I have just found this community and would like to say I have always felt alone but for the first time I feel seen.
I have severe contamination OCD, I got diagnosed just after Covid occurred. It’s ruining my life, health, friendships, family relations. I am starting to lose myself, my memory, and the intricate parts I used to be proud of myself for. I can’t see the future and I’m scared I’ll never get better. When will this end? How do I get myself out of this cycle? I don’t want to spend the rest of my life like this. I don’t want to feel alone and sad. If there is anybody who’s got better with support please respond to this it will give me hope
Written by
Easeafterhardship
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Welcome to the forum. This forum is indeed meant to share experiences and give each other hope.
This is how I got better myself. I’ll use contamination OCD as an example, though my OCD theme was different. It doesn’t matter. The same treatment applies.
When I was suffering from OCD, I was assailed with questions like, what if I behave like everybody else and fall sick because of some form of contamination? What if the worst-case scenario does occur? That caused me anxiety, and my compulsion (obsessive contamination-avoidance) served to reduce that anxiety.
I was ignoring the opposite 'what if' questions like, what if my compulsions don’t deliver the peace of mind they’re promising me to deliver? What if they bring me more disadvantages than benefits in the end? I then realized I had fallen prey to the zero-risk bias, which is the tendency to eliminate all possibilities of harm to the point of degrading one’s overall quality of life.
During an OCD spike, I felt that the first ‘what if’ questions had more weight that the second ones. However, intellectually, I knew that the second ones had more credibility than the first ones. So, I asked myself what I could do to give more weight to the second ones on an emotional level.
It’s when I realized that exposure and response prevention, or ERP, was the answer. To stop engaging in my compulsions made the possibility that OCD may do more harm than good more bearable, less anxiety-provoking. If I didn’t invest so much time and energy into compulsions, it was no big deal anymore whether they come to fruition or not. That allowed me to be open to the possibility they may never compensate for the sacrifice of my common sense, so they lost their irresistible strength. This how ERP helped me change my attitude towards the thought of eliminating all possibilities of harm at any cost. I hope it has the same effect on you.
Welcome to the OCD community. You are definitely not alone, OCD is common. Recovery, even freedom from OCD is possible. The OCD Stories podcast can provide hope and motivation to take on your OCD. The IOCDF is an excellent resource. iocdf.org. They also have some great livestreams which are educational and supportive. You can sign up for the online OCD conference on this site. The conference takes place Nov. 23rd and 24th. Scholarships are available to those in financial need. Support groups can be very helpful for support and encouragement but you may need to try out a few or more to find a good one. Some of them offer tips that OCD specialists and experts don’t recommend because they feed OCD, are ineffective or even harmful. There are some great ones though. The IOCDF has a resource directory that lists a lot of them. They don’t endorse any of them, they just provide the listing. It can be helpful to find one where at least one of the leaders is an OCD specialist or the group has OCD specialists and/or researchers in it.
Lots of good advice so far; I just want to add that I have gotten much better through ERP therapy, medication, and learning as much as I can about the disorder. I have gotten good tips and strategies from lots of different sources.
I am 50 now and have had OCD since I was 8, maybe earlier. I lived with it for decades before I finally hit a low point and sought help. It is possible to get better.
One name I haven't seen mentioned yet is Shannon Shy. He's recovered from OCD and now does motivational work. One of his main goals is to assure people that they can get better, and he has lots of good insights. Check out his Facebook page.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
real events ocd
New here, HOCD or not? Advice needed
New here / self sabotage?
I’m New Here - My Story
Wife Leaving Because Of My OCD
