Harm OCD - Community

This might be a silly question, but I have been pushing myself to not give in to triggers and sit through the anxiety of exposures. Today I have done this several times and it’s exhausting. My triggers are all over the place right now. Do I just keep pushing through them as things come up? Do I give in at all and take a break? Just needing a bit of guidance. I feel a bit confused and exhausted. Thank you so much

I don’t know what to do! My 13 year old son has suffered with intrusive thoughts for years. He feels guilty of things he’s done in the past when he was super young and obsesses over it to the point that he has to come clean about everything!! He fears that he may be a phedophyle at times because of intrusive thoughts. He’s on Zoloft 75 for it, it was getting better for a bit but it’s getting aggressive again! He is so kind and such a good son and person. He is in counseling but his counselor doesn’t specialize in OCD. I don’t know if I should have them change his medication, idk if there’s a medication that will help him more. I’m so scared I suffered with intrusive thoughts as a kid and teen, I never got help but I’m good now.

Hello, My name is Dana, I’m new to this app but I’ve been suffering from harm OCD for quite some time now and it’s been extremely debilitating. I’ve never experienced anything like this EVER in my life. It started at the beginning of this year, I got hit like a runaway train with intrusive thoughts and it shook me to my core. I wanted to see if anyone on here has struggled or is currently struggling with harm OCD and could maybe share their stories? It would just be nice to feel less alone and maybe share what has worked/not worked. All I want to do is overcome this! Thanks in advance to all who respond.

7 Years ago I was hit with intrusive thoughts on Harm and it suddenly took a turn. It got so much. With no sleep and constant worry my harm OCD quickly turned into “What if this is a message from God” and really stupid what if’s like “What if this is all a test” “What if this life isn’t real” Followed by REALLY intense images and it was so confusing. How can these images be so clear yet so hazy? How can these images pop into my head so quickly? Every time I seem to answer one worry about the images to disprove that they are not something sent to me by a higher power (Irrational I know) I seem to come up with something else like “Well maybe my images are different because my eyes were open” or “Were my eyes closed when I had these images?” Or even “What if my images are so unique and nobody else see’s these visions like me” Some advice would be good. Where do I go? Is this even OCD? Am I on a psychosis? Who knows… I just need some help. I will book into therapy but for now… I need this. Thanks all.

My father is overwhelming me with his mistakes and regrets on his life and is demanding me to stop being lazy and move in into the house so I can help them with bills and mortgage. I can see he is trying to manipulate me with his mistakes and telling me how I’m just not doing much. Meanwhile I’m just realizing I’m burnt out from my work and everything around. For god sake I teach art for kids for an afterschool program, and I am taking classes for cybersecurity that can hopefully get me a full time job. So to be called lazy is unfair and stupid. And I am tired and stressed from having to hear my father talk about his mistakes. My intrusive thoughts have been rising a lot now, to just wanting to run away, or hitting stuff, or just simply sit on the floor. Sorry for than rant

why is ocd telling me i want to cut my hair short when i really don’t want to😭😭😭

I’m in a bit of a false memory crisis lately. All I want is to understand, I want to understand how a false memory can be false if it contains real details especially if it was from years ago. I just want to understand how my false memory seems to have real details that i didn’t even know were real until ruminating. Can it still be false? I’m in a never ending nightmare. I just want to understand this. I’m miserable.

In addition to OCD I have borderline personality disorder. Every day something upsets me, and I blow up about it and then stew/ ruminate about it. This isn't good when you have harm OCD. Anyone else have this?

