown but I’m determined not to let OCD win. I plan on doing a lot of reading this weekend and hopefully catching up on sleep!
Has anyone experienced this as a result of their OCD? I feel I've dealt with a lot of harm related themes in the past few months but only recently am scared and worried with the constant thoughts of will this ever pass and just scared of developing a sense of hopelessness. Before these intrusive thoughts came along I had a lot of passion and drive and I just want to be back there.
Drop any struggles you are having today for a reply from me. I want to ease your mind :)
Every single thought. The awareness of my thoughts terrifies me. Which one am I supposed to act on? Who am I? What do I believe in? If they are all just thoughts, which ones do I listen to? Do I just not listen to all of them if they all bring me anxiety? The awareness of my thoughts terrifies me. It is causing me to lose who I am. My personality. Doubting every single thing about myself. Every single thing about life. I am aware of my thoughts 24/7, an hour out of the day I’m not if I’m lucky. Anyone else relate? Have advice? I’m hopeless. I can’t live this way
Hello everyone, how are you? Well, I'm feeling quite anxious. Another train of thought to add to the list. Maybe it's the same one, just evolved. My husband and I are watching a time travel series called "Bodies" on Netflix, and it's a suspense/mystery about a murder that happens in four different time periods... but one of the characters is a university physics professor. He talks about how there is no free will, that everything is influenced by greater forces, that we don't have autonomy, and that, for example, this conversation we're having now is not a genuine choice... That it was bound to happen, just like more important or trivial things. And this makes me uneasy to think that everything is predetermined, so am I destined to be in this situation, to feel anguish, etc.? Or do I have some degree of power to decide and change? Or are they just choices? Or do I simply relax and let things happen automatically? It gives me a chilling feeling of anxiety. I'm not exactly sure if I explained it properly... but it's strange. It's the same logic as “what if we are on the Truman Show?” or in an "experiment" thinking. I've been somewhat paralyzed today thinking about this. Or about my desires, my abilities, how proactive I can be. Anyway, the infamous OCD. But of all the thoughts I've had lately, when I talked to you and you taught me to think "so what?" it helped me a lot. I'm just having trouble applying it to my current thought process.
I was recently suggested EMDR therapy. I was wondering if anyone has any experience with this and has it helped?
how do i stop worrying about the idea that i will start worrying again. it is a vicious cycle.
Just wanted to mention that today is my birthday 🎂 and was wondering if anybody had tips on staying positive throughout the day (my mind tends to get triggered when I gets overly excited or overly nervous or overly annoyed.
Has anyone looked into it seriously? Or have gone through the treatment? Or know anyone who has? I wonder what the success rate is and how accessible it is or will become.
Hello, Can someone provide me some insight into getting through nervous breakdowns? When things are so overwhelming and you can’t concentrate, move, work, do anything really. Thank you.
Hello Everyone, Does anyone in this Safe place have Death Anxiety and OCD? Today, my anxiety and OCD was on over haul. Very vivid thoughts of caskets and death of people. It triggered me and I’ve been on a “loop” with my thoughts. Has anyone experienced or experiencing it now? I always see different types of OCD, but I don’t ever see Death or Funeral OCD involving yourself or love ones.
I want to be excited for Christmas and get excited by the decorations and holiday spirit but I can’t I just don’t care or feel anything or see the point in anything. Not a fun way to live. I don’t want to be the grinch. Funny because my dads apartment looks like Christmas exploded and there isn’t an inch that isn’t Christmas so coming from a family like that Christmas has always been fun and exciting but I just don’t feel happy or excited about it.
I’ve been dealing with it for a long time. None of the therapists I have talked to seem to know how to treat it properly. Grounding techniques don’t do much for me as it’s kind of a constant state. I just started Prozac and I hope it will help. I just feel unreal or like I’m watching my life through a movie most of the time.
Anyone dealt with everyone hates me/ I’m a bad person thoughts.. what have you found that helps? It feels like an impossible puzzle in my head. No matter how much evidence I have against the thought, I can’t shake that I am bad, unlikeable, putting negativity in the world, annoying, crazy. I don’t know what else to do. I feel like I can’t turn it off.
