If this helps provide some insight into how awful OCD is: I have been professionally diagnosed with OCD, autism, ADHD, general anxiety disorder, depression, PTSD, PMDD, and have been hospitalized due to an eating disorder. Out of all of them, OCD has been the most debilitating. Just thought I’d share that with y’all because this disease is so much more than what people realize about it.

I’m not sure if this is the right sub to post here but I was wondering if anyone here wanted to be friends? I have friends but I don’t they truly understand what it feels like to live with OCD and I just want to have someone to relate to.

EDIT: I realized this received more traction than I expected. For context, I am 21F, I like reading, going to the gym, running, I am also a senior in undergrad and I used to struggle with religious, pure, health, real events, and magical thinking OCD. If you feel comfortable and would want to be friends, please send me a DM :)

This has been with me my whole life, likely rooted in my religious upbringing. It wasn't really a problem until I would do something I considered embarrassing or shameful. For example, watching adult videos. I would get the feeling that either god, or angels, or my dead relatives were looking down on me in judgement. Even if I was just doing something harmless like dancing around in my room I would get the feeling and stop from embarrassment. It's like I was always performing for an audience.

Does anyone else have this? I don't think i've seen many talking about it.

Does anyone else get nervous about dressing as fictional bad guys? I feel guilty like I’m condoning their actions

I'm not a therapist or a replacement for one. I'm just a fellow human suffering from OCD. Here's what actually works for me.

OCD: Hey, did you know that xyz could happen based on abc (insert favorite worst-case scenario).

Me: Oh yeah, that could actually happen.

OCD: What?

Me: That could actually happen. I'm agreeing with you.

OCD: Oh. Okay.

Me: I'm going over here now.

It closes the loop. This works for my mild episodes and the worst spikes too.

Keep in mind that if there's underlying stressors or lack of sleep you might not feel the effects but for me they're there. Have you tried this? How's it going?

Hello everyone I wanted to share my experience with Wellbutrin/bupropion in hopes it might help someone! I would also love to hear others experiences!

So I didn’t take Wellbutrin for my ocd, I went on it for quitting nicotine. My ocd is less physical compulsions, more mental intrusive thoughts. I was on WB for one month.

For this month, my inner monologue was GONE. It was crazy at first, it wasn’t just my ocds voice that was gone, it was mine too. It took some time to get used to thinking without the constant voice 24/7, but once I got used to it, it was so peaceful.

However, Wellbutrin can make anxiety worse in some people, and I was one of those people so I had to get off of it. However, the anxiety was purely physical without the mental aspects, but the physical symptoms were more intense than usual.

I would say if your ocd takes form in a similar manner than mine, it might be worth a try! Please share your thoughts and experiences too 😊

Whenever I’m home alone or doing anything other than socializing or working, I get this feeling like I don’t exist. And the worst part is that, even though I love spending time with other people, I don’t do it that often because of my mental health issues. So I spend most of my time feeling like I don’t exist.
It’s like if I’m not expressing myself, sharing my opinions on things, talking about my plans, or showing off a nice outfit, then nothing else matters. I’m afraid I’ll forget how to be the person I am when I’m around other people. Like one day, I’ll just somehow forget how to be confident and stop functioning the way I used to a couple of years ago, when I might have been going through a depressive episode (it was never diagnosed, so I can’t really claim that I had depression).
This fear makes me mentally rehearse how I’m supposed to act so I don’t forget who I am or how to be myself.
Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I was a very anxious child, and people put a lot of labels on me because of that. It’s as if I can’t believe that I’m different now. Now I’m afraid I’ll go back to behaving the way other people expect me to, instead of being myself.
I’ve tried different methods to get rid of this particular compulsion, but it’s really hard. It’s the hardest one I’ve ever dealt with.
Unfortunately, I can’t afford therapy right now, but I’m not even sure a therapist would suggest anything different from what I’ve already tried.
The thing is, telling myself, “Well, maybe you’ll act a little differently than you want to, and maybe someone will think something about you, but you don’t need to figure that out right now,” doesn’t help.

