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the NOCD Community

This is my first time on here, and I’m just hoping to find a community that understand what I’m going through. I struggle with severe existential thoughts that cause me to dissociate near daily. Does anyone else go through this?

I feel so disconnected from myself. Like everything I’ve ever been happy and comfortable with has been a lie. I don’t know what and what not to believe anymore. I feel like I’m straight/bi now. I keep having these thoughts that tell me “you’ll get with a man and like it. You know it” and I hate it. I hate the groinal response I get with sexual intrusive thoughts too. I try to keep in mind that attraction is supposed to feel good and natural, but OCD tricks me into thinking that the hypotheticals DO feel good. Just never natural. I hate it.

i was extremely scared today, a bunch of little kids were around me and i was scared to be near anyone because i would do something horrible. i feel like a terrible person that no one would want to be around. i don’t deserve this support, i just want to be rid of these terrible disgusting thoughts.

Its currently 6:53am, woke up around 6:00am in a panic from a nightmare and I can’t fall back asleep. I have contamination ocd and emetophobia. At night i have a hard time falling asleep because every time ive gotten sick its been in the middle of the night while im sleeping. Before bed i usually get bad anxiety its going to happen again, even if theres no reason for it to happen. This obviously can trigger dreams about it, which then make me feel worse. Through out the day Ill overly manage my eating habits (no chicken certain days etc), take certain routes home to avoid getting sick, wash my hands when i can *feel* the germs on them, do certain tasks so it doesn’t make me sick etc. Its really getting to a point where i feel like its consuming me , and I need help but I am so scared to get it.

hi everyone! i hope y’all are having a good day/night. this is gonna be a really long introduction text, with some questions i’d like you to answer at the end if you have the time :). my partner recommended me this app two months ago, when we found out i have ocd. i installed it right away, but procrastinated even opening it until now, always finding a new excuse, like i do when it comes to anything related to actually fighting “the voices” - as they like to call my ocd thoughts in an attempt to make them lose power. however, this week has been extremely hard, my partner and i have been constantly fighting for a week now over my ocd, as it keeps ruining the relationship, so here i am. i mainly struggle with relationship ocd. however, i’ve seen most people struggle with wondering if they truly love their partner or if they will fall out of love, while i struggle mostly with an intense fear of being abandoned, that has led me to entirely avoid my partner. we’ve been together for 5 years, on and off since until 5 months ago we were doing long distance, and that was extremely hard. we now live together, yet unless they initiate it and ask me if i want to join them, i avoid everything that has to do with them. i have become fully incapable of starting a conversation, entering a room they’re in, asking them anything, etc. planning dates and kissing them is unimaginable. it’s gotten to the point where i’m so in my own head that i don’t see them at all, hurting them over and over again by not catering to their basic needs. i cross clear boundaries in fear of asking them for something, i disregard their own pains and struggles due to being so focused on my own. i don’t listen to what they’re saying because i’m constantly reading between lines to see how what they’re saying relates to me and how it means that they don’t like me and will leave me. i’ve even started falling asleep on the couch because i’m so scared of going to bed and them not wanting me there. i compulsively lie all the time in an attempt to hide my mistakes and compulsions. the list can keep going forever, the fear of abandonment always takes over no matter what, and i always have a “reason” (excuse) for it. they’ve begged me to get help so many times, and at this point i don’t think we’re gonna survive this, as i don’t think im gonna get better enough to stop hurting them this badly in time. if it wasn’t me in this relationship, as their best friend, i would’ve told them to break up with their partner already, because this is no way to live for them. i started taking fluvoxamine 50mg two months ago, and im just now starting to see an ERP therapist, we’re gonna come up with an exposure plan next tuesday. i’m not fully sure what im looking for in this app as i feel like it’s mainly therapy focused, but i could use some advice, on both how to stop listening to the countless excuses ocd keeps coming up with to avoid stopping the compulsions, and to fully commit to ERP for it to be efficient from the start. and also - how long did it take for you to start noticing actual results with ERP? what are some things you would tell someone that’s just starting? any advice to do this as efficiently as possible? what’s something you would’ve done differently? and an extra question for those who started off in a similar place to me - what did your exposure plan look like? i don’t really know what to expect (though maybe sitting with that uncertainty is good) and really need this to work. if you made it to the end - thanks for reading, and you got this! you’re doing amazing <3

