Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

OCD can be relentless. The thoughts can feel intrusive, distressing, and completely at odds with who you are and what matters most to you. It can be hard to explain to someone else, especially when the thoughts don’t seem to make sense.

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You may find yourself questioning things you never used to question. Wondering if you’ve done something wrong. Feeling like you need to check, think, ask, repeat, or do something until it feels “just right.” Sometimes, you may even worry that your thoughts say something about the kind of person you are, even when you haven’t done anything wrong.

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And the more you try to get certainty, the more uncertain you feel. Reassurance helps for a moment, but it never seems to last. Simple things can take far too long. You may know that it doesn’t make sense, but that doesn’t make it any easier to stop.

Then you wake up the next day and find yourself caught in the same cycle again.

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OCD can take up so much space that it becomes difficult to feel present in your own life. 

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Common obsessions:

- did I run over someone while driving? 

- will I go crazy? what if it's not ocd and it's me? 

- did I lock my door? did I turn everything off? will I be responsible for something bad? 

- what if these thoughts are really me and I'm just lying to everyone? 

- flashing of violent images 

Common rituals: 

- checking, cleaning, wiping, mentally reviewing conversations/situations, going over things to make sure, asking others for reassurance, looking over things.