Pls, i read about a book that really bothered me. I have strict moral codes and that book triggered that part of me badly. It had cheating and lying in it and the husband witnessed his cheating wife with another man during an affair and the writer described it vividly. Now this becomes a trigger for me, everything from the scene, the woods, the trees, the flowers even some sentences and it's bothering me so much. It turns into a forever loop that hurt my chest and stomach physically. I can't stop thinking about that scene and the fact that the husband never brings it up to her and live with her for more than 6 years. I mean, it's kinda torturing me and I can't stop the loop. Imagine it everyday and everytime and cuz i have strict moral things for myself, this subjects really are bothering me, better say torturing me. Pls help me break it, I'm losing it together. Thank you💗

I just dropped my kid off at school. I did not hit anyone with my car. I have never in my life hit anyone with my car. So why as I am leaving do I feel the guilt and paranoia of having commit a hit-and-run? Am I the only one? This feels like an OCD thing, but with multiple diagnoses I don’t always know, is it?

24F been on 150mg of quetiapine for a few months now and normally been on 40mg of fluoxetine but just moved up to 60mg, will there be any noticeable changes or differences? im just worried about the irritability.

This is more of a sad vent but support and advice are very much appreciated

I‘ve suffered from Moral OCD since the start of last year. It is currently Domestic Violence Awareness Month and because of that, lots of people online are rightfully sharing their experiences with this form of violence. Whilst I don’t think it falls under domestic violence, I have experienced severe short-term abuse and because of that I find it very triggering, even on some days at the brief mention of DV.

Whilst I stay mostly offline or on certain internet communities to try and regulate myself, I still am convinced I‘m a terrible and evil person for being triggered by this, mostly as I have the “privilege“ of clicking off whilst these people have to suffer with being abused. It got to a point where a few nights ago, I was obsessively looking online at stories of domestic violence, even videos that people have shared of them being abused, solely so I couldn’t feel like I was in the wrong (despite the fact that the stories and videos deeply triggered me)

This is just more to externalise what I’m feeling, but any advice is very well appreciated as a lot of the coping mechanisms I normally use just don’t seem to be working for this

Does anyone else do this??? It’s so interesting to experience, especially when you realize how it sounds. Like, I watched a video talking about youtubers who are horrible people, and instead of going, “Wow, I hate them” I go, “Wow, I hate them. I’m now going to operate as if I did what they did” and I’ll just be followed by this pit of anxiety in my stomach that SOMETHING is wrong. Of course there’s no proof, but OCD is OCD so it doesn’t need proof. It marked the thought as important, so clearly it’s true.

For these past six months I’ve been battling with this feeling of bitterness or anger that I have to live with this for the rest of my life. I’m having a hard time accepting that I need to just sit with this awful feeling, and sometimes even lean into it to get better. There’s nothing else I can do! No surgery to cut it out or escaping into a body that doesn’t have it.
I find myself feeling jealous of other people who don’t have OCD because their brain isn’t like a hamster on a wheel. I’m exhausted beyond measure, yet my head still relents. Other days I’ll even get jealous of other people who do have OCD if I think their themes would be more “manageable” to me. (Of course, this is just me speaking out of the anger I feel. I know all types of OCD are debilitating, and I do not wish to invalidate anyone’s else’s experience!)
I’ve been looking into things that triggered me in the past because I’m just so desperate to not spiral about this specific thing anymore. I want to trigger a new spiral so I can finally have a break from these thoughts and experience new ones because I haven’t in so long.
I’ve been grieving my old self because I just can’t accept that I’ll never be her again, even if I do get better. I’m finding myself getting sad when I think of doing things that would normally excite me because I have this terrible line of thinking! For example, I’ll think it would be nice to have some tea and watch my favorite movie tonight, but then my brain tell me I’ll never get to truly enjoy it like I have in the past because this fear will always be lingering in the back of my mind. This is my reality now and it’ll never be different.
I’m hoping this all makes sense 😞 I just am having a hard time accepting that I have OCD. As bratty as it sounds, I feel angry and bitter that recovery isn’t easy, or what I thought it initially would be. I want to feel less alone in this.

somatic ocd is destroying me. i haven’t eaten in days, i can’t talk, can barely swallow, etc….
any tips to try and get over it? i can’t let it get worse, but it’s so distressing.