The thing about intrusive thoughts is that I only push them out of my mind when I know that they’re completely outrageous. When I get intrusive thoughts that are more convincing, I want to make sure that the content of the thought doesn’t bother me before I push it out. And this is what sucks because why is my own judgement not enough? I know I’m a lesbian. I know that I never want to be with a man. Why do my thoughts keep telling me “you like men and you know it” and “the only reason you avoid men is because you still like them and you know it” and “if you were to try a man, you’ll like it and you know it. That’s why you avoid them so much”??? Like bye that doesn’t even make sense. But OCD also hates facts bc as soon as I’m like “FACTUALLY, bitch, the fact that I never want to end up with a man or am even having anxiety about liking a hypothetical and what feels like inevitable future with a man is proof that I’m not attracted to them”, my brain just refuses to PROCESS THAT and just TRASHES it? OCD is SCARY.

It’s been about a month now since my OCD dramatically calmed down. The thoughts, urges and images still come at the same stampede-rate but the anxiety is gone, well for the most part it is. I get the occasional worry that it’s not OCD because there no anxiety to back up the things in my mind but even that little slice of the backdoor spike doesn’t stick around that long. I hope all of you can experience this semi-peace too if you’re not already. Love y’all!

My compulsion is reassurance seeking and I seek it from my girlfriend. My intrusive thoughts are usually sexual and I can admit my ocd has latched on to her and came up with some pretty terrible things. It’s gotten to the point where she’s started to call me names when I’ve tried to seek reassurance. She gets angry that I’m even asking about certain things and calls me a “nasty person”. I don’t think she understands ocd but how could she if she’s never had to deal with it and my ocd is of the taboo nature? I just don’t know what to do. It’s ruining our relationship.

This is my first post here and I really enjoy this app, since downloading and just reading through it has helped me already. It really makes me feel like I am not alone, and I’m not a freak, and I have struggled with that specifically with OCD for a very long time. Today I had a spike in anxiety and I figured let’s try and utilize the app for its intended purpose. I’m struggling just a bit with doubting my relationship (just married in October) because of some lack of intimacy and feeling like I am not wanted all the time. Even tho we have talked it through multiple times I still find myself having the same thoughts on loop “am I still really in love with her” “did we jump too soon” “what if it isn’t right” when I know 100% that I am in love with her and I wouldn’t want anyone else my side ever and I look forward to growing old together with my best friend. My ocd has also taken a toll on us due to the fact that I go to her for reassurance with my intrusive thoughts, which is not fair to her at all. So here I am, trying this out to see if I can get some support and relief talking with people that struggle with OCD as well. Thanks for reading of you got this far ❤️

My drinking is out of control and I’m not sure what to do about it. I’m going to try to stop. It seems simple but it isn’t. The day after I feel so depressed and anxious. Any advice would be much appreciated

I feel like I don’t know who I am anymore. Loss of attraction, constant running thoughts, groinal responses, intrusive thoughts, while trying to function like a normal person throughout all of it. I feel like I’m not a lesbian anymore :(

Does anyone else get these feelings that they don’t even trust calling themselves their correct orientation anymore? Like I just feel like I’ve lost myself and deep down I’m not really a lesbian. Even though I was once so sure that I was :(

I’ve been having this thing going on where I can’t remember if I did something and I retrace every step and everything I did. And the something that I “did” is an intrusive thought. For example, last night my father in law was outside until the early am and I had an intrusive thought like what if I went out there with him and we did “stuff” and I just don’t remember. I don’t know why my ocd is obsessing over this, this isn’t the first time. I don’t know what to do ): I know I would never do something like that so why is this happening? I can’t stop rethinking everything to make sure nothing happened. Please leave your thoughts

I feel like I’ve lost myself completely. I don’t know who I am or what I want anymore. This disorder is making me feel like I’ve lost everything.

i’ve been around for just a few days and, as it’s common to people in the OCD spectrum, I’ve seen a lot of reassurance seeking. and i thought about NOCD app’s administrators creating an emoji/reaction to the posts that represents “maybe, maybe not” as a way of this community to participate actively in each other’s acceptance skill. does it sound like a good idea? what do u think? (maybe, maybe not?)

I can’t stop crying. I can’t stop ruminating. I can’t get over the false attraction. It is all so painful. I just want to feel like myself again. Are there any other lesbians on here who have ocd???

