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I had a really hard week and I was taking to my mom to try and feel better. And one of the worst feelings is having my parents think i’m actual gay when it’s just these horrible thoughts i have instead. I was trying to explain it in a way that doesn’t make me sound crazy and I know my mom was trying to help but she said something about maybe I was just digging in my heels and it could be true and it just sent me into an orbit and I know I am straight but these thoughts just make me second guess myself all the time and then my mom said that tonight and I hung up the phone feeling so overwhelmed and guilty and now I think my parents think I am gay. I just don’t know how to navigate this part of it.

I've started struggled with debilitating anxiety for so long it's hard to pinpoint where it stared. I've racked up a laundry list of diagnoses but always felt like nothing has really helped treatmentwise. In my recent spiral I was watching a YouTuber I've followed for years who has been very open about their experience with OCD. In the beginning of watching this person. While I had related to some things they said like specifically about anxiety, nothing ever made me think 'oh maybe I have OCD.' in fact in a way it reassur d me I didn't because my struggles seemed very different to theirs. Then they spoke about 'bad thoughts'' and the compulsion to turn them into 'good thoughts.' when they said that I felt so seen, and figured maybe I have some OCD tendencies. So I decided I would do some research into OCD and getting diagnostic criteria/ common obsessions and compulsions, and the second one on the first list was "worried about getting HIV and transmitting it to others" and it was like a switch went of in my brain and I remembered how I spent 2 years convinced a low risk sexual encounter in which protection was used definitely have me HIV, and how I constantly was looking up information about HIV, tests, prevention, clinical presentations. I got multiple STD tests and even when I started to logically understand it wasn't a real risk for me, I couldn't break the anxious cycle. The only thing that stopped I was after the time period passed where infections are detectable (2 years). And then I started putting everything in that context, months on end I spent unbelievably anxious about climate change and obsessively searching up statistics, the multiple times and admittedly stressful event occurs (job insecurity, visa applications, COVID forcing me and my partner into long distance) that would be so all consuming that every other aspect of my life feels on back burner to this one thought. How no logic, no explanation, no amount of time telling myself it is okay, it will be okay and that the outcomes of my stressors do have options/ ways forward, would stop the anxious spiral. I'm also thinking about how often, when I shared my anxiety, it was met with such response as "everyone is anxious about some things" or "well that is a stressful event so some anxiety is normal." I know that no one meant anything bad but this, but it also contributed to the shame and doubt to a degree, I didn't know how to explain how I felt, that is wasn't just anxious thoughts every so often, that is was a constant barrage from the moment I'm awake to the point I exhausted myself enough to sleep. Sharing this felt especially hard considering that it wasn't logical to feel how I was feeling. I don't know what I want to achieve with this post but the more i heard about people's specific experiences and personal obsessions and compulsions helped me to recognise those patterns in my own life so maybe just talking about it is helpful

Does anyone have advice on how to better manage this? I know we're not supposed to engage with intrusive thoughts, but it's hard not to when they feel so real. Sometimes, I get the most disturbing images (won't go into specifics obviously, but just super wrong, disturbing and gross stuff) relating to POCD that trigger physical arousal (like erections), even though I feel disgusted and scared by them. The arousal feels the same to normal sexual arousal, and a lot of the times even stronger than normal arousal, which makes it more confusing and upsetting. It feels like it's gotten worse lately, and that it use to feel more dull and less real in the past, but now it feels so much more intense even super real. I’ve also had a history of excessive porn use, including weird or taboo content (nothing illegal), which makes me worry I’ve somehow conditioned my brain to respond to anything taboo. That thought really scares me and makes me question my morality, especially since I sometimes felt bad about it even while watching. Sometimes my brain somehow manages to convince me that I actually like the thoughts, too. I hate the thoughts and don't WANT to engage with them, but the physical sensations make everything feel more "real," and that terrifies me. I also feel guilty trying to ignore it, like I'm avoiding the truth or letting myself off the hook. The anxiety is constant and overwhelming, and I feel so lost. If anyone has advice on how to cope with this and learn to be able to better ignore it/not assign any meaning to it, I'd greatly appreciate it.