Anyone else experience this, you feel like are making progress then it gets undermined by people (in my case my parents) who don’t understand mental illnesses and have their own theories as to why you act a certain way (constant critics and pressure). God it sucks does anyone have any suggestions
I've noticed that even with people I do or don't care about, I seem to have "fantasies" or something some type of things where I get so lost in thought even if I don't wanna think ab it. Like one day I got asked out and I said no but my brain was like "haha what if I did say yes I wonder how dating a rich white guy would be" and then I began picturing it and I just felt anxious even though I didn't want to be with them. Then another time I was hanging out with my boyfriend's friends and one of them I kept paying attention to since he seemed sad and then all of a sudden my brain was like "let's imagine you're in a cute movie what if he was your protagonist and you fell for him quick picture him saving you or something" and my brain felt like I liked it even though I didn't really know and it freaked me out. I hate this bc it can happen anywhere and anytime. I don't even know if this is OCD or not bc it just happens with random stuff like, maybe I'm watching something scary or true crime related and all of a sudden I'm a YouTuber making sure I react well so I don't seem crazy and I can't make jokes while watching bc it's sad topics. Or maybe I'll see a celebrity I like and then my brain will just make up movie scenarios about if they fell for me or liked me. It can even happen with random people from time to time and I HATE it!
I struggle with opening up 1 on 1 with people about how my ocd has affected me on a very deep level. It happens on here as well, even though this app was created to be an online community for people who struggle with this disorder. Struggling with opening up has resulted in me being really stressed out. Not only that, whenever I open up about it, people don’t want to really talk about it with me. That and I don’t trust them. I looked for help, but my last therapist and I did not vibe at all. I told her about someone in my family who was an abuser and how they died, and even though I was abused, I was still hit with grief. This was such a horrible thing to experience at 18. The person who caused so much damage to me internally and contributed to the abuse that I witnessed and experienced causing me grief. My ocd latched to a question: “What if because I am mourning this person, I am okay with the things they did?” It felt so twisted . But it was pain because when I was a lil kid and knew nothing in life, I loved this person. I feel like I was grieving for that part of me. My innocence. Not only destroyed by this person, but also because death is a scary thing. And this death just hit me very close. Since then, I keep thinking about how one day my life will be over. And my worst thought after that is truly morbid: “What if I never beat my OCD and experience the beautiful things life has to offer?” Thank you for reading if you got to this point. I always appreciate those who take the time to read whatever I have to say on this app.
This is something I deal with daily, I try not to think about how much I loved life before all of this but it’s hard not to when looking for reasons to keep going. Alongside OCD I also live with pretty severe depression. Is recovering from depression about climbing back up the hill, or learning to live at the bottom?
Everyone I know with mental OCD, like intrusive thoughts; anxiety and panic disorders; repetitive thoughts and fears; scrupulous, religious, spiritual, moralistic obsessions; and real events OCD tend to be the best people! Haha. It reminds me of that scene from Alice in Wonderland when the Mad Hatter asks her if he's gone mad (i.e. crazy)... "Yes, you're mad, bonkers, off the top of your head...but... I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are." There are OCD behaviors that are deeply rooted in shame, mortification, fear and terror, embarrassment, timidity, self-blame, and childhood trauma behaviors, etc. Not all kinds of OCD will automatically mean you can depend entirely on your true self and be true to your values because some values are not all virtuous, but those of us constantly scrutinizing ourselves, I can see us as the Mad Hatters
everytime i have intrusive thoughts it’s always something new and this time my brain just keep repeating and wondering “what’s the point/purpose of life?” and now it’s scaring me because it’s making me think what if i’m suicidal or something and i’m thinking to deep into it because i’d never do that i just fear it and thinking the purpose of life thought makes me wonder why i’m even thinking that. It makes me depressed thinking that i have a thought about the meaning of life it just makes me think to deep. Like everyday is the same cycle and like what’s the point of everything. I guess since this thought came up i just started getting really worried because i’ve never thought about this and i can’t focus on anything because i have this thought repeat all day and can’t get rid of it. Last week i had the thought that i might be going crazy and got scared and it now has changed to this purpose/point of life one. everytime i feel an ounce of happiness the thought comes back and ruins my day. Any tips on how to fix this? i just want to feel like myself again
What is your methods for getting through OCD crisis periods? When things are so overwhelming?