Everywhere I go and everything thing I do feels wrong. I feel like I’m being watched or I always feel like I’m being a horrible person.. I really just want to be kind and loving.. I feel like I have to fight for it every second of the day… it’s just too draining

Shakily facing exposures again today and hoping to hear some words of encouragement. It’s so hard. I know it’s the only way but it’s so painful. Thanks in advance it means a lot.

my brain used to go ‘well you can think it just don’t act on it’ then id be like i don’t want to think it at all but then now my brain is going ‘what if you don’t want to think about it because you just want to act on it and not think about the consequences or how you’d feel after it’. my brains doubting literally everything even to the point of if i want help anymore

anything to do with the intrusive thoughts upset me at the moment, even if it’s a compulsion of me saying i’d never do that as ocd finds a way to turn it negative again. i feel so deep in it that there will never be a way out

Just woke up from a recurring nightmare that I have every now and then. I had forgotten about it until now and now I’m obsessing trying to figure out why I’m having it, is it based off something I did/that happened, is it a repressed memory, is it real at all? It’s really upsetting and I’m not sure how to handle it because I can already feel myself wanting to spend all day looking into the events in the dream to see if they’re real or not. I’m not sure how to comfort myself or self-soothe. It progresses a bit in the storyline each time I have it and each time it’s distressing; I’m scared that even me posting about what the dream(s) are about make them true. I’m just so tired. When does this end?

i have this memory that i think i’ve had in my head before but i think it’s a dream because now it feels false but i feel like it must be true because it was in my head before, has anyone else experienced anything similar?

I don’t feel like i know for sure that my thoughts aren’t true… and it is scary I really feel i don’t know sometimes

14 years and counting. My skull is numb. I'm worried I've done irreparable damage to my hair follicles.

Anyone else’s false memories so precise? The details seem to be so real and makes it feel like I’m just in-denial? I have actual real details for example I manage to guess what colour clothes someone was wearing correctly or if there was a certain common object in a room etc.

I need some advice I feel like my OCD is going to ruin my holiday with my partner. It is saying things like he is going to drug me and hurt me and I know this is down to watching a lot of TV series and hearing about horrible stuff like that in the news. I was hoping someone could help to calm me down I’m suppose to having fun in the pool the sun and drinking cocktails but I just can’t and I don’t want to ruin my holiday as well as my relationship

Who diagnosed you? A therapist, psychiatrist, psychologist, doctor, or a behavioral specialist? Or someone else? Did they just diagnose you with OCD or dive into what type of OCD you have?

So I had an intrusive thought (wow what a shocker! Lol.) I made a point to not give into doing anything about it by immediately finding something to keep myself busy with and sure the thought remained and tried to come back a few times but the anxiety eventually dissipated and I could at least be like “I don’t agree with this, this is not me”. I don’t like the thought by any means and feel bad for having even had had the thought but to know it’s the OCD helps. And also on the not so fun days that feeling eventually dissipates after I’ve had the chance to sleep it off. Not the best method perhaps but I could night’s rest can be rather restorative! Anyways just a little reminder that “redirection” can help! Stay strong everyone.

I don’t feel like i know for sure that my thoughts aren’t true… and it is scary I really feel i don’t know sometimes

I’m currently talking to this guy and we get along really well, but I’m overthinking. I want to have a relationship, but I’m scared my OCD is going to hold me back. If anyone is in a relationship, and has OCD, any tips on how to overcome this?

Does this app help me and how do I do it?

Having panic attacks all day because I have a lot visitor coming over literally wish I was normal ;( my heart keep beating fast I keep asking my boyfriend for help he say I need to grow up and stop this

i know this isn’t as bad as some other thoughts but i’ve had an intrusive thought about my hair and i can’t get rid of it. i’m terrified ill decide to cut all my hair off or cut my hair short. i LOVE my hair and it’s one of the things that makes me feel comfortable and confident and i know id be devastated if i ever cut it off

Please tell me what you do to make enough money to live on with a family to provide for ... don't qualify for any foodstamps or anything... can't hold a job because ocd is so severe for over 3 years... ?? I feel like I'm letting everyone around me down.

is how irrational and how much I know the things I doubt are untrue....and yet ocd finds the smallest crack and will convince me that I'm a monster.

I don’t feel like i know for sure that my thoughts aren’t true… and it is scary

sometimes when i’m anxious or have intrusive thoughts my hips involuntarily move foward for a quick second and it makes me think i do it bc i agree with my intrusive thoughts and that makes me panic … most of the time i don’t realize i did the movement until it already happened , there was one time where i knew it was about to happen and instead of fighting it i just let it happen ( i thought ignoring it will make it go away )which made me feel even worse … any advice ?

