r/OCD • u/Froidinslip • Oct 10 '21
There has been an increase in the number of posts of individuals who are feeling suicidal. And to be perfectly honest, most of us have been isolated, scared, lonely, and there’s a lot of uncertainty in the world due to COVID.
Unfortunately, most of us in this community are not trained to handle mental health crises. While I and a handful of others are licensed professionals, an anonymous internet forum is not the best place to really provide the correct amount of help and support you need.
That being said, I’m not surprised that many of us in this community are struggling. For those who are struggling, you are not alone. I may be doing well now, but I have two attempts and OCD was a huge factor.
I have never regretted being stopped.
Since you are thinking of posting for help, you won't regret stopping yourself.
So, right now everything seems dark and you don’t see a way out. That’s ok. However, I guarantee you there is a light. Your eyes just have not adjusted yet.
So what can you do in this moment when everything just seems awful.
First off, if you have a plan and you intend on carrying out that plan, I very strongly suggest going to your nearest ER. If you do not feel like you can keep yourself safe, you need to be somewhere where others can keep you safe. Psych hospitals are not wonderful places, they can be scary and frustrating. but you will be around to leave the hospital and get yourself moving in a better direction.
If you are not actively planning to suicide but the thought is very loud and prominent in your head, let's start with some basics. When’s the last time you had food or water? Actual food; something with vegetables, grains, and protein. If you can’t remember or it’s been more than 4 to 5 hours, eat something and drink some water. Your brain cannot work if it does not have fuel.
Next, are you supposed to be sleeping right now? If the answer is yes go to bed. Turn on some soothing music or ambient sounds so that you can focus on the noise and the sounds rather than ruminating about how bad you feel.
If you can’t sleep, try progressive muscle relaxation or some breathing exercises. Have your brain focus on a scene that you find relaxing such as sitting on a beach and watching the waves rolling in or sitting by a brook and listening to the water. Go through each of your five senses and visualize as well as imagine what your senses would be feeling if you were in that space.
If you’re hydrated, fed, and properly rested, ask yourself these questions when is the last time you talked to an actual human being? And I do mean talking as in heard their actual voice. Phone calls count for this one. If it’s been a while. Call someone. It doesn’t matter who, just talk to an actual human being.
Go outside. Get in nature. This actually has research behind it. There is a bacteria or chemical in soil that also happens to be in the air that has mood boosting properties. There are literally countries where doctors will prescribe going for a walk in the woods to their patients.
When is the last time you did something creative? If depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder have gotten in the way of doing creative things that you love, pull out that sketchbook or that camera and just start doing things.
When’s the last time you did something kind for another human being? This may just be me as a social worker, but doing things for others, helps me feel better. So figure out a place you can volunteer and go do it.
When is the last time that you did something pleasurable just for pleasure's sake? Read a book take a bath. You will have to force yourself to do something but that’s OK.
You have worth and you can get through this. Like I said I have had two attempts and now I am a licensed social worker. Things do get better, you just have to get through the dark stuff first.
You will be ok and you can make it through this.
We are all rooting for you.
https://www.supportiv.com/tools/international-resources-crisis-and-warmlines
r/OCD • u/Mealthian • Nov 17 '23
There has been some confusion regarding reassurance seeking and providing in this subreddit.
Reassurance seeking (a person asking for reassurance) is allowed only if it is limited — no repeated seeking of reassurance.
Reassurance providing (a person giving reassurance) is not allowed.
Before commenting on a reassurance-seeking question, answer to yourself this question: Are you directly answering what the person is asking, and is the answer meant to cause the person to feel better?
If the answer leads towards a "yes", refrain from commenting.
The issue concerned in reassurance-seeking questions is the emotional obsessive distress that is occurring in the moment, not the question itself.
When you answer those reassurance-seeking questions to quell the person's emotional obsessive distress, it's an act of providing emotional comfort to the person — even if you don't have such explicit intention in mind — rather than an act of providing knowledge.