I woke up to an intrusive image this morning, and then when I checked when I went downstairs there was a tiny drop of some fluid in my urethra, idk what it was, prostate fluid pre cum or pee but my ocd is seizing on it and making me think it was precum because of the intrusive thought because this is the second time this week that this has happened after an intrusive thought😭 is this a good time to accept uncertainty and say maybe it was maybe it wasn’t because I cannot stop ruminating 😭

Quick explanation: I get stuck in mental checking and ruminatiom for hours, and it's to the point where I feel nonconcordant arousal to intrusive thoughts. It feels ridiculously real and I'm horrified. My brain has learned that normal, desirable thoughts get replaced with intrusive ones (causing anticipatory anxiety), and once those appear, it forces checking, which leads to arousal, which leads to rumination and feeling like "oh my god, I may want these taboo thoughts, what the hell" even if I know I've never been attracted to such things. It really feels like there's a real issue, it feels so disturbing, and I feel like I'm not the same person anymore. I feel like there's no way this is only OCD even though I rationally know it is. I also kinda feel like I may be reassurance-seeking, but how am I supposed to not do that if it feels as real as it does I don't expect reassurance, in fact don't give me any, I just want to know what's going on or why. I just want some sort of help, support, anything

i live in a multi generational style home with my partner's parents, my partner, his sister, her husband and their 2 year old. we have separate bathrooms and when I moved in, the house was filthy. not just contamination filthy, more like no one has picked up a cleaning tool in years. I had to deep clean caked pee and dust from behind our toilet and walls. there was expired shampoo bottles from 2014 with mold on them. The bathtub was black with grime. like someone cleaned off motor oils off themselves. but really it was just soap scum mixed with years of dirt and human grime. I spent days cleaning the bath tub with multiple scrubs, using power tool brush heads and even a high pressure steamer. i finally got it to the point to where i felt clean to be in there. i did not clean their bathroom because doing mine was hard enough and I never planned to use theirs. they came home from their month long vacation and decided they no longer liked the state of their own bathroom and decided to use mine. They said their tub had black grime and did not want to bathe their baby in it. that grime was there in all of the tubs when they left and it didn't seem to bother them before? i know babies pee in the tub, its a natural reaction that I don't fault. i have a strict no pee in the shower rule. i can immediately tell when people are shower pee people when i use someone else's shower because the smell permeates from the bottom of the shower curtain and the shower drain. Now i am laying awake unable to sleep thinking about how i will need to scrub the tub in the morning and put the shower curtain in the wash (cuz it touched the pee water) before i can shower and start my day. they also left a huge mess of water on the floor with redish mud? i dont know but i had to clean that up before it settled. i want to set a boundary that they clean and use their own tub from now on, but I am worried I will be perceived as precious, rude, insensitive or unaccommodating they also dont know about my OCD and I am sure they already think of me as a bit off, it doesnt feel safe to disclose it to them. i cant lay awake every night upset and i cant start everyday with a deep clean. my shower and my bed are my non negotiables with OCD habits. they also put a bunch of amazon packages on my bed when i wasnt home that didnt even belong to me and i cant stop thinking about all the dirty things those boxes touched before touching my newly cleaned sheets. so i also have to deep clean that in the morning. currently i am in the one corner of the bed nothing touched and i have sanitized the rest but not enough to sleep well. help!! this cant just be an ocd problem, but an inconsiderate family member i have to learn to live with. any tips? ALSO my husband is gone on a work trip, leaving me to have to figure this out on my own if I want to survive the week without him. its extra hard because i feel like i have less of a say since this is not my family home.

I’ve only posted here once and deleted the app for a while, and I still struggle daily with my OCD. In the past two years or so though, I have improved a significant amount despite oftentimes still finding it hard to feel the significance. One thing I have realized, is that unplugging from social media completely other than apps I can easier curate like substack and Youtube has helped tremendously, along with journaling. Keeping my screen time low and avoiding things like ChatGPT (which I had a big problem with for a while, that thing is a reassurance vacuum) has allowed me to better fight against my compulsions and/or Pure O. The one thing I’m lacking is a support system, but I am finally more comfortable with leaving my house and I’m taking steps to get myself back out into the world in hopes that I can get a job with adequate enough insurance to get proper treatment and maybe make some friends. I just wanted to vent I guess in a positive way, because I’m more prone to pessimism by nature. Don’t give up on yourselves, a small win is still a win. Reminding myself of that too.

