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Definitely don't beat yourself up about it. You can't be perfect all of the time. Just use this opportunity to learn for next time

The best thing to try is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, preferably with a therapist, although you can do it on your own. There's a great self-help book called Break free from OCD that I recommend too In general, the key to therapy is learning that the behaviours we do in response to the thoughts make our OCD worse.

Thread bump. Anyone who's struggling during lockdown, this is a great read

Oh right it sounds like you're hyper focused on where your eyes are then. I think it's pretty common when you don't want to look at something that with OCD you end up looking. I imagine at the moment you're pretty vigilant about where your eyes are and that's the problem. When you're out and about, you need to act carefree with your eyes. Harder said than done but possible with practise. You mentioned being mindful which may help with the above, but it really depends on whether you can look where you want. If that's something you struggle with then deliberately looking at things you're avoiding would be an obvious exposure. Of course I know you can't stare at people, but the aim would be to glance around at anything you mind find uncomfortable and not do any compulsions afterwards. Remember that people without OCD may look at someone's crotch without thinking, they may even stare by accident, but it's just mindless looking around, that's what you're aiming for

Hi Bailey Yes it's possible that an oral solution may be absorbed faster, but that doesn't necessarily mean it'll work better. But if you have any questions specifically about your medication definitely talk to your GP or a pharmacist

Hi Cake What is the reason that you stare? Is it some form of check?

Hi Lisabeth I'm sorry to hear that your partner is struggling. Intrusive thoughts about religion are quite common in people with OCD, especially if their religion is important to them. OCD often latches onto whatever we really care about, which is what makes it so difficult. Has you partner had success so far with his CBT? Is it through the NHS? I recommend the self-help book Break free from OCD, there are sections specifically on religious OCD that might help your partner. It's may also be helpful if you read it too as it can help to have the same language to work together to tackle OCD. Remember to look after yourself as much as possible too. It's really hard being the partner of someone with OCD. Take time out for yourself and your 10 month old, doing small things that make you happy. Your partner can recover from this, it will just take a little time

The thing is Cub, why do you keep googling when you know it does the opposite of what you want? You want to feel sure about what you think and believe. Does googling make you feel more sure or less sure? Does googling make you feel more anxious or less anxious? Does googling increase the number of thoughts you have about religion and sexuality or decrease them? You have to begin to tolerate some uncertainty, it's the only way you'll feel more confident about what you believe and feel. It's important to start seeing Google as the cause of the problem not the solution, that way when you reach for your computer, you might think again about bothering with it It's also natural to be nervous about another change in circumstances, especially when you're feeling so unsettled to start with. Try your best to start tackling some of your OCD now, because it'll give you more strength for when you have to start work again. Also, try to remember that although you have a lot of thoughts, thoughts aren't in themselves signals to do anything. They are just thoughts and can be ignored

Hi Shauny, welcome to the forum It does sound like you are struggling with contamination based OCD at the moment. It's natural to feel guilt and shame because you're restricting your and your mum's life but try to remember that OCD is difficult to overcome at the best of times but even more so during this pandemic. What you need is the tools to start tackling your problem. The recommended treatment for OCD is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), which you can get through the NHS, although there are some wait times. You can self-refer for therapy to your local IAPT in England. Details for accessing therapy are here on the OCD-UK website, https://www.ocduk.org/overcoming-ocd/accessing-ocd-treatment/accessing-ocd-treatment-through-the-nhs/ There is also the latest edition of the OCD-UK magazine Compulsive Reading, with particular focus on coping at this time, https://www.ocduk.org/april-compulsive-reading/ I also really recommend the self-help book Break free from OCD. This is how I started tackling my OCD On the whole it's a really difficult time at the moment. You're bound to feel more vulnerable because of your health issues and also worry about your mum. It might be that the best you can do is cope during lockdown, but that's ok. Use this time to learn what you can and fight back against OCD as mucn as possible, but most importantly have compassion for yourself. If it was really easy to ignore OCD you would have obviously already done it There's a lovely community of people here, so ask whatever questions you have, you can also join in on the lockdown section, where there's general fun topics and games

The thing is compulsions build the feelings that make things seem dirty to you. If you didn't do compulsions, the feelings would pass and you wouldn't feel like things were dirty. It's the attention you place on germs that makes them feel like they're everywhere. It's also important to remember that some bacteria for example are actually good for us, some absolutely essential, so germs being present isn't always a bad thing.

Hi nevergiveup I'm sorry to hear about your son. My OCD became a problem for me when I was about 14, and I kept it to myself. For me the main reasons were because of the fear of the thoughts which meant I didn't want to talk about them (for some avoiding talking about them can be a compulsion in itself) and also because I was scared, scared about how my parents would react and what would happen. Not sure if this is the case with your son, but it's an incite into at least how I was thinking OCD-UK have a few resources for young people that might help. Perhaps seeing other young people like him might help him feel it's worth tackling or at least talking about. There's the teen booklet which you can download or request a free copy of here, http://www.ocduk.org/teens/ There's also the OCD-UK Young Ambassador's webpage here, https://www.ocduk.org/?s=Young+ambassador There's also the most recent edition of OCD-UK's magazine that's been made freely available due to the current Covid-19 pandemic. https://www.ocduk.org/april-compulsive-reading/ The magazine also mentions parent workshops that OCD-UK are hosting (although they are currently delayed because of Covid-19), which from what I can remember are free to attend if you are able to travel. Hope some of this helps x

Speaking as someone who once felt like their whole home was contaminated, I understand how distressing this is. I also tried to clean my way out of that particular problem, and what I discovered is there was always something left that I felt wasn't clean enough. The way out of this problem unfortunately is to act like your husband or to at least attempt to. The risk of catching Covid-19 from shopping will be low and it's important to look after your mental health as well as your physical. Have you had CBT in the past, any notes you can refer to?

Hi Cub, I'm really sorry to hear you're struggling You seem unsure if this sort of researching, worrying is OCD but it sounds very much like any sort of checking. You worry you're a bad person and check for reactions to websites etc. Have you done CBT before? Have you got any notes to refer to? I think it's important to look at why you do all the research which is to be certain that what you fear won't happen. The problem is that by researching you're actually increasing your doubt and becoming more uncertain. As with other types of OCD the solution becomes the problem. To feel more certain (you can never be 100% sure no one can) you need to stop trying to be certain. It's counter-intuitive I know, but you will feel so much better if you do

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It's completely understandable that it will feel a bit overwhelming, but try not to put too much pressure on yourself. Just take things one step at a time, and be kind to yourself I believe that there have been studies shown that for some people OCPD can help in applying CBT so that's a plus. Even if that isn't the case for you I'm sure doing CBT will massively help you tackle your worries There's a great community here so if you're struggling make sure you reach out here or if you want a distraction there's always the current lockdown threads to join in with

Hi Tim Do you mean OCD or OCPD? One is an anxiety disorder, the other a personality disorder. This forum focuses mainly on OCD, although both can occur together It's really a personal choice on who you tell about your diagnosis, but don't feel like you HAVE to tell someone, it's ok for you to get comfortable with it and even passed the worst of it before you tell other family members

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