You can survive anything.

Does anyone else with harm ocd find that your anxiety and thoughts get worse at night

I had a dream with one of my worst case scenarios coming true. It felt so real and I feel like dreams try to tell us something about our real lives. Anybody else experience this?

I don’t feel like i know for sure that my thoughts aren’t true… and it is scary

I feel really awful for not feeling worse than I do everyday has become a blur and time is going so fast and my sleep has been awful I feel so confused the intrusive thoughts are still here but I spend all day watching YouTube just waiting till I can sleep anytime I feel happy it's shut down by my thoughts I'm unsure about everything the repetitive actions are still there but I feel bad that I'm not exhausted like I'm not suffering enough to have ocd and I'm not diagnosed with it I'm just kinda stuck feeling numb and then having intense emotions shifts then getting anxious then thinking myself into emotional numbness then it starts over

Over the summer I had a really bad OCD episode, where based off of intrusive imagery in my head that I had while getting high. I convinced myself that I had inappropriately touched my younger sibling when I was giving them a bath. I eventually spiraled to the point where I had a conversation with my family. My sibling confirmed that it was not true, and I finally got the help and medication that I needed. I was doing so well, until I read this Reddit post. Where a woman confided on the j tender that her younger sibling revealed that she touched them when she was 9 and they were seven. Immediately it sent me back into the state I was in 3 months ago. My brain is going in loops of what if you did touch them and they just repressed the memory. What if, what if, what if. I feel so disgusting, like the scum of the earth. Even though it’s not true, and it was talked about, and I had that conversation. Why is my brain going backwards once more?

hey everyone! so i'm not sure what to post so i guess i'll just post what i'm going through, i hope someone sees this who understands. i feel really alone. ‼️⚠️TW⚠️‼️- thanatophobia, intrusive thoughts, harm OCD, religious OCD, existential dread/crisis/questions GENERAL INFORMATION so i'm 15F, just got into high school. i've always had thanatophobia (extreme fear of d3ath and the process), but as of recent it's gotten terrible. it's all i think about. my intrusive thoughts are usually related to it, and sometimes i think that "oh i know it's going to happen soon! it's going to happen today!" and i'll believe it and freak out for the rest of the day. my parents have been telling me that there isn't a point in worrying, but i'd argue against that. it's not like i chose this, it's not like i want to be worried. it just happens, i cannot control it no matter what i do. the idea of not being on earth frightens me, like for example: i cannot stand thinking about the moon landing and stuff because those people aren't on earth. i like it here, no matter how messed up it is, it's all i know. and many people understand that thought process. earth is my home, it brings me everything i need. it feeds me, lets me sleep, brings me air, gives me water, it's nature surrounds me in comforting light. the earth is my home, i love her, and she loves me. i don't want to leave her, because she's the only thing i know. RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND. im a christian, however i guess i would say i don't associate with that title due to the fact christian's tend to not really be what they say they are. i'm a christ follower, and i believe he died and rose again. people tell me heaven is beautiful, that it's the best place ever. and while yes it's a good place, it's also terrifying getting there. and i often freak myself out asking myself questions of "what does it look like? does it feel like a dream? is it physical?" so many things in my head. people tell me to read NDE's, but those only make me more anxious. EXISTENTIAL PROBLEMS so my existence has been hard to think about. i often think about how cruel death is, how it's so hard being alive because you are taunted with death. you build things just for it to all break down. and that's something i struggle with greatly. i look around and think to myself "wow, these are things i love, but in the end they don't matter do they?" and that isn't too comforting. being around friends hurts too, because i can't just enjoy myself. existence is such an insane thing, and how one can exist and then not. that's terrifying!! LIFE STRUGGLES i struggle to take care of myself, i won't shower for a couple days nor brush my teeth because i really can't bring myself to get out of bed. i also don't go outside a lot, due to the fear of getting into an accident. i struggle to join into social activities because my brain is always busy with worrying rather than enjoying the moment. i cant relax when i'm out of the house because of the what ifs that play in my head. i don't feel safe when i'm not home, and that's a problem because if i don't leave the house then i'm not getting sunshine which, by the way, helps mental health a LOT. i kinda threw myself into a pickle. anywho, i really just need someone who understands. who gets what i'm going through, who saw this and maybe thought "hey, that sounds like what i am/i was going through!" and could maybe tell me their story and what they did. i feel so alone. and so helpless. thank you if you read through all of this, much love to you 🫶🫶