I desperately need some advice or tips. Now that I’m having a horrible flare up that feels sooooo real it’s hard for me to feel good around my man anymore. The feelings and attraction I felt for him turned into numbness and OCD constantly makes me feel like a liar and question everything. I’m trying to stop checking and ruminating whenever I’m with him but it’s so hard especially when I feel like a full on rock again. I have no libido (haven’t in years actually), barely any attraction to men anymore (been happening ever since this theme started which was a long time ago but I think it’s from the years of feeding the OCD cycle,depression, and anxiety), and I’m feeling emotionally numb again. I don’t know if this is asking for reassurance but I really just want to know how to continue my relationship that I was so excited for. I was so happy to feel genuine attraction and to have a crush again after years of numbness 😭 I was so excited for this new chapter. All these missing emotions were waking up again, and I was starting to feel happier and normal. But ofc OCD had to make an appearance again. Any tips will be greatly appreciated!! (how this flare up has me feeling)

are not random burdens; they are mirrors reflecting the meaning you attach to your thoughts. You suffer because the meanings you create are rigid and absolute, dividing your inner world into light and shadow, saint and sinner, worthy and unworthy. This split produces a double-mindedness, a divided psyche struggling to reconcile its opposites. Imagine your thoughts as figures that rise from the depths of the unconscious, much like waves emerging from the sea. They are not moral or immoral in themselves; they simply are. Yet when they reach the shore of consciousness, you label them good, evil, holy, or profane, and in that act of naming, you give them life. The moment you judge the thought, it gains substance, and what was once a passing wave becomes a tidal force crashing upon your inner shore. Consider the person with OCD who calls themselves a bad person for an intrusive thought. That judgment, born of fear and moral expectation, gives the thought weight and reality. It becomes a living symbol of guilt. But pause for a moment and ask yourself, can anyone prove their goodness? Who among us stands pure when the full contents of the unconscious are brought to light? If all humanity examined itself as the scrupulous mind does, we would all drown in despair. For the obsessive, this process happens instinctively. The psyche, in its fear of chaos, clings to moral order, even if that order imprisons it. Each thought is measured against an inner ideal that can never be met. The more one tries to be pure, the more the shadow resists, demanding recognition. This is why the thought feels so real: you have projected meaning onto it, fusing it with the moral energy of your inner archetypes. To free oneself, one must begin to deconstruct the foundation upon which such meanings rest. Morality, viewed psychologically, is not an eternal law written outside of man but a tapestry woven by the collective psyche, shaped by religion, culture, and fear of the unknown. It is a structure born of humanity’s longing for order amid chaos. To see morality as a human formation does not abolish right and wrong; it allows you to see that the moral code itself is symbolic, a language through which the soul seeks wholeness. When you loosen the grip of the meanings you assign to thoughts, you begin to see through the illusion of time and identity. The past becomes a myth retold by memory, and the future a projection of hope or fear. What remains real is the living moment and the conscious act of choice. Peace does not come by silencing the thoughts or purifying the mind, but by integrating what has been split apart, by seeing both light and shadow as belonging to one and the same Self.

I know that ERP is the gold standard and it has worked great for my anxiety, but if depression is really bad, I don’t understand how exposing myself to “I’m a failure, I won’t get better, I’m truly horrible” for moral OCD is helping me to not do compulsions. It’s just convincing me it’s true because my depression already says these things