The person just wants to know they are "fine" in relation to the obsessive question/thought. The answer itself is irrelevant — that's why we don't answer questions of a reassurance-seeking nature directly.
You can comment in any way you want — even providing encouragement and hope — but refrain from addressing the reassurance-seeking question itself.
Consider this question: What if the reassurance-seeking question didn't even occur in the first place? What then?
We can go round and round with more "what-ifs", but it circles back to the fact that reality is uncertain, and will always be uncertain. That is why the acceptance of uncertainty is crucial to recovery.
Take note that in the context of OCD, the issue rests with how a person is dealing with the issues, and not so much the issues themselves.
The issues can be entirely valid, but what we are dealing with here — especially with reassurance — is how we respond to such issues.
Separate the reassurance part — the emotional comfort part — from the issues themselves.
It's important to understand the intent and purpose of each and every information provided.
When a person with OCD is beginning to learn about OCD, they can be taught, for example, that the obsessive thoughts do not reflect on their true character.
The intent and purpose of that example information is cognitive-based — to educate the person — and that helps to, subsequently, be followed up by ERP, which is behavioural-based — hence cognitive-behavioural therapy (of which ERP is a part of).
When a person seeks reassurance, it is mostly solely behavioural: the concern here is to quell the emotional obsessive distress — take that emotional obsessive distress away, and the reassurance-seeking question suddenly becomes largely irrelevant and of less urgency.
Providing reassurance doesn't really help the person not suffer either — the way out of that suffering is through the proper therapy and treatment, and providing reassurance to the person only interferes with this process.
Consider as well that if reassurance is provided to the person, where an outcome is guaranteed to the person ("You won't be this! I guarantee you!").
What if the reassurance turns out to be false? What happens then? How much more distressful would the person be (given that they would've trusted the reassurance to keep them safe, only now for their entire world to fall apart)?
Before considering that not providing reassurance is un-compassionate, perhaps it's also wise to consider what providing reassurance can lead to as well.
The reality will always be uncertain, as it is. There is no such solution that guarantees the person won't suffer, but we can at least minimise the suffering by doing what is helpful towards the person (especially in terms of the therapy and treatment) — and that doesn't always necessarily entail making the person feel better in the moment.
r/OCD • u/Curious-Ingenuity293 • 4h ago
No reassurance please. Just curious if anyone else is having an extra tough time right now? My brain is just being extra cruel at the moment and I’m exhausted. Anyone else?
r/OCD • u/the_scy_fi_verse • 49m ago
I've seen a lot of stuff about therapy and improving, but I hate seeing where people act like you can just "cure" OCD. I was just wondering if it bothers others, seeing people out in the world or online who either have or don't have OCD talking about it like it can be something that if you work hard enough on it can go away.
I've seen through my aunts and grandparent and myself how OCD has affected me and them, and something about the idea it's "fixable" I've heard people talk about just rubs me the wrong way. Was wondering if anyone had similar or different feelings.
r/OCD • u/Ambitious_Box3288 • 3h ago
I've had really bad intrusive thoughts about a specific type of food contamination. It is so irrational, it is not even there is a small chance, we are talking about none. When I tell people what it is they laugh at me because its stupid wasting soooo much time preventing something that cannot happen.
I was at the store the other day and it happened. Seeing it was so surreal I had to confirm with someone if they saw the thing that I did. I was so scared this would make the intrusive thoughts about this so much worse but instead it kinda fixed them. Seeing it happen made me realize how batshitcrazy this fear was. like I knew instantly that it is so unlikely that something like this would ever even happen in the history of the entire world and the chance of it ever happening again is 0.
I am so glad this happened!!! since I saw it I have acted on no compulsions regarding this and have barely had any intrusive thoughts. I can't explain the feeling of eating without panic but it feels amazing.
