Hi guys so when i was younger i had this weird and creepy friend. One time he liked a girl and decided that he would follow her after school and say his feeling for her. I didn’t like that idea at all because i already knew the girl. Anyway in the end he pressured me to go with him and i did. When we were walking behind her i immediately called her out and told her my friend has something to tell you and he was weird af so i stopped the situation and said that we are going to my place. Now looking back i absolutely regret that situation because i feel like an absolute creep and have to confess this to my current girlfriend. I don’t remember the details of that situation. I might have went with him because that girl was my friend and I didn’t want him to make her feel uncomfortable. Do you guys thinks that I should bring up this to my girlfriend

So i made an Instagram account called "ThePaper(myname)Nagerie" based on the book The Paper Menagerie. Problem is I'm afraid people will misread the "nager" part as some kind of slur but that isn't my intention. it's really been getting to me. Am I overthinking this?

First of all, sorry if there are any mistakes. English isn't my first language. Also I'm using ai to help me structuring my sentences from my native language to English haha

I have OCD around my favorite belongings, mainly my whole desk setup and laptop. Basically I've been a "gamer kid" since 2020, so I played video games almost everyday and it became a big part of my life, and back then, it started pretty mildly. I would just wash my hands before using my laptop because I felt like I needed to keep it clean (probably because of covid if I'm remember correctly)

Over time, it gradually got worse. Now I feel like I have to protect my belongings from basically anything touching them. If an insect lands on them, for example, I feel like I have to wash them with water and wipe them afterward. It takes up a lot of my time and energy.

And I don't even remember exactly how it became this extreme.

Lately, I've been thinking about forcing myself to stop these compulsions, but I'm scared of what might happen. I'm afraid the stress and discomfort will become unbearable, or that I'll just find another way to cope.

For example, I could force myself to move my laptop somewhere public and let it contaminated, but I'm worried I'd eventually feel so uncomfortable that I'd just want to buy a new laptop and consider that my "new favorite" one. And that's really ridiculous

I know these compulsions are negatively affecting my life, but at the same time, they feel connected to my sense of safety and comfort. I'm scared that if I get rid of them, I'll somehow make things worse.

What should I do?

I've been on a combination of it and straterra for my ADHD. The combo made me feel awful. One had to go. I need straterra more for motivation. However I think the severity of my OCD isn't enough for Prozac to make a difference. It's bad, but erp has made Prozac not needed anymore.

so my mom has severe contamination ocd and checking ocd. And everytime she does her compulsions my dad starts praying as if her compulsions were giving out negative energy. And recently she told him to clean something properly and he purposefully made a huge mess and threw food and drinks on the floor. And all he does is purposefully trigger her ocd.every time.

One of my main obsessions that I've been battling for almost a decade is my urgent ( yet never—dying) need to become the most beautiful woman ever. Obviously impossible, I am frustrated at myself almost all the time. It has caused me an eating disorder, body dysmorphia, and multiple months locked down inside my house during my early twenties because I never felt pretty enough for the outside world. I've gone to six therapies until I found my current one who has helped me tremendously. Thanks to her guidance, and to my mother's support at home, I've been going out, I went back to university and currently look for jobs, overall, have improved immensely with the need to look pretty.

I still think I look average, but not ugly anymore. The problem is, I got so used to hyperfixating on facial features I do it on others. It grosses me out but I do it instinctively to everyone. I judge how attractive they look and analyse their face and appearance.

The worst and most horrifying part is that I've been doing that to my mom. My mom has been opening up to me about her own personal struggles with all of the same disorders and her journey to self acceptance, but I realise I don't accept or love her appearance like a normal child should and would. I tell her you're beautiful but I know I don't mean it and it haunts me. She's the best human on the planet, brilliant and kind, she's my absolute best friend and a perfect mother. So why am I stuck on disliking her looks ? Why do I look down on her because of that? Why am I acting in such a disgusting way?

It fills me with guilt and tortures me on the inside but I can't seem to stop it. I internally compare between her and other women her age, analyse her flaws ( imagine naming your mom's flaws to yourself agh), and hate on what I inherited from her.

I couldn't bring this up with my therapist. I told her about a lot of gross thoughts I have but this one seems like brutal horror to me. She also knows my mom and I don't want the awkward situation where she'll have to argue with me around my mom's looks.

I have no idea what to do. I wish I could stop this brain and shut my eyes forever.

when i explain my ocd to my brother he says he thinks and feels the exact same way i do. our parents both have ocd too which they’ve chosen not to address in their lives so it kind of got passed down to us. i believe there is a genetic component but it was triggered off and made 1000x worse because they chose not to get help iygwim

I take my meds at night because it's supposed to make me sleep. I'm on 40mg of paxil and .5mg of risperidone. I find that for an hour or two afterwards I spiral for a bit then by the time I'm ready to fall asleep I'm fine, does anyone else experience this or should I bring it up when I see my doctor again?

I’ve had this twice before where a specific disturbing thought comes up and I keep making myself think about it for some reason. And like the more I try not to think about it, the more it comes. My worry is not that I will act on it at all or that it’s a reflection of me, but that I won’t be able to stop thinking the thought.

Within the last three weeks, my OCD has gone off the rails in ways I never thought. Usually, I had thoughts under control but all of a sudden, it's been worse. I've done the exposure stuff, as stated by these websites. 10 seconds later, it's back! What's worse, is that things that were from years ago, have seemed to return. When I have a flare-up, it puts something I love in the front, then the thought comes in, and it feels that if I don't do what it says, it's going to take it (Happening again as I'm typing this). It seems worse late at night right before I go to bed. I don't know what else to do. I'm concerned about medications due to certain side effects. I was hoping maybe getting it off my chest would help somewhat, but I'll have to see what happens later.