Pro tip: you will never win trying to argue or fight back with OCD. Definitely feeling that after doing so many checking compulsions tonight. I finally gave up. Finally said to OCD, maybe you’re right but my head hurts so i am not checking again. Still have doubts but doing compulsions makes me feel so much worse and just creates more doubt. Sitting with alllll the thoughts 🧘🏽‍♀️

… some days i admit , ocd sucks bad . Some days i feel no ocd , then there is those days where i have weird ass thoughts , better take care of my brain . no drugs or alc for me

I don’t drink that often but notice when I do my triggers become so much more sensitive and anxiety and intrusive thoughts sky rocket. Anyone else?

I feel like my intrusive images are at the foreground and what my eyes actually see is in the background Like tracing paper over my eyes Does anyone relate?

To anyone else who hasn’t seen a therapist yet or anything, I hope you are doing ok and hanging in there. I’m feeling extremely defeated and helpless and I’m very scared. I feel like my whole existence is just swallowed by fear and worry. But I am trying my best to hold on to some kind of hope that I will get the help I need when I can and maybe things can feel ok again. I hope that you will hold onto hope as well and don’t give up on yourself.

Don’t you just love it when you’re out in public and a random intrusive thought flutters through your mind and “attaches” to a random person and you of course worry it may become true or is true? I know it won’t with what I had happened to me today when the intrusive thought happened, but it’s a distressing thought despite the fact that It is untrue. What helps me from having a meltdown is reminding myself just because I thought it does not mean it’s true. Because if that were the case any and all intrusive thoughts could be true and I have a magical brain like professor X (reference to X-Men for those of you who may not know). What helps you all? Anyways, I hope you’re all having a wonderful day. Stay strong!

Don’t you just love it when you’re out in public and a random intrusive thought flutters through your mind and “attaches” to a random person and you of course worry it may become true or is true? I know it won’t with what I had happened to me today when the intrusive thought happened, but it’s a distressing thought despite the fact that It is untrue. What helps me from having a meltdown is reminding myself just because I thought it does not mean it’s true. Because if that were the case any and all intrusive thoughts could be true and I have a magical brain like professor X (reference to X-Men for those of you who may not know). What helps you all? Anyways, I hope you’re all having a wonderful day. Stay strong!

was getting changed earlier and my mind went ‘do you want a penis’ and now i’m obsessed i’m secretly trans and i’ll transition one day even though i love being a girl but the doubt is STRONG

I’ve been sleeping great for the last few months, but just recently I have been having a hard time sleeping at night even if I try to take a nap. So obviously I’m more tired than normal, which makes my ocd worse. Now when I try to fall I sleep i have anxiety flare up and makes it even harder to fall asleep. I’m literally tired trying to fall asleep relaxed and comfortable and can’t. Does anyone else have this problem?

Freaks me out i feel like this… i havw nothing to be depressed over

I feel so sad/depressed these days… but i don’t know why! I have nothint besides me ocd to be sad about… Is it ocd making me feel sad/depressed! I was good for weeks ago! Makes me think my suicidal ocd can be real?

What if you actually act on a thought or urge or can that not happen and if so what do you do

i’m always able to find out a reason this isn’t true then my mind makes a reason for it to make sense so then i begin obsessing and getting really distressed again. i saw on tiktok someone saying they are always able to know it’s false even when they are really deep in rumination but im not the same at all; it feels true and i become suicidal and incre anxious/distressed.