I have had a boyfriend for officially 3 months today. We only kissed for the first time on the lips like 2 weeks ago roughly. We do it once or twice when we hang out each time lately usually, it's a bit awkward but it's cause we haven't really had a relationship before. I'm not ready right now for sex and I don't think he is ether, we are both quite awkward people which is fine. I keep trying to live in the moment but I'm worried about sex a little. A little less lately but at the very least right now im worried how long I'll take to he ready and that I'll take longer then a normal person. Personally I'd like to wait atleast a few more months (if he is cool with it too, I want him to also be ready) but I'm worried that it's uncommon to wait for like 6 or more months. It feels not drastic to me. But idk. My mom asked me if I want to get birth control yet, she asked cause I've been staying out with him very late she said, but it's just because we watch movies and stuff. I know she had a reason but what if she just assumed I would by now. I don't think my boyfriend would care much if I took long and he was ready before me, he said to me that sex was just a bonus in relationships. But what I'm weird? What it I take 6 months or more then 6 months, would that he uncommon? Would it be weird? Part of me wants to just not worry about when I'll be ready and focus on the now. But ocd won't let me because I have nothing else to worry about lately. Please give me advice

Question: There has been an OCD “what if thought” that is a question within a question if that makes sense? It’s been very hard and frustrating when it pops up. The compulsion is to look up the what if question online, and there is fear and worry with that. It has been such a headache and scary! Any suggestions? I have OCD.

I had a small epiphany this morning while brushing my teeth. I’m now choosing to focus on what’s happening now. All I know is that I have OCD. All I know is that after years of numbness, my old crush on someone grew, and now he’s my boyfriend. All I know is that I like to be around him and I was/am excited to be his girlfriend. The weird childhood exploration, uncomfortable memories, other things that happened in the past may or may not have meaning. I don’t know and right now at this moment, I really don’t care. I’m done debating with this. When SOOCD was only just a tiny mosquito bugging me from time to time, I felt the real me again after YEARS of feeling like a rock. I don’t know if the things OCD tells me will happen, and that’s ok even if I think it’s scary and horrible. I don’t know if OCD is right about me. All I know right now is I got a date coming up soon and I want to enjoy it. I hope anyone who reads this has a good/easier day. We can get through this!!!

I have known something was wrong with my “brain” for a long time. I am a recovering alcoholic who will be celebrating 5 years of Recovery in January. For me, drinking was my solution, not my problem however, I was OBSESSED with alcohol and could never say no to my CRAVINGS no matter how much self will I had. I eventually got sober through the program of AA, found a higher power and for many years my life was great. I never thought about alcohol and stayed active in AA. Over the past two years is when my Pure OCD started. First it was my relationship. Then I changed jobs and was in school for 9 months. I was constantly over studying, repetitive flash cards ever day, all because of fear of failure. It was the most stressed I have ever been in my whole life. The day before my final exam, I was driving and the word “alcohol” popped into my head. Not a craving or a want, just “alcohol.” I immediately started spiraling. “Why am I thinking about this” “why won’t this go away” “is my addiction/craving back.” It was torture. I became so scared of relapse I went to an AA meeting everyday, called my sponsor everyday, started re working the steps. I started doing everything I did the first time that got me relief but yet the thought remained for three weeks. This is the night “my brain broke.” While engaging in sex with my partner, an image of someone close to me popped in my head. Not in a sexual manor but because I was in the act my brain associated with it. I spiraled for two weeks. I was convinced I was a pedophile. Constantly seeking re assurance, re playing past memories. Every day my brain found a new fear. During that time I remember almost NEVER thinking about alcohol. At some times I welcomed that thought to come back. I have started therapy and my POCD has slowed down a lot and the thought/fear of alcohol is back and constantly in my mind. This poses a challenge for my brain. Is this an OCD fear or is it craving? My brain can rationalize now (on good days) that I’m not a pedophile but with alcohol it’s something I was addicted too and always will be. So my question is, is there anyone out there struggling with OCD and is also in recovery?

