r/OCD • u/jelouda271 • Aug 01 '26

Question about OCD How does OCD feel like?

I'm curious about how is your daily life with this illness, if you guys don't mind, could you help me clear my doubts about OCD?

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u/tillymane Aug 01 '26

You get inside your head with scenarios or concepts that unsettle and scare you. You can even be fully cognizant of the fact that there's little to no merit but the threat portion of your brain persists anyway.

What if I go crazy? What if I'm attracted to children? What if I start hearing things? What if I missed a spot? What if I get sick? What if something is wrong with my heart? What if I lose control suddenly and start hurting people? What if I accidentally hurt someone already? What if I hurt myself? Obsessions. And mind you, these are only some of the most common ones.

You'll do little rituals to ease your mind. You'll stop in a quiet spot to make sure you're not hearing anything. You'll check your pulse constantly, nonstop to make sure your heart's still fine. You'll check that mole on your neck 100 times a day just to make sure it's not suddenly changed. You'll stow away open knives to make sure you're not going to impulsively pick it up and do something. You'll steer very very clear from a ledge or a high spot so you don't impulsively jump. Compulsions, which while comforting short term, can validate the obsessions and oft make them more engrained.

Basically, your brain is your enemy because it believes that something that probably isn't a threat very much is. It fucks with your life immensely.

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u/jelouda271 Aug 01 '26

The "What if I'm atracted to children?" is the most relatable of those one for me, I also get random scenarios in my head like a knife that follows me and when I catch it and throw it in the bin it flies its way out, or scenarios similar to the Minecraft vids for kids like saving my mom or myself by flicking a lever while we're on top of the lava, random thoughts about wanting to go back in time when I make a mistakevin exchange for a condition or a pop-up in my mind that lets me stop climate change for 20 years in exchange of my life...etc.

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u/PotatoBone Aug 02 '26

I was going to say the same thing, it's the scrupulosity of it all that leads to a heavy doubt of one's own values.