How long do you do them? It just doesn’t feel like I’m doing them right. My level of distress doesn’t seem to change when I do them. It feels like I’m waiting for something to happen, but nothing does. Anyone want to share how you do exposures?
Occasionally I find myself stopping whatever I am doing and trying to reflect back on what I have been doing for the past few minutes telling myself I am forgetting things or losing time. Usually I can recall, but sometimes, for example when I am laying down to go to bed, I will continue to do this. I have caught myself falling asleep without knowing it which makes me feel like I am indeed losing time, only exacerbating this obsession. It makes me feel like im losing my mind. Anyone else do this?
anyone have existential ocd with the fear of psychosis with it? literally convinced i’m crazy at this point.
Do any of you guys with OCD also suffer from social anxiety disorder? I thought I overcame my social anxiety but ever since my harm OCD spiked 5 months ago my social anxiety reared its ugly head once again. Now it's worse than ever! Yesterday I went to a concert and I had a great time but later on it got ruined. I went with a friend and when we were leaving the venue I was trying to take a selfie in front of the stage but then a stranger offered to take a full body picture of me (my friend was outside already) and I agreed but I was extremely nervous while posing for the picture, it makes me so uncomfortable when a stranger is photographing me, but I didn't know what to say when he asked me, I didn't want to be rude, so I agreed nonetheless, and huge mistake. I was acting so weird and awkwardly there were also still a bunch of people standing there behind us and I felt like they were watching and judging me. I tried to smile for the camera but my lips trembled and my body was stiff, I didn't know how to pose. When he finished taking the pics and handed me my phone back I saw the gallery and he took like 10 pics and none of them looked right, they were blurry and I looked so fake and ugly in those pictures, my eyes looked big and scary, my head was even turned to the other side in some of them and you could only see my frizzy hair and awkward body pose. It was so bad I cringed when I saw the photos, I deleted them all immediately, said an akward thank you so much and left the building in a frenzy. That little incident ruined my whole night. It's been 2 days and I cannot stop thinking about it, I cringe everytime I remember that and how I was acting so strange and what this guy must have thought about me, because at the end he seemed freaked out and distant. I've had suicidal thoughts ever since because I was so embarassed I wanted to crawl in a hole and die. Since I have OCD I know I will be replayig this event non stop for days, weeks or even months and I can't stop crying ever since. How do I get over this? 😭
Hey everyone I’ve really been struggling the past month since moving states for a new job. I’ve been feeling more paranoid and more anxious which is leading me to think I may be developing schizophrenia. My psychiatrist has told me that I don’t have it but I really feel like she is missing something or I’m not explaining what I’m feeling enough. Some things I’m experiencing- Brain fog Irritability Isolating/no interest in socializing (this is not normal for me) Harm intrusive thoughts Feeling like I’m going crazy Trouble comprehending things Depression Just feeling totally unlike my normal self I just keep getting worried something is terribly wrong with me and I need to catch it before it gets worse. I can’t seem to put my mind at ease because it’s thinking the symptoms I have are not “normal” and it’s looking for an answer on why I feel this way. Any advice would be great!
Hi everyone, thanks for being part of this awesome community. Does anyone have this? The last few months I constantly have this thought that why bother because whatever I do will be over in the next moment. Like life is made up of moments but each one just passes so it doesn’t even matter. I was always a person who so fiercely believed in small kindnesses and that everything mattered. one day this thought that everything passes and doesn’t matter came and it won’t leave.
Has anyone made it through this and actually reclaimed the peace they had before going through this? The way I say the world has just completely changed and I don’t know how to find the willpower to keep going unless there is hope of getting that back. I will continue to keep trying anyway, but please tell me it gets easier.
Occasionally I find myself stopping whatever I am doing and trying to reflect back on what I have been doing for the past few minutes telling myself I am forgetting things or losing time. Usually I can recall, but sometimes, for example when I am laying down to go to bed, I will continue to do this. I have caught myself falling asleep without knowing it which makes me feel like I am indeed losing time, only exacerbating this obsession. It makes me feel like im losing my mind. Anyone else do this?
