Is it OCD or me? It feels REAL!

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It is common for individuals who are experiencing distressing thoughts or repetitive behaviors to wonder whether they might have OCD or not. However, it is important to note that only a qualified mental health professional can diagnose OCD or any other mental health condition.

If you are wondering whether you might have OCD or not, it can be helpful to educate yourself about the disorder and its symptoms. However, it is important to seek the guidance of a qualified mental health professional who can assess your symptoms and provide an accurate diagnosis.

– – – Disclaimer – – –
For information purposes only. Does not constitute clinical advice. Consult your local medical authority for advice.

[hitemup]

The worst thing to me about ocd, hocd in particular is that as you said you have to live your life the way you want, do things you want, i agree, but the worst thing is to me that i dont even know what i feel and what i dont, so i have to do the things that i think are right, and i lost the ability to tell what i am feeling because i dont even know what is genuinely what are MY feelings, and what are the made up feelings the things i made up in my head, i cant even tell the difference

[Cesar_z]

Imagine yourself trapped in a room, and suddenly a monster appears and it’s telling you and forcing you to perform actions/rituals you don’t want to do, and you have to go along with what ever it tells you or else someone you love will die or something horrible will happen if you don’t do/perform what ever it’s telling you to do. And this monster reappears every 5 minutes and the cycle continues. That is what living with OCD feels like. Wouldn’t wish this on anyone.

[Oniysiel]

can't lie. wish i could have you as my therapist

[hiddenperson]

Your videos have pulled me out of so many episodes

[safiq_ur_rahaman]

My OCD seems to be controlling me. I am taking major life decisions based on these thoughts.

[KayFerguson-wyll]

I have an OCD assessment to explore a diagnosis this week through NOCD. There's no doubt in my mind that this is OCD (even though there are doubts, I'm too stubborn to listen).
I'm excited and nervous, but as I've told my family, "OCD has activated my challenge accepted mode." To which we all laugh, because my challenge accepted mode is my ultimate power up and they know I'm serious & determined to beat it.
Nathan, you've been a life saver. The video where you call OCD a bully is what kicked me into gear. I'm ready to live my life with OCD and I'm in the driver's seat, not the OCD. Thank you for all the work you do. I hope to contact you one day in the future and tell you how well I'm doing. 😊

[ritikamishra]

My anxiety and depression ruins my motivation totally... I feel so dull and lifeless that I feel bound to seek reassurance

[sarahskicks]

Thanks for bringing me so much comfort and letting me know I’m no alone! It totally feels real. Ting to look at all the evidence over and over again 😬

[varuna]

Nate, you very well maybe the best OCD therapist in the world. Your words make sense to me more than all the other resources/therapists/books that I've tried. Can't tell you how thankful I am to you.

[juliet.olivia]

You have helped me through some awful moments. I cannot thank you enough!!

[thomasschott]

Thank you so much for all the work you’ve done and you’re doing. I have to say that each video I’m looking helps me to better understand OCD and helps me to get released of it. Your videos are so well done, with a description that is EXACTLY what’s going on. For someone suffering of OCD for years and not knowing it, believe me your videos (+ exposure I‘ve learned with other therapists) really helped me to deal with my brain). Watching your videos I learnt What real event OCD is and it really helped me to Go through it. Anyway your content is extremly qualitative and thank you, so much for sharing this on You Tube. I Hope one day I’ll be as competent as you to help people get through it.
Thank you Nathan 🙏

[minimal]

Your videos on ERP especially are helping me so much with identifying those sneaky thoughts and compulsions of mine as OCD-related and give me the motivation to go through with an exposure when I feel like I can't!

[bier]

How to get rid of your OCD;
Trigger warning, strong topic (myself as an example):

I want you guys to give an example for what OCD can make you believe, when its not your theme you can see how redicilous it is. I had a big fear of losing private data like a scanned passport, so my fear was losing SD cards with private information on it. I never scanned my passport... I would go out of my way and open up my smoked up rolled sigarettes (my country you roll sigarettes) because I felt there could be (even though sigarettes are to small) an SD card in it. It had to be fallen in to it because it felt like it. Now I have severe harm and p OCD. I am somewhat impulsive, I have been a rough teenager but nothing too crazy. Generally I am a very kind and warm person, due to autism I can be a bit cold because I try to solve stuff logically but my heart is soft. OCD convinced me I could be a r*pist that wants to act out. Internal feelings or uneasyness are interpreted like an urge to do something, ocd then sends a lot of intrussions, very very very vivid bad intrussions. My point is, this is how real it can get. It can really tell you from the gut instinct something is very wrong. It can let you question and believe your a very bad person. If you say no to it, it will take something from your history and trow it at you completely out of perspective, and gasslights you in to thinking there is something very wrong with you. It can gasslight your sexuality, your morals, your feelings, your intentions, send guild, fear, anxiety, 'unsolved feelings'. Listen up, here is how to get rid off it.

