Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

• LIVES LOST IN THOUGHTS • OCD help, support, awareness and mental health positivity • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is one of the most common mental illnesses yet one of the most misunderstood. I live struggling with this disorder since when I was 14 years old and I created this blog to talk about it, share my daily struggle, help and support others with OCD, raise awareness and to let everyone who's affected by this disorder know that they are not alone, that they don't have to be ashamed to talk about it and that toghether we can overcome this! • 💭"And there's not really any getting myself clean you know, because the dirtiness goes all the way through me..."💭

[and-how-to-heal-from-it]

I found this quote in a book and made it my phone lock screen, in case anyone needed to hear it. 

[gentleaffirmations]

[and-how-to-heal-from-it]

Forgive yourself if today was a bad day. 

Forgive yourself if things didn’t go according to plan. 

Forgive yourself, even if you feel like you messed up. 

Be gentle with yourself. You’re doing the best you can. 

[ocdrecovery]

It is so important to share your experiences and struggles with OCD and to normalize talking about it. I know there are so many people out there suffering who have no idea that what they are struggling with is OCD because of the way OCD is portrayed in the media and viewed in our society. I was one of those people for the majority of my life. OCD is often portrayed as a quirk, as being a “neat freak,” as just checking if a door is locked a few times before leaving the house. But that isn’t what OCD is, it is so much worse than that. We NEED to talk about the reality of OCD. We have to talk about the darkness of it, how debilitating it is, the pain, the crushing anxiety, the fear, the horrifying intrusive thoughts, and how you start feeling like you don’t even know who you are anymore, you just feel like you ARE your OCD.  

We also need to talk about the forms of OCD that are often deemed as more taboo and less socially acceptable, making people who suffer from these forms of OCD feel even more isolated and alone. We need to talk about sexual obsessions, violent obsessions, obsessions with sexual orientation and relationships, religious and morality obsessions, and harm obsessions. We need to talk about false memories, intrusive images of your worst nightmares, and the physical pain and torturous anxiety that wracks your body and mind if you try to resist a compulsion.  

Living with untreated and undiagnosed OCD for basically all of my life almost destroyed me, as I’m sure it has destroyed or almost destroyed countless others. While being diagnosed is only a small step in the recovery journey, it is an essential one, as you are unable to get the help you so need if you don’t know what you are struggling with. It is so important that we work to destigmatize OCD by calling out both misinformation being spread about OCD and the misrepresentation of OCD in the media. We can also continue to break the stigma around OCD by sharing our stories of the realities of living with this agonizing disorder. Destigmatizing OCD is not only important, but absolutely crucial. It could save lives. 

[ocd-lifelostinthoughts]

[designyoself]

[samxcamargo]

If you’re scrolling through tumblr trying to distract yourself from something you don’t want to think about or you’re looking for a sign that everything will be okay, this is it. So, breathe. Relax into this moment. You’re alive & that’s all that matters.

[positiveautistic-deactivated202]

Just a reminder in case your mind is playing tricks on you today:

You matter. You’re important. You’re loved. And your presence on this earth makes a difference whether you see it or not.

[ocd-lifelostinthoughts]

So I have OCD and I’ve recently been having medical tests done because I have hearing loss. All the tests are coming back saying that I have hearing loss but I keep thinking that I’ve made it up and that I’m faking it during the tests, by like saying I can’t hear something when I can. Gotten myself into a bit of a state with it and I’m not sure if it’s an OCD thing or if I really am making it up? Any suggestions?

Yeah it is an OCD thing. I often feel like I'm faking things and I obsess over this thought. What helps me dealing with this is finding concrete proof that I'm not faking it. Sometimes it's hard to find proof tho and even if you find them you still don't believe you're not faking. But let me say that a person who's faking something doesn't worry about it so the fact that you are worrying about it already means you're not faking at all. I hope this helps you and sorry for late reply but I've been away from this account for a long time. Sending you good vibes and wishing you a good day/night💜

[ocd-lifelostinthoughts]

Hello!I feel like my OCD is coming back after a few years of almost complete recovery.I have some huge exams coming up soon,no one to talk to about it and worsening compulsions.I have no idea how to approach the subject with my friends or parents and no idea how to stop my compulsions from getting worse or interfering with my daily life. Do you have any advice for me?I’m sorry for the essay.Thank you for reading this :)

Hello, sorry for late reply, I've been inactive for a while. My OCD is getting worse too atm and one thing that's helping me a lot managing it is talking to a psychologist. I suggest you to do it too if you haven't already. Another advice I want to give you is to try to keep yourself as busy as possible so you don't have time to focus on the obsession. Also try to not act immediately on your compulsions. Give yourself a time, at first short then longer where you have to bear the anxiety that comes with not acting on a compulsion. After the time passed you can act on it. This should help you have more control on compulsions and avoid letting them interfering with your daily life. (example: my compulsion is to wash my hands. I have to not act on the compulsion immediately even though I feel dirty and anxious. I set a time like 5 minutes. After 5 minutes passed I can wash my hands. Next time I have to wait 10 minutes and so on). I hope these advice will help you. Wishing you the best and sending you a big hug💕

[actuallyobsessive]

you have power over your compulsions and intrusive thoughts. while you can’t stop them from existing altogether, you can choose how you react to them. make the right choice, and forgive yourself when you don’t 

[recoversuggestions]

stop using mental illness as adjectives!! the weather isn’t bipolar. your ex isn’t a psychopath. eating a little more than usual doesn’t mean you binged. wanting things to be clean isn’t ocd. being an introvert doesn’t make you antisocial. a weird urge isn’t an intrusive thought. triggers aren’t things that weird you out.

[healingsuggestions]

this is only temporary, you will recover from this

[sisistudies-deactivated20180629]

Please read if you’re a student

You are NOT PROCRASTINATING, if - you’re sick - you have headache - you feel pain - you’re exhausted - you feel anxious - you have had big changes in your life that make you feel tired/restless/anxious/sad - you have to skip a class/take rest because of reasons I mentioned above. It’s not procrastinating. You’re not lazy. Everyone needs to have rest and take care of themselves when they’re sick. IT IS NOT OKAY TO WORK IN PAIN. Don’t burn out. It’s not worth it. Do not feel guilty. After some rest and relaxing you will study even more effectively. If you feel pain, - take a medicine if it works for you - put all of your books away - take warm shower - eat at least 1 healthy thing and 1 treat/feel-good-food, drink water - go to bed, sleep or read a book/listen to music that is not related to your school (if you have headache/migraine I suggest you to switch off the lights and just sleep) - just take your time - it’ll be all okay.

[positivela]

This literally made me tear up lol I have exam tomorrow and I can’t study anymore because I’m so anxious I can barely breathe

[glazyvent]

ha… ha

[pathcend]

via MentalHealthQuotes

[fairyfawm]

you deserve to get better, you are worthy of recovery.✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*