Post by @treatmyocd

6 universal experiences most people with OCD have been through: 1️⃣ Having someone catch you doing a compulsion and suddenly feeling super embarrassed: Maybe someone notices the checking, repeating, or doing something over and over until it feels “right.” Suddenly the spiral becomes did they notice that? did that look weird? should I explain myself? 2️⃣ Finally resisting a checking compulsion…only for the ONE time you don’t check to actually be the time something’s wrong: You usually check the back door five times before bed. One night you decide you’re NOT going to check…and then you find out it was actually unlocked. Now that one experience can make resisting the compulsion even harder, because OCD keeps using it as a reason why you need to check “just in case.” 3️⃣ Explaining an OCD fear out loud and realizing how different it sounds outside your head: In your head, the fear felt SO real and urgent. Then you try to explain the entire chain of events out loud and suddenly it’s like…wait, why has this been consuming me for the past four hours? It can be embarrassing when something that felt so huge internally sounds completely different once it’s said out loud. 4️⃣ Having one intrusive thought (that seems so insignificant in hindsight) derail your entire day: One intrusive thought at 9 a.m. somehow turns into hours of rumination, replaying it, analyzing it, and trying to figure out what it means. Then the next day it’s like…THAT was the thought that ruined my entire Tuesday? 5️⃣ Convincing yourself a completely normal symptom means you have an incurable disease: A headache, a random muscle twitch, feeling a little dizzy, a weird stomach ache…and suddenly the researching begins. Google, WebMD, Reddit, ChatGPT, comparing symptoms, checking your body, all trying to get certainty that this very normal thing definitely doesn’t mean something serious. 6️⃣ Asking someone “Are you mad at me?” over something that was probably no big deal: Maybe their text was a little shorter than usual. Maybe they used a period when they normally don’t. Cue rereading the conversation, thinking about everything that happened the last time you saw them, checking for signs that something’s off, and eventually asking for reassurance that everything is okay. OCD can look completely different from person to person, but somehow it can still lead to some VERY specific shared experiences. If you read this whole list thinking “yep…been there,” you’re definitely not the only one. Specialized treatment can help you break out of the OCD cycle. Book a free call with our team using the link in our bio to learn more and/or get started today. #ocd #ocdawareness #intrusivethoughts #ocdproblems #ocdrecovery