sunflowersea

What a way to think of it! So true @Clicketyclack Your words really ring true, and it definitely helps me to see others with OCD managing and enjoying things/a life that our ocd bullies try their hardest to stop. Thank you for your words of wisdom🩷

Thank you so much @snowbear! Thank you for reminding me that regardless of OCD, everyone experiences these worries regarding change. And they’ll come up many times in life, not just in this moment. OCD loves to make us feel like it’s only us feeling this way and the situation is the scariest we’ll ever come across! This is great - reminding myself that sunflowersea is in the driving seat and not OCD. 🩷 Thank you for your lovely reply, it’s really made ME feel a lot more confident and excited, rather than the thoughts the OCD bully was whispering in my ear

Defo good to hear this realistic advice - like any chance OCD will spike but sounds worth it in the long run. Thank you

Hi everyone, long time no see! I hope you all had a great Christmas and new year. As some of you may know, I’m a woman in my early twenties with severe OCD (which I’ve had since age 10), GAD and suspected ADHD. It’s been a turbulent few years with my OCD but last year was a great one for me, achieving so many wins and having real ‘life’ experiences where I was in the drivers seat rather than OCD. I’ve made so much progress in fact, that my boyfriend and I are looking at moving out. This will be the first time leaving home - I tried to go to university age 18 and had the absolute worst time with my ocd and anxiety that I left pretty much as soon as I got there. With the whole moving away from home being one of the main triggers. I have had a lot of excitement about moving out for the first time, in terms of being able to decorate my own space etc - but that’s about it - the rest of my thoughts are filled with anxieties and worries about am I ready, relapsing from this triggering life change, being alone in the flat during the day with my thoughts, being in a new unknown area, the amount of money we’ll both be putting in etc. But, I miss my boyfriend terribly when we’re not together, we want our own space and this seems like the natural next step. So I’m not sure how much of these worries are rational versus OCD trying to keep me stuck. I had a lot of similar panics when I first met my boyfriend about ‘am I ready to be in a relationship’, but I fought ocd and it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. So I’m in a quandary and also a turbulent mindset of sometimes wanting and being so excited about the flat, other times hoping we don’t get it and dreading it. It also means if we do get it I have to make a decision, which as you know, with OCD, is virtually impossible and nightmarish! Just wanted to share if anyone had any experience themselves or tips on what they’d recommend. Thank you all

Hey @Christina thanks for your reply. I’m not too sure what this means x Im about to go back to therapy

Thank you so much @Christinaand @ocdjonesy I think I’m also struggling with trying not to completely stop and then I won’t have to feel these truly unbearable crippling anxiety feelings. Obviously that’s an avoidance compulsion but am I just not ready? It’s very difficult.

Hello all - I am currently doing an ongoing really big exposure for me, and I’m proud of myself but am really really struggling with awful physical anxiety. Sore tummy, breathlessness, feeling hot and generally just highly anxious. I’m on a medication that is brilliant for my OCD but does not help the physical anxiety like my old medication did. I also have Propranolol (10mg) which I can take when feeling highly anxious but the ‘worry tummy’ as I call it is almost unbearable and is making me feel so unwell and just fuelling the anxiety even more. I was wondering if anyone could offer some advice and just general encouragement that even though doing exposures cause is this super high uncomfortable anxiety, they are worth it to put the OCD bully in it’s place! Thank you

@northpaulthanks so much for all your advice, am very grateful

Thank you @Ocdlife

Yes it’s tomorrow This would be super helpful, thank you

Hi there, I applied for PIP recently, had to detail how my OCD affects me and did so in great detail. I have my phone assessment tomorrow and was just wondering if anyone else receives PIP for OCD and any tips/advice for this appointment? Thanks

This is so true. On top of this I also have TMJ which is caused by a build up of stress hormones leading to jaw clenching/grinding, seized up neck and upper back muscles. Going to sleep seems like my nemesis at the moment! It’s hard because sleep was my escape from OCD and now that’s been hindered but hoping it’s just a blip. Thank you

Thanks so much for your reply. In the morning I was so confused as to why I’d got myself into such a state. However, my body felt like it was in fight or flight for the whole next day which was so exhausting! I am really struggling with sleep but trying not to attach too much meaning or worry, I tried my weighted blanket I got last year but instead of helping it was making me feel very claustrophobic. I just need to take each night as it comes I guess. But thanks again

Hi there, I’ve got myself into a bit of a state and am on the verge of a panic attack right now. I was just wondering if anyone was awake to provide some comforting words. It sounds ridiculous but I dyed my hair properly for the first time and although I like it, it’s so scary and different and has really set my OCD off tonight. I think it’s because it’s out of the ordinary, been looking in the mirror and getting a shock. And my moral theme has latched on saying I’m an awful person because I’ve ruined my lovely hair and going to have to cut it all off and why ruin your hair your parents gave you. It truly sounds so stupid in my rational brain but OCD completely disregards all logic. Like I could easily dye it back to my natural colour but my head is like but it’ll never be the SAME and what you had when you were a child (a big obsession of mine is wishing back to early childhood because it was before OCD began to rule my life). And everything seems more scary at night. I think this is just the cherry on top and my head is blaming this for me being upset but everything is just a lot at the moment. I’ve put on my childhood audiobook to try and give some comfort but I just feel so sad and anxious. After suffering with OCD for most of my life, and it still being so debilitating in my twenties is just so exhausting. I found myself reassurance seeking before bed saying to my mum, ‘everything is going to be okay, isn’t it’ because I just feel the opposite of that right now. Bedtimes have become much more difficult and I’m so anxious especially at night. I hate OCD

Real event/false memory OCD is a theme that is very common in OCD sufferers. OCD thrives on the lack of certainty, and trying to remember anything from your childhood, which naturally fades from one’s mind over time is near impossible. So you can never be certain, which is OCD’s favourite thing. Intrusive thoughts are normal, everyone has them - they are just part of the brains chemistry. It’s our reaction to those thoughts that makes OCD sufferers so anxious and attaching meaning to the thoughts that triggers the anxiety response, leading to needing to carry out compulsions. I used to struggle a lot with this, and would constantly ruminate and seek reassurance like ‘did this happen’ etc. But that never helped it just continued to fuel the ocd cycle fire. Accepting you can never have certainty is key, and also that childhood experiences are just that, childhood. I know it’s super hard and anxiety inducing but knowing that this is your OCD, and not you, helped me alot. I hope you’re doing okay, from a fellow OCD sufferer, you’re not alone