So I’ve been struggling bad with intrusive thoughts but I’ve noticed I will take any situation and make it bad. Anything I talk about I will make it an intrusive thought in my head. To the point where I am doubting it’s my OCD and its just my sick brain. I have been having POCD but I’ve seen people talk about it so now my brain has done to thinking about it with babies and i would NEVER do that nor have I ever thought that before but now my brain is convincing of that and telling me well that isn’t OCD because no one’s ever said that before. I am constantly thinking of new thoughts and looking for reassurance. I know this is a compulsion but I just need to know if other people do this. Do you guys also just think worse and worse thoughts and convince yourself you are sick? Even thoughts that you don’t think others think?

part of me wants to watch killing eve as an exposure because pre ocd i LOVED watching it but im scared ill decide i want to be like that or discover i like it

I feel so sad/depressed these days… but i don’t know why! I have nothint besides me ocd to be sad about… Is it ocd making me feel sad/depressed! I was good for weeks ago! Makes me think my suicidal ocd can be real?

My therapist often asked me this during our sessions and it’s helped me immensely realize how almost all of my intrusive thoughts all will lead to the same core fear in the end. She would ask me “what would it mean if that were true/ what would happen if that were true?” And I would answer and then she would ask again and again and I would realize that for all my intrusive thoughts it would all lead to the same conclusion. This helped me lean in and accept uncertainty since ocd will make assumptions about the future but there is no certainty that will actually occur. Try this out sometime and see if it works for you!

I feel so sad/depressed these days… but i don’t know why! I have nothint besides me ocd to be sad about… Is it ocd making me feel sad/depressed! I was good for weeks ago!

I am terribly scared to hit my partner when im annoyed or angry. I love her so much but I have anger issues I think. The urge hasn’t been there yet, but i feel like it could appear in the heat of the moment when my trauma’s are triggered. I also get this tension when stressed or annoyed to punch something, and when im annoyed by my partner the urge can shift to her. This only happens since recently, so I think this might be intrusive.

I’m having anxiety just to post so I think I’ll just start with that to get over it, so to speak. I’m disturbed by the thoughts or desires, I guess you could say, that I have sometimes. I hate it. I feel like I have no control over it. Out of nowhere sometimes I can have big feelings and disturbing thoughts and I don’t feel safe to share them. I want to cry and I’m already starting to. I guess I’m a sensitive person and have reached my limit. I feel like I can’t handle things and like I’m losing it and I’m scared.

I didn’t used to think this way, but once I turned 26 I’ve been having these thoughts more frequently and am scared I am that way now forever. I haven’t been diagnosed with POCD. I have looked into OCD and think I might have developed POCD. I have been having awful thoughts that make me feel like a “P”. I am trying to tell myself I don’t have POCD and I’m not a “P” but holy crap it’s awful over here. When does it stop?! I would rather be struggling with anything else right now.

anyone have any luck with this med? tapering off lexapro and trying this.. hope I find some relief 🙏🏻

Hello I’m posting here to discuss some of my ocd themes. I feel as though it’s hard for me to talk about this with others in my life because I’m embarrassed. A main theme of mine is harm ocd and false memory ocd. I’m a student nurse and I always worry I will harm someone and always worry if I made a med error. I start to think back and wonder if I made any errors even tho I’m with a preceptor who is with me to guide me and make sure everything I’m doing is right. I also have a phobia of driving because I worry I will harm someone or I have false memories of hitting someone with my car. This disorder is really messing with my life. I’m currently on Lexapro and I find that it really does nothing for the ocd but it helps my depression. I feel really ashamed of myself most days because I feel like no one else has this problem.

i said a joke about my intrusive thoughts and now my brain is thinking “ was it a joke or do you actually agree with your intrusive thoughts “ ….

