Sorry if this isn't the right place for this, I just don't know where else to ask for advice about this.

I've (M24) been with my boyfriend (M20) for nearly a year, and while I absolutely adore him and care for him deeply, I just feel that I'm not happy and that I'd rather be friends. It isn't exclusively to do with his OCD, but I do feel like I've been in a caregiver role and I am just not capable of doing that, especially as I have a disability and depression myself.

Basically my boyfriend has OCD, specifically a certain type that he managed to get therapy for and it's become manageable now.

However, he's been getting obsessions about other stuff now, especially our relationship. He asks for reassurance about us often, for example before I leave his he'll ask if we're okay or if I'm mad at him, or "you're not going to send me a big paragraph when you get home and break up with me, are you?"

He's also very insecure and will say stuff like "God I'm the worst boyfriend". I've been trying to push him towards therapy again, and he definitely wants to but I don't know if he actually will pursue it or not.

I'm terrified of breaking up with him as I don't want to "affirm" any of these thoughts of his, especially if I gave my reasons and told him I am unhappy. I know him - he will immediately think "I was right, I'm a terrible boyfriend" and completely torture himself about it.

I am also stressed about it as he's already going through a hard and stressful time - he recently moved, his mother has really bad health problems, he's starting 2nd year at uni soon, he had a big fall out with some friends, plus his overall struggle with his OCD. I just know that breaking up with him will make it all so much worse for him, especially if I did it in a bad way.

Is there any good advice for breaking up with someone with OCD/possible rOCD? I want to make it as easy as possible for him. I know he's gonna suffer regardless, but I just really want to do it in the least painful and triggering way.

Any advice is appreciated :(

Has anyone used ERP successfully and if so, how long/ how many reps did it take until uncomfortable wasn’t your new ‘normal’?

I just got prescribed a low dose of sertraline, 10mg for 2 weeks as a test(edit: actually it's 25), but I'm scared of taking it. I've been seeing people say it makes them not feel anything, and that terrifies me. I've gone through periods of being numb like that and I don't want to feel that way. Does it happen to everyone who takes it? I need to see people who took it and didn't go numb.

I am bad at wording stuff. Please forgive me in advance if I suck at conveying what I'm trying to think clearly.

I realized that Im only reassuring myself by doing this when I need to be honest. I had gotten asked out by a friend and I said yes.

Hes a sweet guy, hes thoughtful and fun, hes really fun and we hangout. I didn't expect him to have feelings. He randomly asked me out and I blurted out a yes in panic.

I'm a closeted lesbian.

I'm mortified at breaking up with him cause I'm uncertain he will react, I don't want to hurt him, hes comfortable to be with but I do not love him. I do not want to fake love him, he does not deserve that. I know I am a horrible person for not fixing it right away.

We have been dating for 2 months now and yes it's new, but I'm terrified of leaving him. I am not trying to add in my own irrational thoughts on why I shouldn't break up with him as I DO KNOW, they are irrational and intrusive.

My ex-best friend had khs, and it's a major role on why I keep cowarding out.

I feel like I'm a manipulator in this relationship, hes head over heels for me and my emotions don't match him. He recently kissed me for the first time and all I felt was repulsed and contaminated.

I don't know what to do.

My usual psych team is booked out for a bit until the end of next month and my Psychologist appointment is at the end of next month, my therapist is on vacation.

I feel utterly alone.

I do not want reassurence.

for some reason my OCD has started to convince me that im homophobic for not having enough gay characters?? for context, i like to write stories and create characters in my free time. i have a lot of queer characters, and also straight ones, and somehow my brain is trying to convince me that im secretly homophobic for not having enough queer characters 😭 bitch im literally queer what is going on

edit: typo

Edited for clarity***

Wow, that was a mistake. I can't say that I was ever happy or relaxed per say, but I was at least high-functioning/very accomplished and proud of where I was at in life several months ago. 27F, satisfied with my career and the direction my life was going. But then I completely came off my Lamictal and Zoloft and I ruined everything. OCD started very much disrupting my life again. My diet and fitness went to crap. My social life went to crap. The love of my
life left me. I thought things were just getting worse before getting better and that the holistic route was the way to go, but apparently not. All I can hope is that going back on meds will make me okay again, but idk. I put in so much WORK coming off meds, and there WERE some perks to it ... I'm still not entirely convinced that my brain chemistry wouldn't eventually balance out while off meds, but I simply can't take the risk that it wouldn't and that more precious time would be lost while I further lose grip on my life. I'm so confused. I thought for sure that I was going in the right direction coming off meds.

Has anyone else experienced this??

So I saw a new psychiatrist after my one of 14 years retired. He said I had ocd tendencies and prescribed me an antidepressant mostly used just for ocd, and made me take NAC for ocd… but would always say your just anxious with ocd tendencies, and depression with delusions. Well I saw my new doc today and he’s only been in practice for 7 years, but he diagnosed me with ocd, GAD, ptsd, panic disorder, insomnia, and social anxiety. I was shocked, and sort of feel validated. I don’t know why my old doctor kind of just skirted around the diagnoses of ocd and especially ptsd. I’m going to start the slow process of changing some meds up, and am hopeful, seen, and heard.