All I want to do is stay in bed. Lock myself up. Read. Watch TV. And that’s it. I have major depressive disorder along with OCD and PTSD so I guess this is the depression part of my world. It sucks because on days the OCD isn’t too terrible, the depression or trauma is. I feel like I never get a break. I need a vacation from my disorders! Just feeling a little down tonight - anyone feel like chatting?
Hiii everyone, i would love some succes stories from people who overcame ocd, i could use some motivation 🩷
My dear friend who is up visiting asked me to go Christmas shopping and to dinner with her. I have a difficult time driving at night and it will also be a full moon so I’m nervous something bad will happen.
Does anyone else experience feeling actually physically sick after their intrusive thoughts? I also sometimes get like a really hot head and bad head spins from overthinking into oblivion, is this part of OCD or something else?
For those who do not have insurance and can't afford the premiums of individual coverage, we are now in the open enrollment period for Obamacare, aka the Affordable Care Act. Check out healthcare.gov and see if you're qualified for assistance. If so, you may be eligible for financial assistance with your premiums. I believe all the plans have to include a mental health provision. Anyway, it's worth looking into...
Hiii everyone, i would love some succes stories from people who overcame ocd, i could use some motivation 🩷
I’ve been suffering from severe DPDR for 6 months straight, not any relief at all. not for a single second. Has anyone gotten out of dpdr? if so, what helped? i’m really ready to give up. this is terrifying and i’ve lost everything.
Does anyone feel scared of being outside or getting on with life while dealing with this? I’ve struggled with existential Ocd for the past few months and I am scared to be out and about because I’m scared of thinking into stuff or relapsing, or looking at something and it looks weird or unreal. Sometimes even watching people trigger me, I Haven’t been going to work because I’m scared to drive alone and also avoid being out at night at all costs because any of my worst panic attacks have been in the passenger seat of bfs car in the dark😢
I have really bad anxiety about death and dying and why we’re here as humans and why life is what it is. I think about it 24/7, I’m not in any medication for anxiety or anything. I never get a break and it’s always in my mind, I need and want help but I don’t know what steps to take!
I’m just curious if anyone knows where I can free therapy in UK(whilst I’m unemployed and can’t really afford this therapy). I’m going attempt to see what it’s like using the NHS but I was wondering if there was any other options. I’m almost 22 years old and female who has been struggling a lot with OCD and anxiety (due to a variety of factors including being on the hormonal birth control,I’m off it now but I’m in this period of coming off it, and sleep) but I sometimes feel alone in my suffering as my parents don’t take it seriously.
Can anyone offer any advice for dealing with death anxiety? I’m always thinking of losing the people closest to me and this sets off my mental compulsions. Mainly repeating reassuring words in mind continuously
Anyone have any recommendations, stomach pain and OCD. Any slight twinge in my stomach then my mind just spirals
I am on day 3 of Prozac and I have headaches, feel tired, and just kind of out if it and spacey. Which is challenging for me because I already dissociate/depersonalize frequently. Anyone else have similar experiences? I also hope Prozac doesn’t give me as much emotional blunting as Zoloft did.
Am I the only one that feels like every single person I know has let me down one way or another. It’s so disappointing or is it all in my mind.
Does anybody have this problem or know what I’m going through? I’m having bad anxiety lately over numerous stuff and my ocd is messing with me as well. I’ve recently been aware of how fast or feel like things end quickly. One moment I’m in the living room doing something and now I’m in my bedroom. It’s hard to describe but I feel like things move fast or time itself moves too fast. Please let me know what this could possibly be.