I'm new here, my names Hannah and I've been diagnosed with ocd for 10 years. I've been on 80mg of Prozac for the last few years along with adderall of ADHD. I'm not really sure how this app works but if I'm being completely honest I don't really see my ocd going away, I guess the thought of it going away kinda scares me? Like what if it goes away then I don't check my stove and my house catches on fire. I definitely want to work on my symptoms but I don't know if I want my ocd to be completely gone, I guess I wouldn't be like me then. I would like to work on my breathing ocd (not sure if there's a real term), I convince myself my throat is shutting and give myself panic attacks which has been happening a lot recently. I also have been having issues with food, I convince myself I can't breath because I ate food so somehow it's either blocking my throat or because I'm over weight my body is just not letting me breath. But yeah that's me hopefully this app will do something to help

Fat kid growing up, was picked on, even by my mother, got harm ocd at age 19, flunked out of college, fought my way back, made it to grad school , flunked out of grad school after a harm ocd relapse, had to move home, and at age 48 I still live at home, never made more than 11 dollars an hour, developed borderline personality disorder after mom died in 2008, got fired from my job in 2011, got fired from another job in 2013, and haven't worked since, broke my back in 2015, spent a year in bed, had surgery, had a bad reaction to the anesthesia for 2 years, applied to 500 jobs, my grandma died, Covid 19 happened, my dad got cancer and I am forced to be his caregiver, despite the fact he's the subject of my harm OCD. Oh and I forgot I quit paxil cold turkey after 16 years and my brain has not recovered. People say I'm always angry, worried and unhappy. Why should I be? I won the misery lottery, and every day gets worse than the next.

It feels very in it and very strong need to get rid of it and I cant escape it. I feel i won t ever be able to recover or that it will take so long and be a horribly hard recovery. If anyone has some tips or suggestions would be great to have some support it feels like no one undertands.

Hey, does anyone who has been in recovery for a while or is in therapy now have any advice on feeling okay about letting go of thoughts? No matter what they are or who they attach to is it okay to just not care about any of it, ever? Is that like how you get better? How do you stop judging yourself?

Every morning. I never sleep well. I am losing control of my thoughts. I have no idea why this happened to me. 28 years is long enough. Do you know what kind of hell it is to have harm ocd about your father, and you have to live with him and be his caregiver? I can't do this anymore.

It's like the end of November and up to this point OCD has been relentless. With constant attacks, causing me fear and discomfort. Last night I started worrying what if I'm losing progress, or not doing enough? It's clear that's the OCD speaking because I always get through the day. It can be frustrating though when the same thing comes back and triggers you. All I can do is keep living one day at a time. To not let the OCD slither its way in and take away my hope.

Hello! I am curious who has had hypnagogic experiences (hearing, seeing or feeling abstract things while falling asleep / dreaming) I often hear random words / sentences while falling asleep. But sometimes its words relating to my harm OCD fears, and once it really scared me a lot... If you have had a similar story let me know

I don’t know what’s going on I m constantly negative and sad I m always having negative thoughts about everything I been trying to change it for positive ones but I can’t and is ruining my life’s and other people don’t want to be around me because I m so negative I m crying at the moment because I m loosing everything because I can’t stop the negative and is even worse when I m anxious :( I always look for arguments what’s wrong with me then I feel sad and guilty and ashamed of how I m acted

I just read an article that is probably one of my highest level triggers. I feel okay, but struggling with scary thoughts, but I want to cry… but can’t, I feel scared that I don’t feel as anxious about it as I used to about it. As if that in itself makes me a monster.

I was called into a hospital room today and the patient was a young child who had just been diagnosed with terminal cancer. I was trying to be in the moment and care for this kid but I couldn’t stop these horrific intrusive thoughts. Harm and pocd kicked into high gear. I won’t say the exact thoughts, but I’m sure those of you who have experienced those types of ocd can imagine. Just wanted to share some more of these hospital stories. This kid made me so grateful to be alive and healthy despite horrible intrusive thoughts.

Hi everyone! I just wanted to encourage those of you who struggle with Body Focused Repetitive Behaviours, dermatillomania, or trichotillomania to visit https://pickingme.org. The Pickingme Foundation offers a number of resources, including online support groups, to help people who suffer in their recovery process. I myself suffer from dermatillomania. So, know that you are not alone, whoever you are. We are in this together. ❤️☺️

I just feel like my brain is tainted . Like I’ll never be right again… idk. I’m just so tired of feeling this way..

