hey OCD havers. it can be a little hard to have OCD and be on the internet, right? especially in fandom spaces. the culture has become somewhat hostile to us. but i have good news! it is very possible to have fun online with your friends while avoiding the more inflammatory corners of the internet!
here are some tips for my fellow OCD havers on navigating life online:
you don't have to respond to every single message you get. if someone is trying to bait you into an argument that doesn't appear to be in good faith, you can ignore it. you should ignore it. this is especially true if the message includes a false or exaggerated accusation about you. you owe this person nothing. don't give them ammunition
moral OCD can trick you into joining in on discourse because it's the 'right' thing to do. don't do it. it is only going to make you feel worse and won't actually help anyone. if someone sends you an anon asking you if you support someone you've never heard of that has apparently done multiple terrible things, there's a 99% chance they are trying to trick you into joining a harassment campaign. turn off anons. block anyone who sends you messages like this, they're likely trying to get you to do their dirty work.
the block button is your best friend. you can block anyone you want. if someone is posting something that's making you uncomfortable or feeding your obsessions or compulsions, block them. even if it's stuff that you think you need to be 'aware' of. your mental health comes first. blocking people before they can start shit with you is also pretty handy! something i do occasionally is search names of the latest Main Character Of The Internet and block people posting about it who seem prone to joining in on online hate mobs in general. only do this if you're feeling up for it, this can trigger your OCD.
if you have real event or false memory OCD, online climates can make you feel like you have to "confess" to them publicly. confession is a compulsion, don't do it. the only person who needs to hear about your real event or your false memories is your therapist. you should only discuss these things with professionals who can help you deal with them in the appropriate way. strangers on the internet cannot do that for you. also, no one asking you about your real event or false memories is doing so in good faith. block them
responsibility OCD can also trick you into joining in on discourse. "oh, but if i don't also post about this, what if someone gets hurt because i didn't say anything?". listen. listen to me. posting very, very rarely brings about material change. OCD is so rotten because it correctly identifies you as a person with strong feelings about making the world a better place, and then tricks you into hurting yourself over it in a way that doesn't actually help anyone. joining in on posting about these situations will only end up hurting you. you can make a difference in the world, but not like this. responsibility OCD is lying to you
familiarize yourself with online privacy and internet safety, but be careful. these are real things to be concerned about and they should be taken very seriously, but also something that OCD can latch onto very quickly and create further obsessions about. no one's going to track down your home address from a text post you made about what you had for dinner so there's no need to lie awake all night thinking about that. but posting a bunch of pictures around your identifiable hometown in quick succession probably isn't the best idea, so deleting those is probably for the best. be smart, but try not to panic over what ifs. we can cross those bridges when we come to them
get a group chat!!!!!!!! seriously. sometimes you wanna vent about some stupid shit you saw online, but it's almost always best done privately. get a group chat with some like minded friends and vent there instead. you might find your friends are in need of a private space to rant instead of their public blogs too! this goes for everyone, btw, not just folks with OCD
honestly, every day i find it a little harder to exist as a person with OCD online. there's so much out there that can trigger us and make our OCD worse, without us even knowing it at the time. but this blog will always be a safe place for folks with OCD, and i will always share my tips and tricks for having fun online despite the evil gremlin that lives in my head! you've got this. i'm in your corner 🧡
