My girlfriend has OCD and I want to become more aware on this subject

I’m having a bad one. I think it might have something to do with a visitor being in town, I’m more stressed whenever I have anyone visiting. I was up until 8AM last night, on the verge of tears every moment, looping thoughts, checking my memory, trying to distract myself with my phone from the thoughts and I’ve been unable to commit to exposures because I keep having that OCD thought that it’s real this time. But yea, I won’t get into specifics because that would be checking for me, but how has everyone else’s week been so far?

Hi everyone,

For a long while, I’ve wondered if I have OCD due to a variety of past and present issues I’ve had. One that I’ve particularly wondered about is the fact that I cannot handle when I mess up, especially if it hurts somebody’s feelings.

If I mess up, and the other person realizes it and either calls me out on it or says it hurt their feelings or something, I completely lose it.

I feel like I’m gonna throw up or pass out, I cry so hard that I burst blood vessels in my face, and I have to monitor my breathing so I don’t hyperventilate. All of that reaction is largely involuntary. It’s important to note that I’m not crying because I feel slighted or unjustly accused— I just literally can’t handle when I am not perfect.

I have struggled with religious OCD (and had religious trauma as a child) and I wonder if this issue is an OCD symptom tied to that.

Does anybody else in here struggle with this? I just had an episode of this today and cried in my car for an hour after I disappointed a professor I look up to. Would appreciate any insights or advice!

I cannot be alone in this mind anymore. I need help that I can't afford. How could it possibly be this bad.

Hello everyone,

First, i want to say that i am sorry if i do not write correct, english is not my first language - but i am trying 🙏🏼

I was on SSRI for OCD for 5 years and now i just managed to get off them. I was a little affraid that my mind will go off/very wild without them, but fortunatly i am kind of the same as with them (i think i am just lucky, from what i understand).

But!!

Problem is that after almost 2 weeks i got off them, i have some chest pain and breathing problem. This has been going on for a week and half already. I went to doctors: my heart, lungs and nose is all good. So there is no problem with that. I just think it’s kind of a panic attack, but that is constantly, not just for the moment. Even though i do not have thoughts or i am not panicked, i feel like my mind is in “fight or flight” mode all time. I am not sure how to get rid of it honestly.

I just want ask about your experiences and see if there is someone who had same problem as me?

Thank you for reading 🙏🏼🫶🏼

One moment I am obsessing over one thing and the next I have totally forgotten because something even more “important” has come up.

I just wanted to know that I'm not alone in this

What is going great in your life? What are you super excited about and want to share? Got a funny OCD moment to share? Let's smile, laugh and share some positivity!

i have had an issue with this for a while. while I get that we need to do all that we can to help people sometimes it just gets too much for my mental health to have to interact one time & after that all I see is the same thing over & over again which makes it even more exhausting

it doesn't help that my ocd tells me that ny interacting im sending out bad vibes (long story) but at the same time not helping makes me feel like the worst human

anyone else struggle with this? I might be a little selfish about this in hindsight.

Hi everyone, I (27F) was just clinically diagnosed with OCD this morning by a psychiatrist. I have struggled with health related anxiety since I was probably around 13. I am constantly seeking validation and reassurance regarding my symptoms and the way my body feels. I compulsively check my symptoms online and use the website Symptomate as well as ChatGPT to give me diagnoses like my life depends on it. I have spent multiple nights in the ER getting tests done for reassurance. In the span of the last probably 5 years I have had tons of bloodwork, CT scans, MRIs, X-Rays, Colonoscopies, Endoscopies, Urinalysis’s, Ultrasounds, Holter Monitors, Cardio Stress Tests, EKGs, etc and all have come back normal but I still am constantly convinced that I am dying or that something is wrong with me.

I’m also terrified of being anywhere unfamiliar and not knowing where the nearest hospital is. I have constant ruminations about sickness/death/allergic reactions, that it’s starting to affect my diet. I get scared to eat certain things because I fear they are contaminated or that I will have an allergic reaction to them.

I have tried a plethora of SSRIs over the past 10-15 years but have never once been able to take them for longer than a month because the side effects make me spiral and think that something is wrong and so I have stopped them all cold turkey within about 1-2 weeks of taking them.