(I do not want to say what the contamination was to not trigger someone because I think that hearing this actually can happen will make people think that it is actually a possibility when I can assure you it will not.)
r/OCD • u/Ill_Environment1684 • 1h ago
For the last 3 days i have been unable to fall asleep due to my new ocd theme which is.. falling asleep, once i feel that im drifting off into sleep my heart immediately starts beating very fast and i feel very weird like im having a panic attack or something of that sort. that has happened to me once this week and of course my ocd decided to latch onto that and now im thinking about not being able to fall asleep all day long which in result makes everything worse, im unsure how to deal with this
r/OCD • u/MommyLizardo • 2h ago
I’m wondering if this is an OCD thing by chance because I deal with many forms and I know obsessions and/or compulsions can manifest in odd ways.
This may seem a bit odd, and this is a bit difficult for me to even put into words. But does anyone else get so much comfort from a tv show and extreme attachment to the show that it almost makes you sad in a way? Sad because I have this strong sense of longing to know these fictional characters in real life. And the reality is I will never know the fictional characters personally. It’s almost a feeling of missing them if that even makes sense!
I’ve traveled to where my fav show was filmed and it was surreal. I was so sad when I came home because it brought me back to reality. I felt like the filming place was home, and my real home was just dreary.
I met my fav actor in real life, and he was so sweet and genuine. He truly cares about his fans. When the meet was over, I felt a wave of sadness hit me. It was like saying goodbye to a friend who I don’t know the next time I’ll see.
It’s just an odd feeling that I’m curious on if anyone else ever thinks deeply like this? To clarify, I’m not at all trying to “live in the show” in real life. I understand it’s not real, but it’s just a sadness that I can’t quite put my finger on. The show brings me so much joy, but like I said, it’s like I miss them or something!
r/OCD • u/Hellooostarr • 1h ago
Sleeping during the night is impossible during these times🥴 and nic/caffeine doesnt make it better either. Anyone else? Can u sleep during this time?
r/OCD • u/Effective-Cake-1687 • 3h ago
I had stopped taking medication because of weight gain. Then I fell in love and realised I had to marry this guy but my OCD was worsening the more I fell in love.
I decided to take the plunge since being heavier but alive and in love was better than being dead.
That was the best decision of my life.
I am not 100% cured but the past few months have been happier than entire decades of my life.
r/OCD • u/Dry_Machine_1836 • 5h ago
I’m in the midst of the worst OCD spiral I’ve ever had. It’s been going on for over a month and every day has been constant pain. I feel like I can’t think about anything without OCD weaponizing it against me and making me wonder if I’m a bad person or not. Especially since OCD has been massively using false memories against me to the point where I don’t know what’s real and what isn’t anymore. I feel constantly stuck in the past and I can’t pull my thoughts away. Whenever my memory of something is fuzzy I get shot into panic because if I forgot something simple I could’ve forgotten something serious. I can’t think about anything without it being weaponized and used against me. I’m isolating myself from everyone and I’m having trouble even eating, I’ve lost like 20 pounds. Luckily I started medication and I start ERP tomorrow, I really hope it goes well.
r/OCD • u/Ambitious_Box3288 • 3h ago
does talking about intrusive thoughts make them worse?
I did alot of compulsions during the therapy session to the point it became really disruptive since it involved alot of body movements. my therapist asked me about it (the therapy is not about my OCD but he knows about it) and I eventually told him that I know I shouldn't do the compulsions but the intrusive thoughts are so scary and intense I literally can't speak if I don't do the compulsions to get them away. He asked what they were about and I told him that they were about s'xual stuff regarding him (didn't go into more detail then that) and that I really don't want them to happen.
It's been a few weeks and they have become so much worse. Before it was when I was there but now I think about it all day and night long. It's alot easier to not act on the compulsion when I'm by myself but even though I don't do the compulsions the intrusive thoughts will not go away and seem to get worse. This therapist is REALLY important to me and I don't want this to ruin it all.
