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How long have you had your current obsession/theme?


Guest HeadAboveWater

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Guest HeadAboveWater

Just wondering.... as I have had many themes in the past that still linger around but don't affect me so much anymore. I am struggling a lot at the moment and have been for the past 8 months with my current theme.

So, how long have you been suffering from your current obsession/theme?

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Guest Kackerlacka

so far for me its been 9 months for my current obsession. its relationship ocd....and its tough...will this one ever go away? im not sure....I do hope so tho

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Throughout my childhood, it was primarily checking. In my adult life, from my late teens, it has been primarily about contamination and external threats. I'm 44 now, but dealing in the last couple of months with the contamination obsessions through CBT.

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What about anxiety, have you guys had anxiety for more than one month regarding one particular compulsion ? example : i go to a job and i feel that someone will happen something bad because I go to that job because I saw a 'bad omen' when i picked this job. (i know the omen is a stupid thing) and i still feel that sometime that person will happen something bad. have you guys got this for a long time ?

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Guest HeadAboveWater

What about anxiety, have you guys had anxiety for more than one month regarding one particular compulsion ? example : i go to a job and i feel that someone will happen something bad because I go to that job because I saw a 'bad omen' when i picked this job. (i know the omen is a stupid thing) and i still feel that sometime that person will happen something bad. have you guys got this for a long time ?

I'm not sure if I understand exactly what you mean..... do you mean that you will have a thought/some kind of trigger to your feared obsession and then you will think that because of this thought that something bad will then happen to someone. Then time goes by and you still have this fear that something bad will really happen to that person?

If so, yes. I have something similar to that. Whenever my husband flies I think that if I see something on the news about a crash or someones loved one dying that it is a sign that he will die. It lingers until he is home safely but it is always there. I still continue to worry that maybe this time he didn't die but that next time he flies or is far away from me, he will. I hate even writing that because it makes me anxious that it will really happen. I have a lot of compulsions revolving this fear - including constantly checking on my husband when he flies, calling him a lot when he is out, checking the flight status on the internet, checking the news for car or plane crashes and reassuring myself of why it is not likely for him to be in a crash.

It's really hard....

Edited by HeadAboveWater
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Guest HeadAboveWater

Nearly 40 years,started off with contamination when my son became ill,then led to checking,which then led to hoarding,yes anxiety and depression for same time.

28 years - contamination, specifically vomit germs.

Oh, daisy and legal.... I feel for you both.

I don't think I could live 40 years with this obsession. I feel like I don't want to live another day with it.

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It's a tough one to tackle isn't it? I have followed a few people's journeys.

It is. The more I learn about OCD the more I think I may have had some elements of it when I was younger regarding magical thinking and scrupulosity. But this bout with contamination has been awful. The initial stages are what prompted diagnosis.

But I think all forms of OCD are awful. Whether or not the specific trigger is something that would affect us personally, it's still OCD and the impact is devastating.

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Guest HeadAboveWater

HeadAboveWater, I get the sense you think 8 months is a long time to have an obsession. In reality some of us have dealt with the same obsessions for years or decades. Now you know.

Sorry, if I offended you. The way you stated, ''Now you know'' seems a little harsh.

I am not under any illusions that my obsession that has been devastating for the past 8 months is to be compared to someone suffering for decades.

I have had OCD for 15 years and honestly, I still have many of the same obsessions that I had 15 years ago - they just affect me less at the moment because of how difficult my current obsession is. I started the thread just to find out how long and which obsessions have stuck with certain people. At the moment, the severity of this 8 month long obsession (although, the obsession was actually around prior it never took hold like it has in the past 8 months) has made me feel like I've had it forever.

Edited by HeadAboveWater
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I understand. I didn't mean to compare one person's suffering to another's. I'm not saying a person who has had the same obsession for 8 months is somehow suffering less less than a person suffering for 30 years.

Each day with OCD can be painful and every day we wake up we are presented with a whole new day of hell and suffering. It's like the movie Groundhog Day. Until we get control of our disorder we are doomed to repeat our days from hell over and over.

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