Is it possible for OCD to convince you that everyone and everything around you (even your own family and friends)is a lie or is lying to you and it alone is telling you the truth. The answer would reassure me significantly
OCD takes so much from us. It makes us hate ourselves, makes us think we’re crazy and sometimes makes us wish we weren’t even here. But even with all the bad, there is still some good somewhere in our lives. Let’s take a moment and share something we are thankful for. I’ll post mine in the comments. Picture of me, my partner and our dog on a hike in Nevada earlier this year. 🥰
Anybody relate to having obsessions/themes that aren’t even really based in reality anymore? I know there’s themes about breathing, noticing, anything you can think of. But this theme is just about… talking? When I say something, my brain immediately tries to convince me that I said something inappropriate/unacceptable. Or when there’s silence, my brain is fully convinced that I’ve said/blurted out things that I would never want to say. I can even identify my safety behaviors. Mental reviewing of every word, repeating words in my head or out loud, trying to reassure myself that I didn’t say anything. It’s gotten so automatic that every single time I speak, I engage in these anxiety-fueled safety behaviors to continually try and prove that I didn’t say anything bad. But the more I engage in these behaviors, the foggier my memory gets. I am trying to keep a mental record of everything I say, to make sure that it wasn’t something I didn’t want to say. If I ruminate about it long enough, it gets to the point where my brain really does think I did say something, but I know that I didn’t. (Wtf?) I can clearly see this is absolutely nuts… but I can’t stop. I feel as though if I stop, I am opening the door to the possibility that I did say something. Where the hell do I go from here? I’m not exaggerating when I say that this theme has completely changed the way I speak. To my family, friends, everybody. After every sentence I say, I must repeat it mentally or out loud to ensure there was no possibility that I accidentally said something terrible. If there was ever a theme to make me lose all hope and see no end to this in sight, it’s this one. I can’t keep living like this, with me not even being able to speak without all of this crippling doubt and fear. Thank you for just reading. I am so lost.
Does anyone else start to believe something you aren’t sure is true or not but then literally convince yourself that is? This is so frustrating!!
Sometimes it's so hard to go on, to live this life when you're suffering from OCD. I am lost, I don't know what to do :(
This obsession/theme is very confusing and I haven’t found anybody else who’s described it. Basically I am afraid of… speaking? Not like, a fear of public speaking, but like when I talk (or think about a future situation where I’ll need to talk) I get anxious. It’s become an automatic response. It’s stemming from me being afraid of saying inappropriate things while talking, or saying things that sound like inappropriate things while I’m speaking. I had really good therapy today, where I learned to not answer/engage with the OCD questions at all. However, I still am getting pretty anxious whenever I am speaking (basically tip-toeing around my words, constantly scanning and reviewing the words to make sure they didn’t sound like anything inappropriate). And if I’m not speaking, I’m thinking about how unusual this theme is and how stuck I feel, or I’m mentally reviewing past things I said to try and make sure they weren’t inappropriate. Does anybody have any sort of input on this? It’s puzzling me deeply, and it’s really inhibiting my ability to just speak. Instead of just talking, I am constantly thinking about talking, and trying to do it correctly. Thank you for reading. This disorder sucks.
Does anyone ever feel the urge to just give in and come out even though in your heart you know you’re straight
been feeling the most amount of dred in the morning when I wake up. Like a “oh right, something bad is happening and I’m dealing with this right now”. Just went down a big rabbit hole looking up ego dystonic behavior. after having breakfast though…I hit this snapping out of it moment where I just say to myself “what the hell was that?”
I’ve been dealing with these feelings of being disconnected for so long. I’m just starting Prozac so I hope that helps. I’ve been in therapy and I just feel like I’m seeing no progress even with multiple therapists. Are there any therapists on here that work on DPDR and OCD?
I hope this makes someone feel better like it did for me today! When we are “in it,” we forget how far we’ve come and how much progress we’ve made.
Anyone have a lot of intrusive be thoughts on their birthday?
I have weird existential fears like “what if I’m meant to be miserable” and “what if I have a stutter,” etc. My specific obsession is “what if the Bible/ Oral Torah” says that these fears of mine are true? I asked ChatGPT a fear of mine with the question “Does the Oral Torah address the concept that people can simultaneously exist as both human and nonhuman?” It said YES, but made no reference to where in the Oral Torah that was stated. I’m so confused and scared..
Please tell me some Prozac success stories I’m starting it tomorrow! Feeling hopeful because I was doing ok on Zoloft and have been much worse since I’ve been off so we’re trying a new med.
I feel so guilty when people reach out to me because I want to tell them I’m a lost cause and a bad person and not to waste their time, but I also don’t want to lose them in case I ever do get better and could maybe provide some value to their lives and recover the relationship again. Is it selfish to keep trying and responding knowing I’ll probably never be able to properly be involved in their lives anymore?
