OCD: I Think People Can Read My Thoughts

I think people can read my mind and hear my thoughts because of my OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder). This was super hard to post, but hopefully it opens up a wider conversation about mental health.

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Help us caption & translate this video!

[ie]

I always think someone can read my mind. It makes me extremely scared that someone might be hearing my thoughts.

[RedPhoneBooth]

Holy shit, i read the title and I just went " this is a thing others have???"

I used to have this thing when i was younger where I got so paranoid about people touching me because I thought they could read my mind when they touched me. And so when I pulled away I shook myself a little because I thought that would stop that mind-reading connection. I never thought that could have potentially been OCD.

And I now have a similar thing as you do which is similar to my childhood thing. The touching part isn't there anymore for me, but sometimes I think bigoted things I don't actually believe and apologise for it in my head a lot because I'm paranoid people can actually hear what I'm thinking.
It's such a relief to finally have someone else share this experience and have an answer as to why this happens.

[Daisydaybeauty]

I thought that I was the only person who felt like this. I am always ridiculously aware of what I’m thinking about when I’m around certain people because I have a fear that they can hear/see into my brain. 💙💚

[melsig]

I think mental illness is becoming less stigmatized, but mostly just around depression and general anxiety at this point. OCD is still talked about so little, so it's always interesting to hear people's experiences with it when people do feel comfortable enough to talk about it. Thank you for sharing this even though I know it can be scary! This is how others are going to learn.

[gamegyro]

That sounded like it may have been difficult to talk about openly and publicly. Thanks for sharing. People do often have misconceptions about OCD, leading to the example you said near the end. That's definitely one of the major misconceptions people have about mental disorders. Schizophrenia is another big one, since most people think it's usually "split-personalities" and visual hallucinations.

[PopcornEmma]

I told a mental health advisor that I got intrusive thoughts and she told me that everyone had them and not to worry about it.... Ugh.

[starrynight]

wow i feel so normal reading this comment section i thought everyone hated me for my thoughts

[MattJerkhole]

Even as a kid I always thought the scariest thing ever would be if other people would know what I'm thinking because of all the intrusive thoughts.

[catsick]

I've had this exact experience! I remember being on a bus and seeing a black person and thinking a racist thought, then immediately worrying that they can hear my thoughts. Instead of saying sorry i'd think of a song and start playing it in my head, trying to cover up any possible thought that might enter.
It got very intense honestly, my worst intrusive thoughts being pedophilic. I was horribly suicidal when it got to the point where I couldn't even look at a photo of a child without thinking 'you're a pedophile' 'you're attracted to them' and having an internal battle over it.
Shits hard. It waxes and wanes for me. Worse in times of stress. I often have to remind myself that it's ocd, I'm a good person, i don't really believe these things.

[RileyJayDennis]

aw this is really important thanks for sharing rowan <3

[ilannalucheck]

I've been feeling that people can read my mind to... it's been really freaking me out. Glad to know I'm not alone

[dontrestyourhead]

I feel so much less alone after watching this video.

[finchie_w]

This reminds me so much of my OCD...I have to say a prayer when I have my thoughts, but the way you said "I'm so sorry" and everything is basically how it goes. The cycle is so repetitive and beyond frustrating.

[abbim]

Bruhhh. It's almost like YOUR reading my mind! I've never had anyone explain what I go through every day so clearly! I've basically trained myself to not really think when I'm in public because I'm afraid strangers will read my mind. I have these really repulsive and scary intrusive thoughts too. Like, I'll just be minding my own business, and my brain will go, "What if... You killed her?" Or, "What if... Your heart exploded and you died?"
I've gone through some pretty terrible things in my life, and sometimes my intrusive thoughts will suggest that I do to others what was done to me. And I just feel so awful and disgusting that I have to sit quietly and visually imagine taking the thought in my hand and stuffing it in this dark room in my head and setting it on fire, or else it'll stick with me. If that doesn't work, then I have to find a smooth surface and scratch my nails on it.
It real hinders my life, and I live in fear of my thoughts becoming reality.

[emmynoether]

We never know how many people we know are dealing with mental health problems until we open up to them.

[miilenag]

I never thought about being OCD and I still don't think I am, but I can relate so strongly to this, to thinking that people can hear me and the things that pop up on my mind but aren't really part of who I am.

[bobsmith]

I have very severe OCD. Thanks for making this video, it's helpful to hear about your experience

[elle]

You're very brave for speaking about this, Rowan.

[august]

I didn't know that thinking people can hear your thoughts was an OCD thing! I have a lot of obsessions/compulsions, but I never told my psychologist about that because I thought it was silly. The way I deal with that one specifically is really unhelpful - instead of trying to communicate that I don't actually think these things, I just try to force myself not to think about it (which is about as easy as thinking "don't think of orange penguins" and succeeding). So, if I have an intrusive thought of "You want to fuck your biology teacher" or something, I'll just start repeating "CATS CATS CATS CATS CATS CATS" in my head (it's not always cats, but that's usually the first word that comes to mind). It's EXTREMELY distracting. I'll have to bring this up next time I see my psychologist.

[zoegrace]

One of the most comforting things is finding out your obsessions/compulsions aren’t only yours.