Warning!! This will have some 18+ stuff. I know I shouldn’t be ruminating about this but this whole off and on 6 year SOOCD thing started because I thought a kpop idol (who was masculine presenting/androgynous) was attractive. It made me very uncomfortable finding out that she was indeed a woman. In some pictures and angles she looked like another male kpop idol, but in some she looked like a woman and the attraction just went away. But my brain went to full panic mode because I was worried that it meant something about me. Logically I know this doesn’t mean anything and that I can just move on. I’ve even had friends (they are straight) in high school tell me they would sometimes mistake a super masculine lesbian/androgynous woman as men, find them attractive, realize they’re women, and then just move on. I’ve even had masculine lesbian friends, teammates, and coaches, and I never thought anything about it or felt attraction to any of them (even if they were conventionally attractive). But my brain brings in past stuff like how I was attracted to a manly cartoon character, bc again THEY LOOKED LIKE MEN. I literally did not care or get triggered until SOOCD started. Idc ab childhood exploration or ab the fact that TMIIIIII!!! I am aroused by anything remotely sexual (sorry), I completely forgot about it until a couple months ago and It has never changed the fact that I’ve only ever wanted to be with men and have been attracted to men all my life 😭. It just makes the false attractions and groinal responses harder to pass by bc my brain automatically tells me “UR LYING YOU LIKE THIS! UR YEARS OF NUMBNESS, LOSS OF ATTRACTION, AND LIBIDO IS BC UR GAY!” But when ocd wasn’t at my throat, and I was entering a happier headspace, I was noticing the attraction coming back, and for the first time in years I developed a crush on someone (my now boyfriend). I’ve always found him cute and had a crush on him but ocd likes to tell me that never happened and i’m lying but whatever. Anyways, I developed a real crush again, I wanted him to kiss me, I wanted to touch him (not super freaky touching😭 just like caressing his hair and face), I wanted to talk to him and be around him, I couldn’t wait to wake up in the morning and talk to him bc I just felt so giddy and like a normal person again, I had all the crush feelings for him. Before the SOOCD flare up I was just so happy and excited. I was worried about the numbness, which i’m pretty sure is from years of not doing ERP and off and on struggle with really bad depression. Highschool was pure hell for me, I got a tiny bit better after graduating, and then I had to drop out of school for a bit bc the depression became unbearable again. Although I am better now, my new therapist now even told me I do have signs of moderate depression. Best way I can describe the way I feel is like a rock. I feel like all my emotions are muted. I don’t have any hobbies, wants, goals, I feel like a rock with a bunch of feet walking over and around me. I liked reading and going on walks but even that is too much energy again. For the past 4 years I’ve spent my days rotting away just laying down. Also, TMI!!!! I literally have no libido or sex drive, I don’t even do the self stuff (ykwim) bc I have 0 desire to do it. My man was slowlllyyy waking up all the emotions but this ocd spiral has sent me back to my rock like state. TMI!! Me and my bf have been slightly intimate but Im ALWAYS in my head majority of the time and checking feelings and arousal (esp since i have no libido) which ruins it. But when I was in the moment laying on him and we were just kissing here and there, I felt sooooooo amazing. Idk the right word but it felt so peaceful, loving, calming, and just right 😭. Even yesterday I was starting to spiral again bc OCD started to make fake memories, he called me and I was starting to tune out the OCD, and I felt the peace again. I felt the happiness just talking to him again. I’m at a point where idc what ocd says anymore, Im really tired and done debating with this evil disorder. I just want to enjoy my relationship again bc I KNOW that was the real me. It felt so freeing to have a small taste of recovery 😭. Ik I did compulsions (basically habits now bc I haven’t had proper treatment for so long) and things did trigger me, but when I was IN THE MOMENT everything was just so nice and sweet and just really amazing 😭. I hope I can feel all that again soon.