Because of your harm / perverse thoughts?

is anyone in a similar situation, every day I have various thoughts, my brain is telling me that I have done something bad, I have hurt someone a lot, I have this on various topics, I have read that people have thoughts that they would do something bad, my brain is telling me that I have done something bad, and I know that I have done nothing

it’s so interesting that like when i’m deep in rumination and having constant intrusive thoughts i feel there is no escape and it’s all true but when today i’ve had two or three hours free of it i can sometimes realise it’s irrational, i would never ever do that and it’s incredibly out of character

It's tough for me to even talk with my dad because of the harm ocd, his voice irritates me and triggers me and I hate having to be so close to him. Anyone have harm ocd issues like this?

literally diagnosed with ocd and doubting if i had ocd wtf

Does anyone else here ever feel bad for not feeling bad enough? Like not feeling angry or upset enough about something? Like, for example, in an instance where you hear about someone who’s done something bad (or even multiple bad things) and you just feel almost empty about it. Other people say things like “I hate this kind of person - they should die/k*ll themself” and I’m just left feeling no hatred, just fear that maybe I condone the bad thing that person did or that I’m like that person. Obviously, I’m not saying I think people doing bad/harmful things is good or that I really do condone it (I’m just really afraid I do), but I feel guilty because I should probably hate those kind of people (especially those who hurt others), but still, I feel almost nothing sometimes… I don’t want to be a sympathizer for horrible people (or be a horrible person like my OCD says), but I feel like I have no control over my feelings (I mean, I don’t think anyone really does but it almost feels like I have even less control over mine than others do). Idk… I’m trying to get an appointment with a therapist but I’m too afraid to even set up a consultation because talking to someone over the phone or something like that causes me anxiety. But with concerns like this, I obviously need to 🤦‍♀️

So in the past week or two I've been seeing an improvement in intrusive thoughts coming but not sticking. I started on the 20mg four weeks ago and got increased to 60mg in the past couple of weeks. However, this week so far I've noticed my anxiety creeping up again and the thoughts being more noticeable and sticking. Is this normal while your body gets. Adjusted to the fluoxetine or should I be worried?

The thoughts are getting more violent, more detailed, and I feel like I’m in denial. The thoughts are constant and always creating new ones about the same thing torwards my gf I don’t want to hurt her we’ve been together for three years and I’ve never wanted to hurt her or my family members. I don’t have any reason to, but I get intrusive thoughts like bc it’s fun or id enjoy it

I am very actively trying to sit with the anxiety that comes with exposures today. I am not going to state my trigger as that would not be helpful for me. It always sounds easier before the anxiety hits but I am determined to let the anxiety be here until it shrinks and not seek reassurance. Just looking for some words of support (not reassurance!)

Now I feel like the thoughts are easier for me to accept but the feelings for me out hard? I keep like scanning my body or thinking things purposefully to see how it makes me feel, sad, happy. Anybody else struggle with this? Is the treatment sitting with it?

My ocd went really bad when I was living alone (I had to move for college), did anyone also experienced this? Would you recommend to live with a roomate? (Idk if it will help my ocd or it will get worse since I have harm ocd)

i took this med after like 8 months as my obsessions were getting outta my hand. i feel relieved and my obsession is kind of gone. i wanted to know if anyone has also taken sertraline ?

Does anyone have tips on how to recognize compulsions?

I missed my Zoloft dose this morning… will you his cause the medication to stop working if I take it again in the morning?

Good evening, I hope everyone’s had a good day, and if you didn’t, I’m proud of you for making it through it anyways 🌸. My day comprised of some wins against my OCD but my night ended on a bad note due to my OCD. I have mostly accepted that I didn’t keep strong like I wanted to, but still feel bad because of the “lose” in this situation. I know what is done is done now. But how do you guys deal with the shame and guilt that remains afterwards? Feeling very defeated tonight.

