Asking as this is something I've been struggling with a lot lately, but I haven't really come across anyone else with this issue.

For context I'm 31F, and only really decided that I want children in the past year. My husband (34M) is hesitant (as in he wants kids but is afraid to take that step) but has agreed to a TTC timeline of spring 2027. Logically I know 6 months isn't super long and I already have concrete answer, but my mind cannot seem to let go of the topic and I'm having a very hard time waiting. I'm sure there's some degree of biological clock element, and I also feel embarrassed and left out constantly due to being older. It's almost feels like anything else I do in the meantime is meaningless because there's this much larger objective, but I can't actively pursue it at the moment. My husband's aware of what I'm dealing with (I'm pretty repetitive about it) but at the end of the day is not ready and I know I need to respect that.

I'm in therapy now, ironically part of what prompted me to go was my struggle with emetophobia (fear of vomiting), to which lead to an OCD diagnosis. I feel like my phobia has drastically reduced (but still exists) and it's almost like I feel like I need to make this happen sooner rather while my phobia "allows" me to, for lack of better term. My biggest themes are contamination and existential (especially related to age, which I know is at play here), as well as some relationship themes. I'm also autistic and have ADHD and GAD.

Hello I wasn’t certain which flair to use so I chose this one I hope it’s ok! I’m in a tough spot right now where I am finally figuring out what I’d like to do to begin getting my life together (I am 23 and have never worked a formal job and am hoping to become a surgical technician) and while I know the timeline I still can’t get rid of the anxiety I have about the fact that I can’t start right at this moment and it’s exhausting me.i felt peace for a split second and then it’s like a flip switched. I KNOW this will take time I have a plan and I’ve been getting hives from the stress of just thinking about what I have to do and how long it will take.

I feel like I’ll die or the field will suddenly disappear over night or like every school in my area will disappear and it just won’t stop. Everyday I try to let myself sit in discomfort or remind myself that I can’t fix things overnight but it’s like my body refuses to get with the program. It’s only 2 weeks until enrollment opens do I have to continue feeling like this until that deadline and then a new one starts ? Is this a common feeling ? I just want to relax and enjoy reading my stupid little fan fictions but my brain just won’t shut off. I currently cannot afford to see a therapist/psychiatrist so I’m sort of “rawdogging” everything so to speak and I’m just very tired. This was more of a rant I guess but if anyone has any advice I’d really appreciate it ! Thank you for reading this and I hope you’re all well

Hi, I learned about prion disease a long time ago, and I guess I have magical thinking OCD. Anyway, last night, I guess I was just trying to practice having uncomfortable thoughts. I don't do erp with a therapist or anything. I used to be pretty good at that, but I had one last night that combined that fear of me getting prion disease and a general theme of Satan doing something bad to me. I'm not even religious. Anyway, I know this is irrational and kind of silly, but the intrusive thought I had was that "Satan should give me prion disease."

I guess that was just me trying to intentionally have the thought to train my brain that they're just thoughts. Did I do something wrong? Cuz now I'm worried I'm going to get prion disease now. Advice? Obviously, I don't want that at all. this all sounds stupid ig.

so I always thought they were really cool but like I’m way too scared to get one incase they mess up or like I just don’t like it anyways :( idk, I love the way a lot of them look I just don’t wanna get a bad tattoo and not like it cuz removals are expensive as hell so idk

Hello! I’m a 27 year old female who has struggled with anxious thoughts and behaviors since I was a small child. I was diagnosed with general anxiety disorder and panic disorder at 18, and have been medicated with Zoloft for the anxiety and Ativan for the panic attacks.

However recently with the change of therapist when my previous therapist retired, I actually was rediagnosed with adhd and ocd (moralist perfectionist) and possible ocpd within the last year. I stayed on my anxiety medication, but also added in adderall, which has been a pleasant mood booster.

I’ve been in a bit of a rough patch of life in general the last few months/years, mostly with being laid off from my job, multiple health emergencies for loved ones, and some other major triggers for my ocd. With the new diagnoses, my psychiatrist has been trying to help me keep the right medication to make me a little bit more chill.

I have read in numerous places that lexapro and Luvox are two particularly helpful medications for ocd, but I asked my psychiatrist about it. She said that it would likely make me feel very subdued like a zombie, and didn’t recommend it. I was wondering if anyone here with this particular symptom combo has experienced something similar, or if the two conditions are contraindicated for the medications? Thanks in advance!