I have been blocked by so many people on here, I am struggling with POCD and real events OCD because of the stupid positions I put myself in, and it feels like my worst pocd fears are coming true one by one... But since I put myself in these situations, I deserve this right? I deserve this pain and hell I created for myself right?? This is absolutely what I deserve right...? I dont pity myself because why would I pity something I despise...? I dont even see myself as a human anymore... i see myself as an "it". UPDATE: Oh dear god... I think my worst fears came true... I think I unknowingly ERP'ed with a minor on an 18+ discord server 5 years ago... they currently are on Astralspiff's discord, having been there since 2023, and have switched their username, with a chicken emoji as their bio... they also switched their profile picture from Nana Osaki to a fan art of Kasame Teto... its making me think that these three things are certainties that she was a minor on the 18+ sexual server... and that I ERP'ed with her not knowing this... Im genuinely feeling shocked and sick to my stomach right now... they don't have their age listed on discord or anything, but they joined 5 years ago and it was 4 years ago that we ERP'ed... god I feel disgusted and horrified right now... someone talk to me... please.... in the past, I have been catfished by a man pretending to be a woman, had a minor on a dating app who lied about her age and i unknowingly flirted with her because I assumed she was 18+ and her bio said so, and sent an 18+ pic to a "woman" online who now I suspect of being a catfish... this is the reason why I'm so scared of whether or not I unknowingly inappropriately chatted with a minor without knowing... it genuinely scares me... Its making me think that I unknowingly inappropriately chatted with a minor in the past without knowing and it genuinely triggers me... I have tried to go back through most 18+ online interactions ive had with women online to make sure they didnt lie or they confirmed their age... i have two situations on discord that trigger me that ive posted about in the past... and a couple have deleted their discords so thats triggering me really bad... most who deleted their discords were verified but still... why delete your discord, you know...? for context i was on 18+ explicit discord servers meant for sex that you cant just join regularly on iPhone due to it being for adults only... Ive also been to a website dedicated to adult 18+ literature... they also have an 18+ chat room where you can talk to other users... i know ive made stupid mistakes going on here... i wont deny that... and now im paying for it with the uncertainty... veterans of the site, who have been on there for over 9 years, have told me that the chances of a minor lying about their age and coming onto the chat portion of the website are rare... but it still triggers me all the same... Im scared of someone one day in the future accusing me of doing horrible things like unknowingly inappropriately messaging minors, or have my worst fears of unknowingly explicitly messaging a minor confirmed to have happened and I didnt know about it...

I was doing fine. My psychiatrist told me we can quit the medicine. And my therapist told me that i don't need to continue therapy since i was in a good place where i could control my OCD symptoms. But a couple days ago my intrusive thoughts came back. And yesterday i went to see my psychiatrist and she decided to go back to my usual dose. But she also told me she had suspicions that what i have is OCD. She told me i could be more like Generated Anxiety disorder. But when i tell her about my most prominent intrusive thought, she told me this was OCD and i should not dwell on the titles. I am confused and panicked now thinking if i am not OCD, then what i am thinking is real? But i don't want it to be. The thought makes me scared and panicked. And i find myself thinking about it constantly. Looking for evidences and checking my past memories. And then i go back to thinking what if i am in denial and this fear is the fear of denial? What should i do? How can i stop this chain of thoughts?

I think I felt it but idk if I did cus idk what it feels like. It felt like nothing in my house was mine. Looking at pics of me and her it looked like I was looking at someone else. It’s like I’m forgetting my self and things that are related to me. Am I manking it up or not. Can someone help please. OCD is rlly draining.

looking for recommendations for counseling, I struggle with POCD, and just right OCD and probably a number of other s. I unfortunately don’t have insurance so I’ll have to pay out-of-pocket so looking for sliding scale options.

Hey so i've been mia for a while but school started and i just had a bunch of stuff going on. I'm back on my meds because the last few months were rough, however i've been through this before and i know myself and i can tell i'm getting better again, thankfully. Now there is something stressing me out and intrusive thoughts are taking over. I'm going to finish my major this year, and to do so i need to do an internship at a lab. We get to choose the lab, and so far so good. I have always loved Forensic Sciencies and Criminal Investigation, and for a while now i have been pursuing them academically, not directly but through a major and internships that will let me work in that field. So when i got to pick the lab i chose a forensics laboratory that deals with everything from forensic pathology to autopsies to toxicology, etc. I have been exchanching emails with the lab and everything seems to be on a good track for me to go there. However, I now start wondering if this is really for me, what if i get there and im too squeamish, feel nauseous, or just straight up have a panic attack?! What if i see things i never wanted to and they haunt me? What if seeing a dead person is too much for me? Or the smell or even the samples? Im genuinely scared of getting something engraved in my mind my ocd and anxiety can feed off- and i know that can happen because that has happened before in a very different situation and i worked through my ptsd episode with my therapist, but while also being haunted by it for months. The thing is, if this isnt right for me, i don't know what is, because i've been after it for so long and while i do believe i'll love it and feel gratified, i'm also so so so scared. Should i do anything to prepare myself? Should i be scared? What do i do? Anything would help rn guys.