Last night I was very nervous because the next day I knew I had to inevitably face a situation with an object associated with many intrusive thoughts. They were thoughts I gained from googling intrusive thoughts and I ended up having them later on from the idea being in my head. Those intrusive thoughts involved a knife. Me harming myself or others. I avoided knives in my everyday life and subconsciously knew where they were in my home. But today in culinary class I fabricated a chicken and I was reminded of the reason I joined the class. Because I love cooking and the flavors and aromas with it! I had a few intrusive thoughts but they were only ones I had had in the past from me ruminating in what could happen in the future. I walked out of that class so proud, I’m excited to conquer tomorrow too. I know I need to seek help from an ocd specialist but for the people on this app like me who are trying to conquer on their own while they wait for their appointment just know it really does lay within your head. ❤️❤️

my ocd is trying to tell me that my boyfriend looks like the person that caused my ptsd in an attempt by my ocd to make my boyfriend freak me out and i don't know what to do. i'm struggling bc i know they don't look alike but i don't want my brain to convince me they do bc i wouldn't be able to see my bf anymore. i don't wanna panic bc i don't wanna associate my bf with panicking or anything triggering and it's scary and idk what to do. please help.

how did your very first OCD thought/ intrusive thought occur? was it harder for you to get over than the intrusive thoughts that came after? i’m 6 months past my first intrusive thought. have done minimal ERP concerning it. doing ERP on it now (returned home) was doing fine with anxiety & less intrusive thoughts (while away) for the past few months. now i’m home, intrusive thoughts coming back surrounding my original very first OCD thought. thoughts? how did this occur for you?

You’ll hear this phrase a lot in therapy or by ocd specialists for more harm subtypes like POCD, HOCD etc., this simply means that you have this fear of doing something bad or immoral so ocd is targeting these areas because you care about doing the right thing and being a good person. Living by your values allows you to gain that self trust ocd has stripped from you and helps you ground yourself from “what if” thoughts. So next time you get an intrusive thought try and say “I hear you ocd but I’m going to live by my values thanks for the thought” and move on. I hope this helps someone! 💗😜😊

Today I've been avoiding any intrusive thoughts and distracting myself and forcing myself to not think about them but for some reason this makes me feel more crazy. Does that make sense?

i’m excited to go home and see my family! doing some ERP while i’m there, a little anxious for that, however knowing it’ll be tough i’m still excited!

i’ve just realised it’s the thoughts i don’t want/ most likely aren’t true that i believe are true and the thoughts i do want/ most likely true such as my values and my past i believe aren’t true

does anyone else start doubting if they want to get better? or if they don’t want the thoughts? they are very egodystonic so i know they aren’t real but still it’s scaring me that i don’t have certainty. when my brain goes quiet i feel so happy though so i know i would feel better without the thoughts, they make me very anxious and depressed

I have harm ocd am a new mom taking care of my daughter she is 15 months old on the days when she in daycare I have no thoughts but when am around especially in the afternoon bad thoughts and imagin come in my head to harm I wake up every lady scared if am going to feel them but they come so strong pray I will never hurt seeing therapist this processed is hard I hope I hope I will get pass these feelings anyone thinks I well recovered

During the summer I allowed myself to play videogames without necessarily petting my cats to compensate for allowing harm to come to them thinking that whatever happens to them happens, but with what happened in September with the whole me not removing the extinguisher from the closet before going to class and not going back home to fix it, I felt so much guilt that I realized that not deleting my save removes any stake, like I have no reason to be as mindful or careful about removing threats from my cat’s lives, I become lazy. If I have this sword of damocles hovering over my head that it’s gonna get deleted if I’m not being careful around my cats then I’m more mindful and less lazy about it.

it doesn’t feel like i’m ever going to get better. my brain is trying to make me feel as if i want the thoughts or i like the thoughts. pre ocd i was the most emotional empathetic person and ive completely lost that. i’m scared ill never go back to normal

Has anyone else predicted something and actually been right? Freaks me out.

Does anybody’s ocd act up really bad before they go to sleep? Mine is almost crippling before I go to sleep. Don’t get me wrong it’s bad during the day but seems to flare up worse going to sleep. I think it’s because I know once I lay down there is no getting up to wash hands or turn on and off something until just right or certain rituals that are common. It’s time to relax and I don’t think my ocd likes that lol. Just wondering if anyone else experiences that it’s a very horrible feeling. I re do and re do until I almost get stuck in the loop. For literal hours. Any advice? <33