I can’t take it anymore. It’s so confusing and I hate it. I am a lesbian. Why can’t my ocd just leave me alone?

it’s been immensely hard for me these days. i’ve been managing a impulse to numb myself and my efforts to offer myself compassion are getting harder and harder to manage. i’ve been able to recognize the symptoms i’m experiencing as CTPSD and OCD strongly associated to each other — and this year’s has been such a hard one for me. is there anyone here that’d like to share their own experiences with comorbidities and multiple diagnoses? i’ve been struggling to get the proper care, mainly. that’d be really helpful, thanks.

Lately, I've been trying to pinpoint exactly what is causing me to feel down on myself all the time. I also have been having a hard time making and maintaining relationships or connections with others. I'm not sure if it's me, what I'm going through, or just the people I'm dealing with. I feel bad blaming it on others. Anyway, for the past 6 or 7 seven years I've been dealing with a bit of depression and anxiety. It started when I was about 13 years old. I felt like nobody wanted me around, everything I did was wrong, I hurt everyone around me, and everyone would be better off if I would just pass away. However, about two years later I started high school. I was in honors, doing well in my classes, and had made a few friends. I was really happy. Then covid hit and I began to feel depressed, nervous in public situations, and alone. During all of this I was also questioning my sexuality and because I went to a private school and my family was very religious, I was absolutely terrified of being gay. My junior year of high school I was feeling even worse and more alone. I began cutting myself. Then, a couple months into the school year I made a few new friends and met a girl that I liked. I began feeling a bit better about myself and was happy to have people around that shared similar experiences with mental health and sexuality. Later on, things began to go down hill. The girl I was talking to soon hated me because I didn't properly communicate my feelings. She started saying hateful things which in turn made me upset with her because I had apologized multiple times and tried to make up with her. I was also extremely upset with her because I had found out that she had really upset my younger sister and made her uncomfortable. About a month or two later one of my other friends told me I was a horrible person for sticking up for a girl I considered to be my best friend at the time. I noticed after these events and interactions I became a lot more insecure with myself and began feeling like everything was my fault. I overthink every interaction and everything I say when around a girl I like. I get scared that I'm bothering them, being annoying, or I'm making them uncomfortable. However, I also feel that most don't want me around, see me as embarrassing or childish, see me as too emotional or high maintenance, or just don't care about me at all. I then obsess over what I should do or what I may have done wrong. I sometimes also make impulsive decisions. Whenever I have feelings for someone and I start acting like this, they tend to get upset because neither one of us can understand what's going on or why I'm doing the things I'm doing and I feel like I've lost a few good people because of it. On top of all of this, I feel bad for not having my priorities in line. For some reason I worry more about friends than I do about family issues. It's also embarrassing because others deal with much more than I ever have and probably ever will. At this point I'm scared that nothing will change and I will always be in this position. Sometimes I feel like the only way out is suicide or self harm to atone for everything I've done wrong. If anyone has any suggestions on types of therapy, what I may be dealing with, or just simply how to go about getting better I'd love to hear your ideas. I would really like to get better so that I continue to help my family, help those around me, and enjoy my hobbies or things I love.

I need someone's thoughts on this I've been starting to question everything and all the things I've done, I've never liked any girls despite being in a girls class for years, but because if hocd I've starting to think about things I've done or thought that are not normal for a straight person, when I was little I used to enjoy watching videos of people making out and I kind of felt aroused when the guy touched some parts of the girl, sometimes i stumbled upon some videos of girls kissing and I remember I felt aroused by that too,then I stopped but growing up I tried to watch porn despite the fact that I'm rarely horny and straight porn just didn't do it for me, then I stumbled in lesbian porn and I actually enjoyed it and would get around by it,but I never questioned my sexuality because I knew that it was quite common for straight girls to watch lesbian porn but the thing is that sometimes I've wanted to do the same things that girls did in those videos,not essentially making sex with them or being touched by them but touch certain parts of some girls(not a lot just the ones I found extremely attractive)and this thought aroused me. Since hocd hit I've been rethinking everything and this thing in particular has stuck with me. Idk really I feel so hopeless because I mean for someone it could not be a big deal being not straight but for me it literally is because my entire identity would be destroyed and I would not be able to play those kind of games cause I would not enjoy them or I won't be able to watch any straight romance movie anymore or I could not fangirl with my friends about some hot singers or actors or even fictional characters and my dream since I was a child of being married with a man and having a beautiful family with children would be destroyed. So right now I would like someone's thoughts on this,like I don't want reassurance I just want to know what someone thinks about this,like do you think I'm not straight in reality?