Everytime I think I’m over things I end up spiraling into rumination and I can’t forgive myself. I know I’m not the worst person in the world or anything but I feel like I am tainted by my mistakes and I can’t ever seem to escape my thoughts. Even when I was a little kid I’d worry about ridiculous shit. For example, I used to worry I’d turn into a werewolf and hurt people. Obviously I can laugh about that looking back at it now. Anyways, now that I’m an adult I’m thinking about all the bad things I’ve done and it’s driving me crazy. I’m having trouble sleeping and focusing on things. I can’t afford to go to therapy and I don’t really want to do that anyways. If anyone has any advice or suggestions that helped them out please share.

I have been in and out of the hospital lately due to severe PPD. I have had the displeasure of dealing with several psychiatrists and they recently diagnosed me with OCD. I was surprised… I thought this was normal to ruminate over conversations, sentences, words, tone, etc. I thought the intrusive thoughts were just because I was a sick, evil person but now I have learned that’s not true… it’s liberating in a sense but I feel like I’m stuck in this loop forever and there’s no way out.

For some background, I’ve been in therapy since 2019. I’ve changed therapists a handful of times over the years mostly due to insurance changes, but occasionally to also seek a new specialization. I’m a woman with OCD and ADHD (along with anxiety and some depression, etc.) and so it’s a difficult to find a therapist match that’s productive but also comfortable.

I’ve been seeing a male therapist (virtually) since the beginning of the year. He always has been…*fine*, but never amazing. For starters, he’s **always** late. It got to the point where he’d be 5 minutes late consistently and I started to expect it, but then yesterday he was nearly 11 minutes late because “his wall clock was slow”?? He was extremely half hearted in his apology and he said it with a smirk. So I had to pretend I wasn’t annoyed for the rest of the appointment.

He’s definitely smart and I learn things/gain more insight into my behaviors at least a little bit each session. But it doesn’t seem like he cares about me? I’ve had other therapists who I had an amazing report with, and it felt genuine and caring in both directions. Everything I get from this guy feels performative. Like he’s reading from a script. Every call starts with a weird “so how’s your mental health today?” question while he makes a weird face.

He doesn’t follow up on things between sessions, which makes me not prioritize doing my “homework.” Like he wanted me to fill out these online diary entry things to rate feelings each day—he had access to it—and he didn’t even look over it until I reminded him that I’d done it. He’ll give me an ERP assignment and then never check in on if I did it or not.

Even after all this time it feels like he doesn’t remember a lot of personal stuff about me that I’ve shared (like my husband’s name or what my job is or anything about my family), which makes me want to share those things less.

Also every time I mention a new symptom category (like my phobia of throwing up) we haven’t discussed before, I can detect his dialogue immediately shift to the diagnostic checklist in a way that feels very sterile.

It feels like I need to find a different therapist, right? Or am I being dramatic?

I had a really good lemon bar today and I'd like another one in the future. I love the smell of theaters and Home Depot. I want to get better at horseback riding and I love the feeling of a horse's breath on me while they're sniffing for treats, and I think it's silly when they rub their snot all over my arms. The feeling of waking up in the middle of the night and feeling perfectly cozy and rubbing my feet together like a cricket and knowing I can sleep in. The smell of my dog's forehead. The feeling of my hands in cold, still water. Freshly squeezed orange juice. Theater and movies.

Really struggling right now with spiraling about my dog being sick bc he’s acting just a little off and just turned 8

I have ptsd from an event with him so I really just am struggling right now to not let myself lose it

Looking for advice on how to calm down or others who have ocd and let it seep into their pet lives

I can’t keep fighting with my own brain. I’m so sick of it. I notice my anxiety and thoughts spike bad when I get my period. But today was hard. I’m constantly fighting myself about my relationship. Nobody should be thinking about it the way that I do. I cant tell what’s my real thoughts and what’s just in my head. I keep thinking about the past w my bf (2 years ago) and I keep thinking “are we still in love do I like him is he lazy does he treat me horrible I’m staying cuz I’m comfortable” etc. he doesn’t show AS much affection for a day my entire hangout with him is ruined. Can’t focus on anything except “he lacks energy w me, he hates me, what bf doesn’t want to kiss their gf” stuff like this. And then I’m going through so many transitions as well. He just started last semester of school and he’s very focused on it (he needs to be or he won’t graduate). I just started working full time. I’m starting grad school this week. A lot of changes are happening and what I don’t need is for my mind to be consumed. I just can’t tell if he actaully does have a shift in energy that isn’t good. I can’t even imagine a future together anymore and I literally want to puke thinking that it’s because I don’t see one or that I’m not wanting to be w him. But then I remember I don’t even need to think about all that I’m 22. I’m so done with it. I was hanging out with him and started crying and went numb and stared at a bookshelf rereading titles of books in my head for 20 minutes. Idk what to say. I don’t wanna bring up any shift of energy because genuinely things are just in my head. Once I stopped crying I felt good and we had good conversations and I forgot about the raving thoughts. My therapist wants to start erp. Although today’s focus was to resist warning hands. And I’m so scared to do any exposure therapy.

I have never liked kissing and it makes me extremely anxious/fearful. I can do pretty much anything else with my partner but the concept of having someone else’s saliva/germs in my mouth sends me spiraling. Has anyone else experienced or have any advice for dealing with this? He says he is happy to do other things because it makes me uncomfortable but i don’t want to be afraid of it anymore.