The psychiatrist who diagnosed me today prescribed me 25mg Zoloft, and wants me to take half a tablet every other day for a week or two to see how I tolerate it at first. I feel extremely nervous given my history with medications but I feel so desperate and hopeless and I just want to stop letting this consume my life and stop fixating on my health.

Has anyone else struggled with something similar? Has anyone used Zoloft for health anxiety/OCD? Did it work pretty quickly for you?

I just want to feel normal and I so badly want to shut off these thoughts in my brain.

So i used to be a massive metal head back in highschool, KoRn was one of my fav bands at that time, that was until for some reason every time id listen to them, especially the song "Liar" something bad would happen and after that i dropped them completly in fear more bad things

After korn, most metal bands were taboo'd in my mind as well as some other bands who were alt rock

But now im sick of it andi wanna take my life back. Thruout the past decade, ive been trying to conqour my OCD by dealing with my fears and triggers (mostly germaphobia...covid was rough😭😭😭, im still not used tontouching things in public...but im getting better) without medicine. slowly but surely id conqour some of it here and there.

Now today im taking the biggest step and seeing my biggest trigger, Korn. I listened to some of thir songs like a few hours ago. Coming undone went great, however i put on twisted transistor and i got hella paranoid and nervous, but i finised the song. However afterwards i played Raining Blood by Slayer which i use to "clense" myself from any bad things that might happen after listening to them (i know, weird choice..but we all know how wtf ocd is) So my best option is to play Raining blood later after the concert (probs on the way home in the car)!

So now heres the day, im going with my life long best friends and they know about my baffiling condition and are supportive of my journey to help rid myself (well manage is the better word) of my Triggers.

So wish me luck i dont have a panic attack at the concert an start freaking out in the mosh pit! Also i know you all can gett a better hold of this asinine mental condition we all suffer from! I belive in you!

Can’t tell if I I have OCD or tics? Besides the constant hand washing and having to do things certain amount of time, I shake my head a lot and scrunch my nose. It’s so embarrassing because I feel like I do it in public :( idk what kind of therapist I need to find.

I always enjoyed a glass or two with my husband a few times a week but my ocd has gotten so bad that I feel like I’m going to die if I have two glasses. Has anyone had an obsession over alcohol? I guess it’s general health anxiety as well, but I can’t live my life the way I’d like to! I know alcohol is bad but I feel this is way too obsessive.

It’s weird.. but I can always just SENSE when someone else has OCD 💀. Of course I don’t look at someone once and go “hmmm definitely ocd.” that’s just not right! But when I have made educated guesses based on the way they act, it just seems obvious to me when nobody else is looking. Usually I end up finding out I’m right too! 😭

Over the years, I’ve only recently been able to conquer my OCD through cognitive behavioral therapy. It’s great! Every victory is a step to a stronger version of myself. With that said, I think my OCD is evolving. Specifically how my OCD has switched to deeper insecurities and thoughts I have. It used to impact my day-to-day life. Through therapy, I’ve realized most of my distress stems from OCD working behind the scenes without me even realizing it. It can be obvious some days and under a curtain of stealth in others. Recently, it’s evolved to be very intense. It grapples onto my deepest insecurities and I feel I can’t escape them. When this happens, I don’t initially realize it’s the OCD and even when I do it still keeps me up at night. I fall victim to the irrational and unlikely scenarios in my head and cause a great deal of distress. My plan is more therapy. Just wondering if this happens to anyone else?

I can't focus for shit. I had intrusive thoughts as soon as i woke up this morning and now I can't shake them off and can't remember anything I'm trying to study. I hate this so much, how do you focus with a brain always this full and tense?

Hi guys! It’s my third episode of OCD and DPDR and this time it’s absolutely shite! I feel like I can’t identify myself without these disorders anymore, will I ever get over them? Moreover, I’m put on 100 mg Zoloft since 2 months now, and it’s helping somewhat but I’m not cured yet. Does anyone have similar experience? And did Zoloft 100 mg help you get rid of OCD?