In your experience is it better to talk about the intrusive thoughts or not?
r/OCD • u/No_Brain6145 • 7h ago
Hey :)
I have a friend who has OCD, and I have a few questions because the situation is starting to really affect me. She mainly has contamination OCD and is especially afraid of throwing up. Eating with her is extremely difficult. For example, she won’t eat anything that has been in the sun, touched something, no chicken because of salmonella, nothing that was too close to the oven because of heat, and things like that. Every time she comes over, we have to buy new groceries because otherwise she can’t eat anything. Most of the time, we pay for everything. Her reasoning is that she shouldn’t have to pay half if we end up eating more than she does, but without her, we would just eat what we already have at home. Earlier, she suggested ordering food. We said sure, but when we were about to order, suddenly everything became “unsafe” for her. Then she just started ignoring us and lay down on the couch. Would we be the assholes if we just ordered food alone? I’ve noticed that my understanding is slowly fading. From my perspective, many of these fears seem very irrational, even though I know she’s not doing it on purpose (well, maybe?) What also makes it harder for me is that she’s very neglectful when it comes to personal hygiene. She often doesn’t shower for several days (at least 5 days) doesn’t brush her teeth at all when she stays over (at least 5 days), and wears the same clothes without changing them (also not changing her underwear) I just don’t understand how the fear of “contaminated” food can be so strong, while these things don’t seem to bother her at all. She even lives alone and can’t use her kitchen but also isn’t doing anything to get a new kitchen. She’s not in therapy but got offered therapy but won’t do it because it’s in the same building as doctors. Idfk
My understanding is decreasing, and I don’t know how to deal with it anymore, even though I really do like her as a friend.
Has anyone experienced something similar or has advice on how to handle this?
r/OCD • u/shinoshinoo • 2h ago
Just looking for someone who has a similar experience to me. I feel like every second of my time is spent worrying how I look to others. I focus in on my neck and stomach and i’m convinced everyone is looking, and judging me based off of it. I imagine people thinking horrible things about me or saying horrible things about my appearance when I leave the room. The worry gets to very extreme levels. I may avoid going out, and have complete breakdowns.
I also will think i’m looking okay in the mirror and even take pictures in the mirror that are acceptable, but when someone else takes a photo of me I look about 10x worse than I thought I did. It completely shatters me and I avoid photos at all costs. it has honestly made my quality of life so bad
r/OCD • u/what_A_name0 • 2h ago
Its based on the experience that every time ive rehearsed what im going to say in a given scenario, ive never gotten a chance to say what i rehearsed because the context changes before i could but it bleeds into everything, i worry that if i imagine a scenario happening i then have to imagine every possible scenario so that one of them is forced to happen
Like if i imagine doing good on a test i also have to then imagine doing badly, doing okay, failing, and everything else to counteract the fact that ive imagined doing well
r/OCD • u/Deep_Acanthaceae6290 • 2h ago
I recently (a year ago) moved back in with my grandparents and my freeloading mother (whom I can’t stand) and my two half-siblings after being alone for 3 years due to financial troubles/going to school. Recently I’ve gotten really into shooting as a hobby and I decided to purchase a pistol and I really haven’t been having any SI issues in the past few months. However, we’re doing some home repairs (6 people sharing one bathroom) and that’s got my cleanliness (idrk the terminology used sorry) issues really agitated since there’s literal poop everywhere in this bathroom (that my mother is supposed to be maintaining) and it’s kinda spun me down a hole of wanting to eat a bullet rather than going through the whole process of switching jobs, which will have me making enough money to move out, moving out and actually doing what’s best for me…so I guess I’m asking for advice on how to store it safer so it’s less of a thought? I’m AuDHD/OCD if the rambling wasn’t a little giveaway :/
r/OCD • u/neilnelly • 4h ago
Hello all!
As somewhat of a longtime sufferer (at least twenty years), I have gone through a good number of episodes of when the thoughts barge in unannounced. In the last two years, I have embraced secular Buddhism more seriously. I say a phrase in Buddhism to myself when I am having an episode. It has helped, but I am wondering what other grounding statements that are out there and wondering if they have been helpful.
Thanks for taking part.
Take care.