DAE feel blacklisted from their favorite fandoms? I feel so alone and Im scared people think I'm evil
Since retiring I’ve been doing some long awaited projects around the house to keep me occupied. However, a couple projects need professional installation like windows & solar panels. Anyway we obtained a few estimates for installations. And throughout it I found my Existential OCD attaching/ruminating with the ‘what if, what is, why is it?’ questions along with physical symptoms of dazed, confused & dizziness, etc. I gave the questions & symptoms a big F-U!! Along with if I’m going to faint F-it, then I’ll faint. If my head’s going to explode or implode F-it!! If the house falls on me while I sleep F-it!!! Needless to say, I made the decision to go forward with window replacement, F-it!!! The solar panel decision is waiting for the F-it too.
Hi fellow OCD warriors! I’ve been in a really good headspace lately and able to sit with my thoughts/feelings and refocus on what I’m doing in the moment. However, I’ve found recently my brain gets ramped up at night when I’m trying to fall asleep. Normally I’d just sit with the thoughts and refocus on what I’m doing, but when I’m trying to sleep there’s nothing really else to refocus on… any tips? I have medication to help me sleep at night if it’s needed, but I try not to use it too often because it makes waking up a bit of a challenge! Thanks all and happy Thanksgiving week for those who celebrate!
Hi, I was diagnosed with OCD symptoms on may but I had it since I was a Child. I have some months during which I can live my life normally ma then something triggers me and here we go again. It is really painful and it is like my life is stuck and I can’t be happy anymore. I struggle with Harm OCD, existential OCD and my compulsion are usually avoidance, reassurance seeking and searching on the internet / Tik Tok about ocd. I am taking my medication and I am in therapy doing a psychodynamic therapy. I just want to fight it and to be able to live normally without having fear of myself/others/ my thoughts. Do you usually have like thoughts about the fact that maybe you are just lying, you don’t really have ocd and you are a bad person. Or does it happen to you that a thought doesn’t make you anxious and you get anxious because of it?? Thank you for the support
I worked out at home today and I just wanted to let everyone know that my brain has been horrible to me but I’m trying to heal my inner child and trying my best to stick to a healthy routine.
Hi guys! Considering getting a NOCD therapist. Has anyone had experience doing this and are you seeing results?
Has anyone ever had an intense switch in their OCD themes? I struggled with health and contamination OCD for 15 years and then when I went through a few big life changes this year, I thought I was better because I wasn’t really having those obsessions and compulsions anymore. (I was in traditional talk therapy at the time.) But, at the same time I stared having very intense fears around death, existence, and relationships that follow the exact same blueprint as far as mental compulsions and panic attacks that my old themes presented. It took me a while to recognize the connection but once I did, I got myself to an ERP therapist. So far, it has helped tremendously and I feel like I understand my OCD a lot better now even though it’s a daily struggle. Has anyone had a similar experience?
How do you get your thoughts back in check after sitting with them for a set amount of time? I have ROCD and have been sitting with my thoughts for 5-8 mins at a time but haven’t been able to get them back in check
It’s been ages since I’ve been on here but I’m still undiagnosed. I had a talk the other day with a friend since I’m autistic and she was asking if she was and I was helping her out identifying symptoms. Then I had revealed to her that I think I may have ocd. At first she didn’t believe me since I don’t seem anxious or the type to be obsessional but I told her this story about a time where I was plagued by thoughts of hurting myself in particular way to the point where I felt like killing myself just to never have those thoughts pop up again so I went to A&E (ER) and I tried my best to explain while I was sobbing and crying and they didn’t really do much to help me. I only told a select few of people that even happened so when I mentioned it casually she had no idea. Recently my thoughts have been less graphic and more existential. It’s been getting worse since I started drama school. Our course focuses on philosophical questions and creating performance as an artist and diving into yourself and I love performing but I always am thinking about everything to do with who I am as a person and I always spiral and I’m always just as confused and distressed about it. I had a breakdown yesterday when I got my acting results and one of my critiques was my low self esteem. My tutor was being helpful and saying I am intelligent and I should tell myself that more often but instead because I feel so stupid all the time I just cried and cried for hours and couldn’t get to sleep. It made me question and question a part of myself. I hate this thing in my head it’s ruined my self identity since I have no clue who I am. Is this an experience people on here have? Because I feel so alone in it and I have no idea who to turn to. Maybe I might speak to my tutor tomorrow about it