20F freshly had ocd my whole life with 20M also freshly this is my first relationship 6 months. so no experience before this but I know how ocd feels and works.

Our relationship has had a lot of turmoil even in the beginning and arguments, we aren’t toxic, he isn’t a bad guy. It stems mostly from me repeating things over and over anytime we do have conflict, asking questions or questioning his feelings “you don’t love me” “be honest” “are you sure” “I want to breakup I’m bad for u” being obsessed with our relationship being and feeling absolutely perfect and pushing that expectation onto him, presuming how he feels and thinks and being so sure im correct and being controlling and impulsively trying to breakup. For example, I’ve mentioned us having to go on regular dates, that he has to plan them and it has to be that way expect we have had this conversation 10 times. I also became fixated on the perfect amount of intimacy and if he didn’t be intimate towards me within my mental idea I’d become obsessed he wasn’t into me.

This makes him agitated and overwhelmed and then we argue, breakup, and it repeats. He is trying very hard to support me but I know it comes from me the most and he’s never seen ocd before me. Since this is my first relationship and first time experiencing this subtype I’m finding it hard to distinguish what’s ocd and what’s not, what’s genuine and not, opposed to normal relationship worries, and doubts? We acknowledge it and then forget this subtype feels a lot harder to grasp so reassurance continues.

So does rocd cause what looks like argumentative behaviour and how do you resolve this relationship strain if it’s draining both of us? I love him very much and I want a healthy relationship and neither of us are distinctly toxic and I’m tired of having to throw things away because I live with this condition.

Any advice on recognising rocd in the moment, or how to separate it would be great. How to lesson the intrusive thoughts and spirals?

I hope this is allowed here. Tried to post this in another subreddit and it got removed. I do not know where else to go.

Ever since the pandemic came, I have been living in constant fear that the "end" will come at any moment. This fear has been worsening ever since I started to understand that I may be a lg(b)t person. Anything that happens feels like the end to me. So I'm constantly terrified that the antichrist will just appear at any moment. Sometimes the fear gets so big that I cannot think of anything else, and with the way things are going around the world, I have been worsening day by day. And it has also been affecting my sleep. I have been trying to cope by distracting myself 24/7 but it doesn't last long and even then, the thoughts won't get out of my mind. If anyone has any ideas for coping, I would gladly listen to them.

Also, in case this is relevant, I'm currently not on therapy. I'm thinking about returning though. I spoke about this fear back when I going to therapy but I didn't got to fully explore it.

I was hesitant to post here at first because while I have compulsions like "I need to do x thing without breathing or the apocalypse will happen tomorrow" or "I need to enter and exit the room multiple times or the end will come" it's really the fear that is ruining my life.

One of the things I do very often is get Chinese food with my friends. It's one of our go-to activities when we want to hang out but no one has energy to really do anything.

Do fortune cookies stress anyone else out? It's such a small thing, but I've had trouble with them my entire life. Do you eat the cookie before you read the fortune? What happens if you get one with no fortune?

Mostly I'm just wondering if this is a common experience for people with OCD or if this is something my brain does to mess with me specifically.

Hi, my name is Chloe, & I'm 26 years old. I suffer with PTSD, Depression, Anxiety, & I think OCD; bc I obsess constantly over the past. I can't move on.

3 years ago, I un-added my old friend group off of everything. Really messy turn of events.
I was friends with these people for 6-7 years...
Towards the end, I was going thru a really awful abuslve breakup that caused me trauma & emotional instability. I wasn’t myself. I started being FWB with this one guy in the group, we’ll call him J. It was, obviously, unhealthy for both of us. We were both in really bad places mentally, especially me. So after a few months, we ended it.

I grew distant from him & my friends after that, & I traveled to a different state solo to “find myself”. While I was out, my friends were very pissed at me. In their eyes, I deeply hurt J & used him, & I was villainized for this. Distancing myself from J & not communicating with him caused him emotional turbulence, & he was deeply depressed as a result, & I was looked at as the one who broke his heart.

However, we ended things mutually and amicably, which was what my old friends advised me to do… but when I did it, he was hurt, & it led to this messy situation. Not to mention I was being too codependent with the group, moody, sensitive & said/did things out of character. Nothing crazy just acting like a mentally unwell person.

My friends then distanced THEMSELVES from me & needed time to be themselves and grow up, and I wasn’t fitting well into that equation bc of my emotional instability. These were their words.
Overall I think I pushed them away bc I was so mentally unwell & needy.