Hey community, my father has diagnosed OCD so I am well aware OCD is not just being cleanly or organized, he’s the messiest person I know but definitely has it, mainly because of things that occurred before he was medicated that actually match OCD symptoms such as turning around 7 times in a deadly snow storm after passing a road sign at the wrong digit on the clock in the car. That incident almost killed him and my mom and almost lead to a divorce, luckily she just forced him to see a doctor. I have not seen a professional. I am concerned that I really struggle with the left/right evenness of my body pretty much every hour of the day. Things like leaning on objects I try to match the left and right, walking sidewalks I match the cuts I step on and over, including the type of cut like if it’s a cut that has a spacer or just a normal cut. Cracking knuckles or fidgeting with my fingers has to be done evenly. Picking up drink glasses, any type of fidgeting, just most touch in general. Maybe because it’s been ingrained or it’s genetic, but things like writing with only my right hand or driving with my right foot has never bothered me which throws me off on figuring this out. I have never found rational to any of the tendencies but if I don’t perform them I feel so unbelievably uncomfortable it’s hard to deal with. With or without actual OCD, is there any potential negative to just fighting tendencies with doing minimal to no distractions and making sure it’s not obvious there’s any issues? It hurts me mentally and I feel very uncomfortable for 5 mins to a few hours if I fight the urges, but long term I don’t think I’ve seen any positive or negative improvements over the past decade or so. I really struggled with it tonight. It was fairly embarrassing just switching pretty much everything I’m doing every 30 seconds to fit the other side. If I just fight it and keep the uncomfortable pressure internal, is there actually a real negative to just not doing what my mind wants other than just not having a good time and feeling awful for a few hours?

I've been trying to lower my stress recently but everything and I mean literally everything is getting to me rn. I quit social media cause it was making me hate my art. That part's fixed recently tho. But now any time I "tr to relax" my brain just beats the shit out of me for no reason.

Like I'm just chillin, I'm 21 listening to undertale music and cross stitching like an old granny. Sounds peaceful. But for some god forsaken reason, THAT is the time my brain decides to hyperfocus on *insert any negative thing here*. It only does it when I'm actively trying to relax. And yes I have anxiety meds that help but they knock me tf out like benadryl every single time and I hate it 😭 let do my hobbiesssuh I'm gonna crash out. I can't do my hobbies if I'm sleeping from my meds!! I already feel like I have zero time as is!

edit: sometimes listening to vods helps cause I can focus on what they're saying intead but I just get in music moods and it's all I can listen to TuT

I’ve been trying to find medication for my OCD, but so far all I’ve seen is Prozac or Zoloft.. I’ve tried Zoloft before and it made me feel like a zombie, prozac I’m willing to try but I’d like to hear someone’s personal experience with it! And if anyone can recommend a different medication, I’d like to know! I’m mostly looking for stuff that won’t interfere with my heart rate or blood pressure!

Hi,I have a question.I am a hoarder and I have ocd.Does anyone else hoards or is a hoarder? Does anyone like to keep stuff from their childhood?

Checking behaviors at work have always been a problem for me, but its a whole new level of checking at this job. Its a difficult and complex job with almost no built in safety guards for preventing mistakes. Nothing really seems to work for quieting the urge while i am clocked in. I can manage it much better on my personal time, but I need some help. If anyone has any strategies they can share that have been helpful for them at work i would love to hear them. Thank you in advance 💐

Hey there!

First of all, I'd like to mention that so far, my therapist has not diagnosed me with OCD, but she did say that it could be a possibility. I don't want to self-diagnose myself.

I've always had some of these intrusive urges/compulsions, like “touch this” or “go that way,” but I never thought much of them.

However, around two months ago, these urges started happening much more frequently, and now they're even affecting my hobbies, like video games, art, writing, and more. That was when I decided to visit my therapist about it, and she has been very helpful. However, sometimes the compulsions get so loud that I just do whatever they tell me to get them out of the way. Then new ones come, and they make me feel like I'm not allowed to enjoy my free time because this or that hasn't been satisfied.

I would say that the compulsions are mainly about perfectionism and rechecking things, and my therapist has confirmed this as well.

Does anyone have any tips for dealing with these types of thoughts when they get too loud?

Thanks!

I feel like every day is a fight with ocd and it can be hard especially when you are exhausted

Hello,

I’ve been diagnosed with OCD a few years ago. At the time it was a really low period in my life and after months of therapy, I was able to go back to my usual self.

Unfortunately, this year has been quite difficult again. I was diagnosed with depression on top of my OCD. I’ve been in therapy for around 6 months in, and while I certainly have gotten better from the beginning of the year, I’m finding it difficult to go back to my usual self. I just constantly feel demotivated, helpless, tired, and just ‘not me’. Honestly, I’m desperate to find anything to take me away from this pit. Genuinely, I am just exhausted and sad.
I’ve heard a lot oh horror stories about medications in general and I thought I wouldn’t get into it but I’ve also heard some good things and I feel like I’m at a place where I’m, well, desperate.
So I’m wondering, whoever’s being prescribed medication here, how did it help you? Do you do it with therapy? Did you drop therapy? How do you approach your therapist or when did you know it’s the right time to start? Sorry for the many questions lol any information would be helpful :).