Here is the complete plan to get rid of your OCD:

1. You need to accept OCD for what it is completely.

The feelings of realness, fear, anxiety, every bad feeling from it, intrussions, what if's, etc

2. But what if its not OCD?
Go back to point one, you didnt fully accept it as ocd.

3. How to accept it?
Take the "chance" it is ocd, which isnt a chance but feels like one, don't use this for reasurance.

4. Go as 'cold turkey' as possible with compulsions.
This means fast as possible, imperfections happen, don't beat yourself up for it. Compulsions are:
Rumination, what if thoughts, thinking about trueness of the thoughts, everything about your ocd theme, checking, handwashing, everything you do to reduce stress. The last one is very very very important because that rule apply. A compulsion can be to relax when having intrussive thoughts, these are hidden compulsions.

5 catalyst thought.
These are technically rumination thoughts but go unoticed because you really try to figure out how bad the situation is, you are already in ocd land, go back to point 1. This also includes: what if its not ocd, i am never going to recover, any negative self talk, its all ocd fuel.

6. Write down how much you ruminate (in minutes) (important)
Example, A day can look like this
6+8+4+30 and so on, write it down, with the total, do this every day all day, but as passively as possible. Try to reduce it with 10 minutes a day.

7. You NEED to live like you don't have ocd.
Go to school, take up responsabillity's. Get out of the rut you live in. You can not get through OCD recovery in a bubble.

8. OCD is curable. I have seen it when people really get trough it it can dissapear entirely. The key is to not stop recovery when your cured but change the reaction you give to anxiety irl, because this is often the trigger for new ocd episodes. I failed doing this, and am back in OCD land.

9. The reason why 'specialists' say you can't.
They only do exposures and think your ocd is magically going to disapear, exposures are good but are no substitude for the real thing, stopping the reaction. It can fix your theme but OCD can, and often will switch to the next thing your afraid off. Hirarchy erp will keep your OCD chronic at best.

10. Everyone seem to keep a OCD thing they don't get rid off completely, it will take you back to OCD land.
This one is very personal. I had 1 OCD behaviour left and wasnt willing to let it go. I did it once in a while while recovered and by keeping on that flame I am back with severe OCD.

11. OCD will get very bad when you refuse reaction.
Go back to 1.

[instant_mint]

To the commenter whose comment is gone now (I was replying to you when it was deleted): Hi! I'm so sorry to hear that you're struggling! Please know that behind OCD there is a calm rational you that is able to experience joy and peace, and it's just temporarily clouded by your fight/flight mechanism. Have you talked to a counselor or therapist? It can really help especially when you feel discouraged and worn out

[hiddenperson]

The way you describe The stress makes me break it down and it helps me gain control and not focus on intrusive thoughts

[ranc]

Symptoms of Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria
(when criticism hurts)
- Being easily embarrassed
- Heightened fear of failure
- Unrealistically high expectations for self
- Assuming people don't like you
- Avoiding social settings
- Perfectionistic tendencies

[starsINSPACE]

I am using my phone rn but I am still somewhat worried that maybe I put it in the dishwasher. 🤦‍♀️

[mcarlson]

thanks for this advice
I found the channel and realized how much of my self-critique was just these sorts of behaviors
I'm not diagnosed with OCD officially, but it's prominent in my immediate family
your suggestion on how to not give into the compulsion gave me comfort
thank you

[bradford_shaun_murray]

A lot of helpful information in this video about those ocd moments of unnecessary doubt, and why we are having them then lead to the compulsion to problem solve the "problem" that ocd throws up through anxiety - the compulsion to solve ocd's doubt can be hard to resist, but this video helps put a lot of things in perspective. Thanks :)

[Rowe_Ti]

The self-awareness and the lack of self-restraint, that's ocd