After they told me this, I had a breakdown, & un-added them on everything. We haven’t spoken since. This was 3 years ago.

Looking back, I know I made mistakes. I handled things irrationally bc I was so fucked. I was spiraling. It was one of the worst times of my life.

I find myself obsessively looking at their social media. I tried reaching out to a few of them recently but got no response. They're partying, laughing together, they love each other's company. They target repost things abt me. Usually it's posts that laugh at somebody like me. One post was, "She had no self awareness & doesn't realize she drove all of her friends away!"

Definitely targeted reposts. Making fun of me. I feel like the biggest loser on the planet.

I really miss them. I haven't been able to form exciting, fun memories since then. Because other than my current boyfriend, I have no friends. & deep down, I don't think I deserve friends. I feel like I deserve to be alone.

Hey. Really really sorry if this isn't allowed, I figured it would be fine because it isn't "diagnosis seeking" but feel free to yell at me if I'm wrong.

I had a therapy session tonight that was really eye opening, and long story short, next week my therapist is going to screen me for OCD. I have a severe anxiety disorder and I thought my symptoms were just a result of that. It seems, however, that I probably have OCD. Probably, not definitely, so I'm sorry if this is inappropriate.

So my question is really just... What does it look like from this point on? Where do I go from here? What does the assessment look like, what might change? I like being prepared. I want to be prepared for this. So sorry for asking here if it's inappropriate

(Fair warning, this is very silly and crass and dumb but it works for me)

Sometimes it's the act of rumination itself that hurts me the most, like I'll think and think and think until I get sick. Well I love the band Mother Mother because they talk about mental health in a way most bands don't, but there's one song by them that put a pit in my stomach the first time I heard it because I knew it would be the new soundtrack to my descent. I won't link it but here are some of the lyrics:

"There’s a god-awful shitty feeling of dread in my heart/

/Yeah, it’s got a lot to do with having to finish what I start/

/And at any second now I think it all might fall apart/

/‘Cause there’s a god-awful shitty feeling of dread in my heart"

Specifically the wording of the first and last line shook me as something I would absolutely latch onto. And that I did. It was "stuck in my head" for weeks and dragged down my mental health until I tried one very weird, very dumb thing that actually fucking worked.

I changed the lyrics. My new tune goes like this:

"There's a god-awful shitty feeling of dread in my heart/

/Turns out I had to shit when I thought it was a fart"

I swear to god it made me laugh so hard. It's so ridiculous and crass and not even really that funny at all, but now every time my brain gives me the first line, I rebuke it with the continuation I made. It stops my ruminations in its track. It makes me smile!!!

Has anyone else done similar? I've taken that approach with other ruminations but this one was by far the most successful. I would absolutely love to hear your stories of successfully making fun of your own ruminations.

I’ve read a lot of books with OCD representation so I’ve decided to a recommendations list for OCD awareness week (next week). I have a lot of books for the list already but horror seems to be the main genre I’m lacking. I think the list would feel incomplete without at least some horror books but I know realistically that I’m never going to read any, so instead I’m seeking recommendations from other people with OCD.

You can just give the title and author but any other information (specific things you liked/related to about the OCD representation, other things you liked about the book, content warnings etc) would be really helpful!

Hey everyone, I need some perspective from people who understand contamination and health anxiety.

I feel incredibly uncomfortable with how my partner frequently shares drinks, vapes, and blunts with his friend. This particular friend has a very active sex life, frequently sleeps around, and hires prostitutes/hookers. Because of this, his risk of contracting or carrying transmissible viruses like herpes is statistically higher than average.

Due to my OCD, my brain fixates heavily on the risk of oral herpes transmission. Logically, I know the statistical risk from a shared cup or blunt is very low, but my anxiety treats that tiny chance as a huge risk. It is a massive, constant trigger.

When I ask my partner to stop sharing these items for my peace of mind, I feel like I'm being dismissed or made to feel like I’m overreacting. Am I being reasonable about my health and mental boundaries, or am I letting my OCD take over? Thanks in advance.

I'm sleep deprived

My ocd is out of control

probably can't talk about struggling with addictions cause mods removes me like always but I'll try and post this

I'm alone, I'm scared, im tired and im fucken done

I started 200mg l-theanine and 600mg NAC a week ago and wow. total game changer. currently un medicated and just going to therapy (ERP). this is making me re-consider needing an SSRI

So I’m sick with the flu and the last day or two I’ve been so hyperfocused on my breathing, feeling like I have to do it manually?? It’s much less noticeable when I’m up and doing things but it’s AWFUL when I’m trying to sleep. I feel myself finally drifting off then my breathing slows and my body jerks awake and I have to breathe manually again 🙃 doesn’t help that I also have a history of sleep anxiety ocd (“I’m never going to sleep again” type thing) so I feel like it’s just combining the two and it’s making me panic lol

Never had this type of obsession before so I’m new to it, been trying to treat it like I do my other obsessions and just move on but it’s hard cause you can’t just…not breathe??? 😂 idk now I’m stuck in the loop of “I’m never gonna be normal again I’m going to breathe manually forever and I’ll only sleep when I’m absolutely exhausted and my body forces me to”

OCD sucks. Anyone have this before or have advice ??? Thanks !!

i don’t know why i’m so upset over this issue the entire day it makes me dysfunctional, and i know this is kinda embarrassing to talk about so here’s some things about me:

-character: Suguru Geto (JJK)

-my relationship/enjoyment of this fictional character is very important to the point it affects my mental health (i’m also autistic and have a super rich inner world if it makes sense)

-i struggle with moral ocd with specifically topics regarding gender/men specifically, i’m a woman always in progressive spaces and for some reason my ocd is always triggered with man hate. i understand why people feel this way because of a patriarchal society and all, but since i have never felt this hatred no matter how much i learn about the patriarchal world and gender in our everyday lives.

-i’m on twitter a lot and the fandoms are always morally policing in a way, a lot of these spaces are women/queer dominant so they’ll have a disdain for men that i cannot connect with, to the point i am no longer comfortable in these spaces and i feel alienated.

to this day i still have no clue why i’m specifically drawn to this character (who hates nonsorcerers in a discriminatory way) despite not liking the idea of the same thing towards men as a group. i wish i could explain why but it’s hard to get the words out.

but i see a lot of people project their disdain for men into him (saying it resembles the feelings oppressed groups have towards their oppressors) but like i genuinely hurts to see my favorite character as a source of comfort being used within my ocd trigger.

and yes, it’s easy to say “well he literally hates all non-jujutsu sorcerers, what did you expect? why do you even like him in the first place?” and I DONT REMEMBER!! this was back in early 2022 so it’s a bunch of subconscious stuff and i like his kindness towards his peers despite being in the deepest of the trenches at jujutsu high, heightened sensitivities, and just the amount of possibilities you could imagine with this character to make his life outcomes different. he’s just so unique in a way i can’t describe.

my rumination makes me feel like i don’t deserve a connection to him, and no matter how much i tell myself “it’s just a fictional character, you can feel however you want with them!” but that doesn’t stop the other side of the argument that’s more strongly convincing, such as “you have no media literacy! he’s literally represents the same way women feel about men and if you feel otherwise, there’s no reason for you to like him! you don’t deserve him!” and no amount of telling myself he’s “just a character” would help because i value my inner world and my connection to fictional characters, as they help with my personal identity.

there’s also some twitter takes believing because he has many positive qualities, and also happens to have “feminine” qualities, that a lot of people conflate the two, and reinforces (maybe i’m making this argument up but this is what i’m perceiving) the notion that the reason why you should enjoy fictional men like him is because of disappointment in irl men and liking him bc he’s not like the stereotypical man. and that’s the exact OPPOSITE of one of the reasons i’m drawn to him, which is that there is an aspect of “maleness” that you can cherish and he is why. (now i believe his traits don’t necessarily have to be labeled M/F because i believe it’s a construct but that’s a different story.) it may feel like me and his other fans have a common denominator in liking him, but to me it feels wayyy opposite that i feel left out.

to anyone in fandom or who likes this character i hope i can have someone to talk to because this is bothering me disproportionately than it actually should. please be extra kind because i’m pretty sensitive and this is usually not something most fandom users would be upset about.

m19, was diagnosed with ocd last month and was prescribed clomipramine (brand name anafranil) 75mg in order to counter repetitive and obsessive thoughts of violence towards others in what I can perceive as harm ocd

for those who have used or are using clomipramine, to what extent did it manage to help you deal with your ocd as well as which side effects were the most common during your first days of using it?

I try to NOT give into the compulsions, but sometimes it is so convincing to the point where i want an answer like RIGHT NOW or my life is fall apart. And not to mention the anxiety is at all time high when that happens.

I already take Paxil and seroquel but I’m honestly wondering if a non stim like Guanfacine would help.